Media System, Public Knowledge and Democracy: A Comparative Study

Curran, James P.; Ivengar, Shanto; Brink Lund, Anker and Salovaara-Moring, Inka. 2009. Media System, Public Knowledge and Democracy: A Comparative Study. European Journal of Communication, 24(1), pp. 5-26. ISSN 0267-3231 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

This article addresses the implications of the movement towards entertainment-centred, market-driven media by comparing what is reported and what the public knows in four countries with different media systems. The different systems are public service (Denmark and Finland), a `dual' model (UK) and the market model (US). The comparison shows that public service television devotes more attention to public affairs and international news, and fosters greater knowledge in these areas, than the market model. Public service television also gives greater prominence to news, encourages higher levels of news consumption and contributes to a smaller within-nation knowledge gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged. But wider processes in society take precedence over the organization of the media in determining how much people know about public life.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323108098943

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
Media, Communications and Cultural Studies > Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre

Dates:

DateEvent
2009Published

Item ID:

14225

Date Deposited:

19 Oct 2015 14:26

Last Modified:

27 Feb 2019 12:07

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/14225

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