What is authoritarian press theory and cite examples?

The Authoritarian Press Theory is one of the four Classic press Theories. It came into force in the 16th and 17th centuries... notice that the inception of authoritarian press coincides with the advent of the print media.

Authorities had the right to maintain peace and security and therefore make rules that ensured these by way of censorship. Essentially, the press had to do the government's bidding. The government would decide what the public would read and restrict anything that threatens peace and security (of the state). Information was power and the government guarded it for public welfare. The basis of this theory is that humans are not rational enough and they need to be told what is good and bad. The main function of the press was to support the policies and actions of the state and to inform the public about them.

Press could be privately or publicly owned, but the restrictions imposed on all media had to be followed. Licensing was brought in and every publisher had to get a license. The main purpose of this was to revoke licenses if need be, i.e, if any publisher would allow content that criticizes the government, their license would be revoked and they could even be punishable by death.

This theory is an offshoot of the authoritarian philosophy of Plato (read his work - "The Republic"), who said that the State was safe only in the hands of a few wise men.