Media Systems and the Political Information Environment: A Cross-National Comparison

Curran, James P.; Coen, Sharon; Aalberg, Toril and Iyengar, Shanto. 2010. Media Systems and the Political Information Environment: A Cross-National Comparison. International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(3), pp. 255-271. ISSN 1940-1612 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

To express attitudes and act according to their self-interest, citizens need relevant, up-to-date information about current affairs. But has the increased commercialization in the media market increased or decreased the flow of political information? Hallin and Mancini stress that the existing empirical evidence is fragmented and that this question therefore has been difficult to answer. In this article the authors present new data that allow them to systematically examine how the flow of political information on TV occurs across six Western countries during a thirty-year period. The authors find that the flow of political information through TV varies according to the degree of commercialization. The flow of news and current affairs is lowest in the most commercially oriented television system and among the commercial TV channels. There is however important cross-national variation even within similar media systems. The authors’ data do not suggest a convergence toward the liberal system when it comes to the political information environment on TV. Rather, what strikes them is how strongly resistant some European countries have been to subordinating the needs of democracy to profit making.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161210367422

Keywords:

citizens, comparative research, democracy, television, United States, Western Europe

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies > Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre
Research Office > REF2014

Dates:

DateEvent
2010Published

Item ID:

6108

Date Deposited:

20 Oct 2011 08:44

Last Modified:

27 Jun 2017 14:07

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/6108

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