Comparing Political Communication: Theories, Cases, and Challenges (Communication, Society and Politics)

438 Pages·2004·3.08 MB·English

by  Frank Esser

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Comparing Political Communication
Theories,Cases,andChallenges
This volume assesses the state of the art of comparative political com-
municationresearchandconsiderspotentialwaysinwhichitcouldand
shoulddevelop.Whilecross-nationalstudieswerelongneglected,twenty
expertsfromEuropeandtheUnitedStatesofferauniqueandcompre-
hensivediscussionofthetheories,cases,andchallengesofcomparative
research in political communication. The first part discusses the fun-
damental themes, concepts, and methods essential in order to analyze
theeffectsofmodernizationandglobalizationofpoliticalcommunica-
tion.Thesecondpartoffersabroadrangeofcasestudiesthatillustrate
the enormous potential of cross-national approaches in many relevant
fieldsofpoliticalcommunication.Thethirdpartpavesthewayforfuture
researchbydescribingthemostpromisingconceptsandpressingchal-
lenges of comparative political communication. This book is intended
tointroducenewstudentstoacrucial,dynamicfieldaswellastodeepen
advancedstudents’knowledgeofitsprinciplesandperspectives.
FrankEsserisAssistantProfessorofMassCommunicationattheUniver-
sityofMissouri,Columbia.HewasassistantprofessorattheUniversityof
Mainz,Germany,andvisitingprofessorattheUniversityofOklahoma.
His research centers around cross-national studies of journalism and
political communication and has appeared in the European Journal of
Communications,AmericanBehavioralScientist,andPress/Politics.
Barbara Pfetsch is Professor of Communication and Media Policy at
the University of Hohenheim, Germany. She was a Fellow at the John
F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and at the
Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University.
Her research interests focus on comparative analyses of political com-
municationandthemediatedpublicsphere.
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COMMUNICATION,SOCIETYANDPOLITICS
Editors
W.LanceBennett,UniversityofWashington
RobertM.Entman,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
EditorialAdvisoryBoard
LarryM.Bartels,PrincetonUniversity
JayG.Blumer,Emeritus,UniversityofLeeds
DanielDayan,CentreNationaldelaRechercheScientifiqueParis,andUniversityofOslo
DorisGraber,UniversityofIllinois,Chicago
PaoloMancini,Universita`diPerugia
PippaNorris,HarvardUniversity
BarbaraPfetsch,WissenschaftszentrumBerlinfu¨rSocialforschung
PhilipSchlesinger,UniversityofStirling
DavidL.Swanson,UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign
GadiWolfsfeld,TheHebrewUniversityofJerusalem
JohnZaller,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles
Politicsandrelationsamongindividualsinsocietiesacrosstheworldarebeingtrans-
formed by new technologies for targeting individuals and sophisticated methods for
shaping personalized messages. The new technologies challenge boundaries of many
kinds – between news, information, entertainment, and advertising; between media,
withthearrivaloftheWorldWideWeb;andevenbetweennations.Communication,
SocietyandPoliticsprobesthepoliticalandsocialimpactsofthesenewcommunication
systemsinnational,comparative,andglobalperspective.
Titlesintheseries:
C.EdwinBaker,Media,Markets,andDemocracy
W.LanceBennettandRobertM.Entman,eds.,MediatedPolitics:Communicationin
theFutureofDemocracy
BruceBimber,InformationandAmericanDemocracy:TechnologyintheEvolutionof
PoliticalPower
MurrayEdelman,ThePoliticsofMisinformation
FrankEsserandBarbaraPfetsch,eds.,ComparingPoliticalCommunication:Theories,
Cases,andChallenges
HermanGalperin,NewTelevision,OldPolitics:TheTransitiontoDigitalTVinthe
UnitedStatesandBritain
MyraMarxFerree,WilliamAnthonyGamson,Ju¨rgenGerhards,andDieterRucht,
ShapingAbortionDiscourse:DemocracyandthePublicSphereinGermanyandthe
UnitedStates
DanielC.HallinandPaoloMancini,ComparingMediaSystems:ThreeModelsofMedia
andPolitics
RobertB.Horwitz,CommunicationandDemocraticReforminSouthAfrica
RichardGuntherandAnthonyMughan,eds.,DemocracyandtheMedia:AComparative
Perspective
PippaNorris,AVirtuousCircle:PoliticalCommunicationsinPostindustrialSociety
PippaNorris,DigitalDivide:CivicEngagement,InformationPoverty,andtheInternet
Worldwide
AdamF.Simon,TheWinningMessage:CandidateBehavior,CampaignDiscourse
GadiWolfsfeld,MediaandthePathtoPeace
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Comparing Political
Communication
THEORIES, CASES, AND CHALLENGES
Editedby
FrankEsser BarbaraPfetsch
UniversityofMissouri-Columbia UniversityofHohenheim
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Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
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Contents
Contributors page xi
INTRODUCTION
1 ComparingPoliticalCommunication:Reorientationsina
ChangingWorld 3
BarbaraPfetschandFrankEsser
I: THEORIES AND METHODS
2 Americanization,Globalization,andSecularization:
UnderstandingtheConvergenceofMediaSystemsand
PoliticalCommunication 25
DanielC.HallinandPaoloMancini
3 TransnationalTrendsinPoliticalCommunication:
ConventionalViewsandNewRealities 45
DavidL.Swanson
4 ComparingMassCommunicationSystems:Media
Formats,MediaContents,andMediaProcesses 64
HansJ.Kleinsteuber
5 DesignsandMethodsofComparativePolitical
CommunicationResearch 87
WernerWirthandSteffenKolb
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Contents
II: CASES
6 GlobalPoliticalCommunication:GoodGovernance,
HumanDevelopment,andMassCommunication 115
PippaNorris
7 LocalPoliticalCommunication:MediaandLocalPublics
intheAgeofGlobalization 151
SabineLang
8 StrategicPoliticalCommunication:MobilizingPublic
Opinionin“AudienceDemocracies” 184
HanspeterKriesi
9 PoliticalCampaignCommunication:Conditional
ConvergenceofModernMediaElections 213
ChristinaHoltz-Bacha
10 PoliticalCommunicationandElectronicDemocracy:
AmericanExceptionalismorGlobalTrend? 231
ThomasZittel
11 PoliticalNewsJournalists:Partisanship,Professionalism,
andPoliticalRolesinFiveCountries 251
WolfgangDonsbachandThomasE.Patterson
12 PoliticalCommunicationMessages:PicturesofOurWorld
onInternationalTelevisionNews 271
PatrickRo¨ssler
13 PoliticalCommunicationEffects:TheImpactofMass
MediaandPersonalConversationsonVoting 293
Ru¨digerSchmitt-Beck
III: PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES
14 StateoftheArtofComparativePoliticalCommunication
Research:PoisedforMaturity? 325
MichaelGurevitchandJayG.Blumler
15 FromPoliticalCulturetoPoliticalCommunications
Culture:ATheoreticalApproachtoComparativeAnalysis 344
BarbaraPfetsch
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