Hutchins goes global

Whatever the legacy (or lack of it) of the Hutchins Commission in the United States, it resonates well around the world. Cases of national, regional and international media philosophies show that essentially the same social responsibility theory of the press has won wide global recognition, with or without direct reference to the Commission. Its current variant is a paradigm whereby the citizen rather than the media or the journalist occupies a central place. The conclusions of the conference suggest further reflection on themes such as: media as vehicles of public interest vs. media as commodities; media diversity and concentration; the idea about a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the world under contemporary conditions; the nature of democracy being advocated. Lee Bollinger's proposal for a new Commission is endorsed—as a global exercise.