Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics (Communication, Society and Politics)

Building on a survey of media institutions in eighteen West European and North American democracies, Hallin and Mancini identify the principal dimensions of variation in media systems and the political variables which have shaped their evolution. They go on to identify three major models of media system development (the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist and Liberal models) to explain why the media have played a different role in politics in each of these systems, and to explore the forces of change that are currently transforming them. It provides a key theoretical statement about the relation between media and political systems, a key statement about the methodology of comparative analysis in political communication and a clear overview of the variety of media institutions that have developed in the West, understood within their political and historical context. "This book proposes a framework for comparative analysis of the relation between the media and the political system. Building on a survey of media institutions in eighteen West European and North American democracies, Hallin and Mancini identify the principal dimensions of variation in media systems and the political variables that have shaped their evolution. They go on to identify three major models of media system development, the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist, and Liberal models; to explain why the media have played a different role in politics in each of these systems; and to explore the force of change that are currently transforming them. It provides a key theoretical statement about the relation between media and political systems, a key statement about the methodology of comparative analysis in political communication, and a clear overview of the variety of media institutions that have developed in the West, understood within their political and historical context."--Jacket Frontmatter List of Figures and Tables (page viii) List of Acronyms (page xi) Preface (page xiii) 1 Introduction (page 1) Part I. Concepts and Models 2 Comparing Media Systems (page 21) 3 The Political Context of Media Systems (page 46) 4 Media and Political Systems, and the Question of Differentiation (page 66) Part II. The Three Models 5 The Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model (page 89) 6 The North/Central European or Democratic Corporatist Model (page 143) 7 The North Atlantic or Liberal Model (page 198) Part III. The Future of the Three Models 8 The Forces and Limits of Homogenization (page 251) 9 Conclusion (page 296) Bibliography (page 307) Index (page 329) Proposing A Framework For Comparative Analysis Of The Relationship Between The Media And The Political System, This Book Surveys Media Institutions In Eighteen West European And North American Democracies. It Identifies The Principal Dimensions Of Variation In Media Systems And The Political Variables Which Have Shaped Their Evolution. It Then Pinpoints Three Major Models Of Media Systems Development (the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist And Liberal Models) And Explains Why The Media Play A Different Role In Politics In Each Of These Systems. An answer to the question first raised in the classic, 'Why is the press as it is?', examining the development of media systems in eighteen Western countries, and explaining why media systems evolved differently, and how their evolution can be understood within their political and historical context.