Authoritarian Theory

Authoritarian theory describe that all forms of communications are under the control of the governing elite or authorities or influential bureaucrats.

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Authoritarians are necessary to control the media to protect and prevent the people from the national threats through any form communication (information or news). The press is an instrument to enhance the ruler’s power in the country rather than any threats. The authorities have all rights to permit any media and control it by providing license to the media and make certain censorship.

If any media violate the government policies against license, then the authority has all right to cancel the license and revoke it. The government have all right to restrict any sensitive issues from press to maintain peace and security in the nation.

Censorship:
Censorship is a suppression of any communication which may consider as harmful to the people, King, government and its nation. Especially these censorship methods are much familiar in press which against the freedom of speech and freedom of expression. In some other cases, the censorship helps to protect the rulers and authorities from sensitive issues.

There are different types of censors like

• Political censor

• Moral censor

• Religious censor

• Military censor

• Corporate censor

Examples of Authoritarian theory:

For right Nikolai Yezhov, standing near Stalin was removed from this photograph after he shot dead in 1940. These types of censors are common during Stalin’s reign.

• Here, Journalist or any media persons should not have any rights to comment, discriminate or stand against the government. Sometimes, an authority gives considerable freedom to minority thoughts and cultural issues to promote them if it doesn’t make any threats to authority or ruler.

• King – King is the authority, who has all rights to control the communication and no one can question against the king.
  “The French king Louis XIV was concentrated in his person parliamentary, law making and judicial power. He was the authority of Supreme Court as well as he can condemn a men to death penalty without any rights appeal”.

• Dictatorship – During the world war II Hitler and Mussolini are the two major authorities who controlled the press in Germany and Italy. Press was under the control of the authority and No press can’t question against or publish against these two dictators.

• Few countries blocked wiki leaks website from its country to maintain the internal security because the wiki leaks are not ready to compromise with government censorship and realising classified documents against the government.