This paper discusses the evolution of development journalism into development communication, concentrating in the process on what has happened to government-media relationships and traditional freedom of the press notions as Third World presses are subjected to guidance policies and rampant authoritarianism. It looks at the use of mass media in the formation and propagation of national ideologies and campaigns, and analyzes the support given to development communication and the creation of national communication policy by supranational agencies. The conclusion raises several questions. How and when will rulers allow more freedom of expression and who will decide when is the right time? To what extent are the media promoting campaigns and officials rather than the development programs themselves? Are supranational organizations such as UNESCO allowing themselves to be victims of blackmail from Third World governments? These and other questions must be answered soon if a large part of the world is to be saved from the Orwellian big brother syndrome which some critics are predicting. (VT)