Ten Years After Comparing Media Systems: What Have We Learned?

Abstract

In this article we review research published since the publication of Comparing Media Systems which seeks to operationalize concepts discussed in that work and to test the framework proposed there or to put forward alternatives or revisions. We focus on works that deal with the original 18 countries covered in Comparing Media Systems, and consider the progress made in developing quantitative measures across these cases for key variables, research testing the grouping of cases in Comparing Media Systems, research extending the comparative analysis of Western media systems to new media, and research on convergence toward the Liberal Model. In the final section, we focus on limitations of the research produced during the 10 years following the publication of Comparing Media Systems, particularly the heavy emphasis on quantitative operationalization, and some of the difficulties in using quantitative analysis to investigate complex, dynamic systems.

Keywords:

• comparative analysis
• convergence
• media systems
• QCA

Notes

^1. We would see the expectation of Downey and colleagues (2012) that there would be a one-to-one correspondence between normative conceptions of the public sphere and media system types as an example of this tendency.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel C. Hallin

Daniel C. Hallin is Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, San Diego.

Paolo Mancini

Paolo Mancini is Professor, Facolta di Scienze Politiche, University of Perugia.