Structures of diversity of press and broadcasting systems: the institutional context of public communication in Western democracies

"In modern democracies, the media are a key actor in the political process. They are the main source of information from which citizens draw their knowledge about political matters. From the perspective of the rationality of public opinion building the principle of diversity is regarded as the central norm to evaluate the performance of the media. This paper focuses on the structural aspects of media diversity. The assumption is that the institutional structure eventually affects the quality of information communicated to citizens. The objective of our study is to establish a macro-analytical framework of the diversity principle. We elaborate indicators and typologies for empirical evaluation, which are then taken to classify the media systems of advanced Western democracies (OECD countries). The empirical analysis captures the period between 1970 and 1990 (press) and 1980 and 1990 (broadcasting) when the media were undergoing rapid economic and technological changes with considerable consequences for the structure of diversity." (author's abstract)"Im modernen demokratischen Prozeß kommt den Massenmedien zunehmend eine Schlüsselrolle zu, da sie die wichtigste Informationsquelle sind, aus der die Bürger ihr Wissen über Politik beziehen. Unter dem Gesichtspunkt rationaler Meinungsbildung kann Vielfalt als die zentrale Norm zur Beurteilung der Leistungen der Medien angesehen werden. In der Studie werden die strukturellen Aspekte von Medienvielfalt untersucht, da angenommen wird, daß die institutionellen Arrangements letztendlich die Qualität der Information beeinflussen. Ziel der Studie ist es, einen makroanalytischen Ansatz des Vielfaltprinzips zu entwickeln. Es werden empirische Indikatoren und Typologien vorgestellt, auf deren Basis die Mediensysteme entwickelter westlicher Demokratien (OECD-Länder) klassifiziert werden können. Die empirische Analyse umfaßt den Zeitraum zwischen 1970 und 1990 (Presse) bzw. 1980 und 1990 (Rundfunk). In dieser Periode waren die Medien tiefgreifendem ökonomischen und technologischen Wandel unterworfen mit weitreichenden Folgen für die strukturelle Vielfalt von Mediensystemen." (Autorenreferat

Structures of diversity of press and broadcasting systems: The institutional context of public communication in Western democracies

In modern democracies, the media are a key actor in the political process. They are the main source of information from which citizens draw their knowledge about political matters. From the perspective of the rationality of public opinion building the principle of diversity is regarded as the central norm to evaluate the performance of the media. This paper focuses on the structural aspects of media diversity. The assumption is that the institutional structure eventually affects the quality of information communicated to citizens. The objective of our study is to establish a macro-analytical framework of the diversity principle. We elaborate indicators and typologies for empirical evaluation, which are then taken to classify the media systems of advanced Western democracies (OECD countries). The empirical analysis captures the period between 1970 and 1990 (press) and 1980 and 1990 (broadcasting) when the media were undergoing rapid economic and technological changes with considerable consequences for the structure of diversity. -- Im modernen demokratischen Prozess kommt den Massenmedien zunehmend eine Schlüsselrolle zu, da sie die wichtigste Informationsquelle sind, aus der die Bürger ihr Wissen über Politik beziehen. Unter dem Gesichtspunkt rationaler Meinungsbildung kann Vielfalt als die zentrale Norm zur Beurteilung der Leistungen der Medien angesehen werden. Im vorliegenden Papier werden die strukturellen Aspekte von Medienvielfalt untersucht, da angenommen wird, dass die institutionellen Arrangements letztendlich die Qualität der Information beeinflussen. Ziel der Studie ist es, einen makro-analytischen Ansatz des Vielfaltprinzips zu entwickeln. Wir stellen empirische Indikatoren und Typologien vor, auf deren Basis die Mediensysteme entwickelter westlicher Demokratien (OECD-Länder) klassifiziert werden können. Die empirische Analyse umfasst den Zeitraum zwischen 1970 und 1990 (Presse) bzw. 1980 und 1990 (Rundfunk). In dieser Periode waren die Medien tiefgreifendem ökonomischen und technologischen Wandel unterworfen mit weitreichenden Folgen für die strukturelle Vielfalt von Mediensystemen.

Media Framing of Democratisation Conflicts in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa

This paper presents an overview of the main findings from a quantitative content analysis covering different types of democratisation conflicts (i.e., conflicts over citizenship, elections, transitional justice and distribution of power) in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa. The key findings from the content analysis are organised around several themes: causes of democratisation conflicts, portrayal of conflict parties, preferred solutions to conflicts, perceptions of democracy, role of the media, authoritarian past, and tone of reporting and polarisation. The main finding is that cross-national variations depend on several factors: specific country contexts (and contexts of broader regions from which they come from, including the Arab Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and post-communist Europe); regime type and the stage of democratisation; and type of democratisation conflict (which reflects the main arenas of political contestation). Across all countries, the quality of media coverage is limited by bias, emotionalisation and - most importantly - polarisation. In particular, conflicts over the distribution of power trigger sharp polarisation, whereas elections-contrary to existing literature - seem to force media towards a more restrained style of reporting. The sample involves 5162 newspaper articles and news stories from the four countries

Mass media political independence of press and broadcasting systems

SIGLEUuStB Koeln(38)-931102132 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Comparing media systems in new democracies: East meets South meets West

Comparing media systems in new democracies: East meets South meets West The paper presents a comparative framework for understanding the emerging media systems in so-called third-wave democracies. Three pathways of democratization are distinguished – from communist oligarchy in Eastern Europe, from military dictatorship in Latin America, and from one-party dictatorship in Asia and Africa. Following Hallin & Mancini’s approach the paper then discusses for each of these pathways the particular patterns of transition of media markets, state-media relationships, political parallelism, and journalistic professionalism. The paper concludes by arguing that Western models of media systems cannot be easily applied to new democracies. Instead, new hybrid forms of political communication are emerging that blend liberal ideals of a free press with the trajectories of the past, indigenous values and the constraints and experiences of transition.Comparing media systems in new democracies: East meets South meets West The paper presents a comparative framework for understanding the emerging media systems in so-called third-wave democracies. Three pathways of democratization are distinguished – from communist oligarchy in Eastern Europe, from military dictatorship in Latin America, and from one-party dictatorship in Asia and Africa. Following Hallin & Mancini’s approach the paper then discusses for each of these pathways the particular patterns of transition of media markets, state-media relationships, political parallelism, and journalistic professionalism. The paper concludes by arguing that Western models of media systems cannot be easily applied to new democracies. Instead, new hybrid forms of political communication are emerging that blend liberal ideals of a free press with the trajectories of the past, indigenous values and the constraints and experiences of transition

Geteilte Medienrealitaet? zur Thematisierungsleistung der Massenmedien im Prozess der deutschen Vereinigung

SIGLEUuStB Koeln(38)-931102169 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman