Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Communication, Society and Politics

Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics

Rate this book
Building on a survey of media institutions in eighteen West European and North American democracies, Hallin and Mancini identify the principal dimensions of variation in media systems and the political variables which have shaped their evolution. They go on to identify three major models of media system development (the Polarized Pluralist, Democratic Corporatist and Liberal models) to explain why the media have played a different role in politics in each of these systems, and to explore the forces of change that are currently transforming them. It provides a key theoretical statement about the relation between media and political systems, a key statement about the methodology of comparative analysis in political communication and a clear overview of the variety of media institutions that have developed in the West, understood within their political and historical context.

349 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2004

8 people are currently reading
136 people want to read

About the author

Daniel C. Hallin

12 books2 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
16 (17%)
4 stars
34 (36%)
3 stars
28 (30%)
2 stars
8 (8%)
1 star
6 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
5 reviews
October 26, 2025
Had to read it for an essay but ended up reading it basically cover to cover lol. Very dense and ultimately an academic text, but interesting if you’re into media systems in Europe (or if you have to write an essay on it)?
Profile Image for Katrinka.
778 reviews35 followers
July 7, 2012
A good, very general, introduction to media system of western Europe and North America.
Profile Image for David Lorao .
25 reviews8 followers
December 26, 2022
Lectura universitaria obligatoria, pero un profundo y meticuloso estudio sobre la relación existente entre los medios de comunicación y la política.
Profile Image for Adrian Fanaca.
226 reviews
October 3, 2020
There are three models of media, liberal, polarized pluralist or mediterranean, and democratic corporatist or central european. All of these models except maybe the liberal one have tight relationships between the political system and the media owners, the so called parallelism. The liberal model is more information oriented, but nevertheless it is owned by private magnates, so it cannot be very independent.
Profile Image for Utti.
518 reviews35 followers
May 11, 2018
Una pietra miliare sui modelli applicati ai sistemi di comunicazione. Non esattamente una lettura leggera, anzi molto impegnativa. A volte le frasi sono un po' arzigogolate e non proprio chiarissime.
Nel complesso un insieme di riflessioni interessanti e, nonostante i dieci anni passati dalla prima pubblicazione, tuttora attuale.
Profile Image for Kris.
14 reviews
Read
November 24, 2022
Un libro per rispondere alla domanda: perché la stampa è così com’è? Attraverso il POV delle democrazie liberali dell’Europa occidentale e del Nordamerica. Partendo da Four Theories of the Press di Siebert, Peterson e Schramm, offre un'analisi proponendo tre modelli e un'analisi comparativa.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.