Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Governments, by the nature of their functions and purposes, communicate with people inside and outside of their jurisdictions. This process may be called “government speech.” The “law and policy of government speech” in different countries typically depends upon the nature and type of each government and how much that government controls its press systems. Globalization and related changes to governments more and more influence how those laws and policies are shaped (→ Globalization Theories ). Whereas the press during the twentieth century, particularly in the United States, was a “primary conduit for information” about government to the people, governments now regularly use media in alternative conduits to exert control over that information, with negative implications for democracy, as Braman and Nerone (1995 , 162–176) have argued (→ Political Communication Systems ). The law and policy of government speech for a particular nation may in fact be defined by the limits that nation puts on the government for communication. “Government speech” is viewed in the context of the transition to democracy by numerous countries around the world. Fundamentally, the issue revolves around the limits on expression a constituency can put upon its own government. Government speech can at times be → propaganda , which has a more negative connotation than simple → persuasion . And some governments ... log in or subscribe to read full text