"One of the most quoted books in the literature of press freedom, this defines it in terms of four types, with historical background and broad implications of each. Siebert is the author of the chapters on the authoritarian and libertarian theories; Peterson, the social responsibility theory, and Schramm, the Marxist theory. The basic thesis is that the social and political structures of a society shape and control its press." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 402)