The Role of New Technology in The Rights and Responsibilities of Mass Media

Abstract

Technology, without doubt, has greatly transformed the mass media industry drawing their strength from the inalienable
right to the freedom of expression/ freedom of information, mass media industry has been greatly revolutionized by
technology to improve their responsibility to the liberal society. From the pristine days of the Gutenberg's moveable type to
the present day's. Zukerberg's communication era, technology has so much revolutionized the mass media that they have not
only become available to all but also readily assessable to all at the same time. It is therefore against the background of the
liberalized communication opportunities provided by the technological advancement of mass media that this paper
examined the rights and responsibilities of mass media. The mediation theory and the Bakhtin's Dialogism theory as well as
the global village philosophy formed the base upon which paper rested. The paper among other things ascertained the
correlations between technology and the responsibilities of mass media. Specifically, the paper ascertained how new
technology has made the mass media ubiquitous and thereby has improved the service delivery of the media in the society.
The paper further examined how the right to freedom of expression/freedom of information has collaborated with
technology to aid the duties and responsibilities of mass media. The paper adopted a historical analytical approach and
found out that the right to the freedom of expression has created a veritable atmosphere for mass media to leverage on their
technological advancement to improve their service delivery in the liberal society. The paper recommended improved literacy
of the mass audience in order to be compliant with the new technology.