Comparative media systems

elective courses

New ecosystems of media, characterized by the growing role of participatory networks (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter), wikis (Wikipedia), online gaming, the rise of mobile devices, socially–engaged media–making and the effects of distributed innovation call for redefinition of traditional media systems conceptualisations and redefinition of current trends from comparative perspective.

The course aims at investigating basic conceptualisations of the media system category as well as contextual factors (society, culture, politics, economy, technology, religion) which have an impact on contemporary media firms. Review of existing theories and approaches will be used to create the catalogue of comparative media systems indicators, such as the level of press freedom, the development of the press and broadcasting, political parallelism and journalistic professionalisation (and journalism culture). In addition to this, the course will provide critical analysis of existing conceptualisations and will further call for a review of media systems theories in the digital age.

The course will be launched with the discussions on traditional understanding of media systems theory and its role in social science. Review of approaches to media systems will be then used to map contextual factors for media systems systems analysis. The course will offer overview of freedom of the media ranks by Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders. The complexity of media systems analysis in emerging democracies will be highlighted during the analysis of methodology and indicators of Media Sustainability Index. The discussions on traditional conceptualisations of media systems will be based on critical analysis of "Four Theories of the Press" by Siebert, Peterson and Scharmm (1963) and "Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics" by Hallin and Mancini (2004). The list of approaches will be further extended to emerging conceptualisations of media systems, such as the hybridity in media systems analysis (Chadwick, 2013), contradictions in media power (Freedman, 2014) and the power of algorithms (Manovich, 2013). The list of potential limitations for comparative studies of media and its external stakeholders will also be mapped.

Bruggemann, M., Engesser, S., Buchel, F., Humprecht, E., Castro, L. (2014)

Hallin and Mancini Revisited: Four Empirical Types of Western Media Systems, "Journal of Communication", Volume 64, issue 6: 1037-1065.

Chadwick, A. (2013) The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dobek-Ostrowska, B., Glowacki, M., Jakubowicz, K., Sukosd, M. (eds.) (2010) Comparative Media Systems: European and Global Perspectives. Budapest: Central European University Press.

Freedman, D. (2014) The Contradictions of Media Power. Bloomsbury Academics.

Freedom House (2016) Freedom in the World. Retrieved November 2016 from https://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-world.

Freedom House (2016) Freedom of the Press. Retrieved November 2016 from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2016.

Freedom House (2016) Freedom on the Net. Retrieved November 2016 from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2016.

Freedom House (2016) Nations in Transit. Retrieved November 2016 from https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/nations-transit-2016.

Hallin, D., and Mancini, P. (2004) Comparing Media Systems. Three models of media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hallin, D., and Mancini, P. (eds.) (2012) Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Manovich, L. (2013) Software Takes Command, New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

IREX (2016) Media Sustainability Index. Retrieved November 2016 from https://www.irex.org/resource/media-sustainability-index-msi.

Reporters Without Borders (2016) Press Freedom Index. Retrieved November 2016 from https://rsf.org/en/ranking.

Siebert, F.S., Peterson, T., Schramm, W. (1963) Four Theories of the Press. The Authoritarian, Libertarian, Social Responsibility, and Soviet Communist Concepts of What the Press Should Be and Do. University of Illinois Press.

Voltmer, K. (2008) Comparing Media Systems in New Democracies, "Central European Journal of Communication", Vol. 1, No 1, Fall 2008: 23-40.

“Comparative Media Systems” will investigate the basic conceptualizations and theories related to contemporary changes of media systems. Thus, it is expected that students will gather basic knowledge on the understanding of complexity of media systems theory and the role of contextual factors in which media are mandated to serve. Students will be able to identify and map criteria for comparative media systems analysis; this will include – above all – the level of press freedom, the development of the press and broadcasting, political parallelism, journalistic professionalisation (and journalism culture) as well as the role of economic, social and political dimensions. Finally, students will be tasked to critically analyse media systems through the lenses of emerging media systems conceptualisations, such as media ecologies, fluidity, and the power of algorithms. All of this when taking into account potential limitations of comparative analysis in different parts of the world.

Students will be evaluated with a reference to the course assignment. Additional criteria (participation in the lectures; max. 3 absences) will also apply.

Does not apply.