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

Abstract

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.

Intra-Campaign Changes in Voting Preferences: The Impact of Media and Party Communication

“…The news media provide citizens with information on politics, political events, political candidates, and political parties’ policy positions, especially during electoral campaigns (e.g., Aalberg, van Aelst, & Curran, 2010; Banducci, Giebler, & Kritzinger, 2017; Barabas & Jerit, 2009; Kleinnijenhuis et al, 2007; Druckman, 2004, 2005; Norris, 2002). However, not all political parties or candidates will be treated in the same way by all media outlets: Some will receive more attention than others (visibility bias); others will be criticized more severely for their actions and plans (tonality bias; see Eberl, Boomgaarden, & Wagner, 2015; Hopmann, van Aelst, & Legnante, 2011).…”

Political communication in a high-choice media environment: a challenge for democracy?

“…With respect to television, several comparative studies show that the amount of news and public affairs programming has risen significantly since the 1970s (Aalberg et al, 2010;. Studies also suggest that the introduction of commercial broadcasters resulted in more rather than less news, as some of them present news and public affairs in lengthy and prominent time slots.…”

“…Studies also suggest that the introduction of commercial broadcasters resulted in more rather than less news, as some of them present news and public affairs in lengthy and prominent time slots. At the same time, public broadcasters have broadened their range of news programming (Aalberg et al, 2010), and general television channels are in many countries complemented by channels that broadcast news 24/7. Thus, both in major and specialized channels there is more political news to be found than there used to be.…”

Auntie Knows Best? Public Broadcasters and Current Affairs Knowledge

“…11 Practically speaking, the literature suggests that during prime time, when television audiences spike, citizens residing in the most commercialised media systems are least likely to encounter (hard) news programming on any free-to-air TV channel. Countries where public broadcasting plays a leading role in the media system are where (hard) news programming tends to flourish during prime time.…”