An examination of the interrelated philosophical, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of the four normative media theories (authoritarian, Soviet-communist, liberal, and social responsibility) in a societal context based on power relationships leads to four conclusions of a general nature. First, the media in one nation can have different ownership and control structures, as well as several philosophies regarding the function of the media. Second, individual media structures can be included in the above distinction. Third, this approach provides a more appropriate methodology to analyze normative views on communication at the local, regional, national, and international levels. Fourth, as power relationships are looked at in a multidirected and dialectic fashion, this approach does not limit itself to a top-down perspective only. This implies that participatory or user-oriented modes of communication can also be explained and analyzed from this perspective. The importance of including a societal context based on power relationships is illustrated in the different ways that the concepts "freedom of information" and "free flow of information" are interpreted in cultures throughout the world. An illustration of the participatory mode of communication and the freedom from the limitation of the top-down power relationship is the recent international effort to establish the right to communicate, the active and passive human right of the receiver to inform and be informed. (A 68-item bibliography is appended.) (RS)