In the last few decades personalization has been identified as a defining trend of contemporary political communication. The empirical evidence, however, is mixed and there are very few studies that explore more than a single-case study. This article investigates media personalization in comparative perspective by analysing the press coverage of recent general elections in Germany (2009) and the United Kingdom (2010). Was the reporting in both campaigns (equally) personalized? How and to what extent does the phenomenon vary across the two countries? What does this mean for our understanding of personalization? The analysis shows that there are at least as many differences between the countries as there are similarities; although both campaigns can be considered personalized in some respects, the form it takes is substantially different due to structural variations in the media and political systems, as well as the more transient, but key, impact of the distinctive characteristics of the campaigns and each of the candidates.

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This study analyzes and compares party ads that were broadcast on television during the 2009 European Election campaign in France, Germany, Sweden and the UK. Even though electoral TV ads have never reached the same importance in European countries as in the US, such ads are to be regarded as an expression of the specific political culture of a country and therefore have relevance beyond election campaigns. An international comparison of ads produced for the same event is particularly suited to revealing similarities across cultures as well as national idiosyncrasies. Additionally, the present study demonstrates a methodological approach that defines a ‘sequence’ as the unit of analysis instead of the whole spot, and thus it is different from previous research on electoral advertising.

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