Comparing Mass Media in Established Democracies

While the notion that mass media is an integral element of modern democracies is widely accepted, there is much controversy regarding the way in which the media has gone about playing its role as a cornerstone of democracy. This study contributes to the cross-national research on democratic media performance and its effects on the quality of democracy by grounding the debate over the role of the mass media in modern democracies in solid empirical, systematic and comparative evidence. The text develops a theoretical model of media performance which it then compares across numerous democratic states leading to the identification of varying patterns of media performance. The study also reveals important links between media performance and various aspects of a well-functioning democratic regime.--