Press (media)
The preamble of the press (from medieval Latin pressa and French press ) is derived from the printing press from the time of analog printing technology , and originally referred to the totality of all common printing products (pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers , magazines , books , posters ). In the second half of the 19th century, the term gradually began to take on the meaning "the entirety of printed newspapers and magazines". Another - traditional - expression is "newspaper world".
The often called fourth estate designated institution of the press (derived from within the separation of powers separate branches of government legislative , executive and judiciary ) has in a democratic society a significant influence on the public opinion and political decisions. All liberal constitutions (in Germany in Art. 5 GG ) therefore guarantee freedom of the press as a fundamental right . In its case law, the German Federal Constitutional Court describes a free press as “absolutely constitutive” for democracy .
Today the press also stands for the entirety of all newspapers and magazines in any form, as well as for the related news and opinion. In certain word combinations (such as press work , press spokesman , press conference, etc.) the word part “press” stands in a broader sense for the entirety of all public mass media (including radio , television and the Internet ).
more details
In the press, ensuring freedom of information is the basis for obtaining information through investigative journalism , in particular research , which in the past has uncovered some political abuses (for example the Watergate affair in the USA or the Spiegel affair in Germany ).
The advantages of a free and uninfluenced press contrast with the disadvantages of a market economy orientation: The pursuit of high circulation numbers and the loyalty of readers to the product favor sensational or voyeuristic reporting in the rainbow and tabloid press . The increasing regional monopoly outside the big cities and the subtle reliance on publishers' interests are seen by some as a threat to freedom of the press, especially when political parties own newspapers. (See also media democracy .)
The German Press Council published a press code in 1973 , which was last updated on March 22, 2017.
See also
- News , research
- Journalism , journalist
- Press history
- Mass media , media mogul , media theory
- Freedom of information , freedom of expression , freedom of the press
- Press pass
- Press house
Web links
- Alain Clavien, Adrian Scherrer: Press. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .