Zrinjka Peruško - Böcker

This book explains divergent media system trajectories in the countries in southeast Europe, and challenges the presumption that the common socialist experience critically influences a common outcome in media development after democratic transformations, by showing different remote and proximate configuration of conditions that influence their contemporary shape. Applying an innovative longitudinal set-theoretical methodological approach, the book contributes to the theory of media systems with a novel theoretical framework for the comparative analysis of post-socialist media systems. This theory builds on the theory of historical institutionalism and the notion of critical junctures and path dependency in searching for an explanation for similarities or differences among media systems in the Eastern European region. Extending the understanding of media systems beyond a political journalism focus, this book is a valuable contribution to the literature on comparative media systems in the areas of media systems studies, political science, Southeast and Central European studies, post-socialist studies and communication studies.

This book explains divergent media system trajectories in the countries in southeast Europe, and challenges the presumption that the common socialist experience critically influences a common outcome in media development after democratic transformations, by showing different remote and proximate configuration of conditions that influence their contemporary shape. Applying an innovative longitudinal set-theoretical methodological approach, the book contributes to the theory of media systems with a novel theoretical framework for the comparative analysis of post-socialist media systems. This theory builds on the theory of historical institutionalism and the notion of critical junctures and path dependency in searching for an explanation for similarities or differences among media systems in the Eastern European region. Extending the understanding of media systems beyond a political journalism focus, this book is a valuable contribution to the literature on comparative media systems in the areas of media systems studies, political science, Southeast and Central European studies, post-socialist studies and communication studies.

European Media Systems for Deliberative Communication explores how four dimensions of national media systems – the legal framework for freedom of expression and information, media accountability, journalism and audience media usage and competencies – contribute to or are detrimental to the success of deliberative communication.Drawing on a study of 14 European countries and their media systems, the volume provides comparative and individual perspectives to examine the social consequences of various types of media systems. By using fsQCA (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis), the authors relate deliberative communication to the legal framework for freedom of expression and freedom of information, media accountability, journalism and media usage and media competencies. The book shows how different combinations of conditions and contexts figure as risks or opportunities that are detrimental to, or supportive of, deliberative communication, measured with an original index on a European level.This book will interest scholars and students in communication studies, political communication, media and society, media sociology, global media studies, European Studies and journalism.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.