Page 209 - Comparing Media Systems THREE MODELS OF MEDIA AND POLITICS

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The North/Central European Model

press subsidy systems, as well as in a general attitude that the media are
social institutions for which the state has a responsibility, and not purely
private businesses. This is a principal difference between the Democratic
Corporatist Model and Liberal Model where the state, both as funder or
regulator, plays a much weaker role.
JOURNALISTIC PROFESSIONALISM, THE “IDEOLOGY OF SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP,”
AND RATIONAL-LEGAL AUTHORITY. One of the distinctive characteristics of
the Democratic Corporatist media system, we have argued, is the coex-
istence of political parallelism and journalistic professionalism. Political
parallelism, of course, is closely related to the strength of parties and so-
cialorganizations.Journalisticprofessionalismisrelatedtothe“ideology
of social partnership” that Katzenstein describes as one of the central
characteristics of democratic corporatism, to the moderate pluralism
that develops out of the ideology and practice of social partnership,
and also, we believe, to a tradition of rational-legal authority that pre-
dates democratic corporatism. “Although it may seem paradoxical to
outsiders,” Katzenstein notes (1985: 88), “pragmatic cooperation and
ideological conflict are not incompatible.” Democratic corporatism
involves a process of bargaining through which parties and groups with
distinct ideologies and social interests strive to reach consensus. This
is how governing coalitions are formed, how policy is made, and how
labor-management relations and other conflicts of social and economic
interest are managed. Despite wide political diversity, this process of con-
tinuous bargaining has produced a culture and procedures of accommo-
dation and cooperation. It has also produced a shift in the Democratic
Corporatist countries toward moderate rather than polarized pluralism,
as the various segments of society have maintained separate identities
but moderated their demands and come to have a stake in the basic
24
rules of the game. Democratic corporatism thus “incorporates a con-
tinuous reaffirmation of political differences with political cooperation”
(Katzenstein 1985: 88).
The coexistence of political parallelism and journalistic professional-
ism thus mirrors the nature of democratic corporatism generally: polit-
ical diversity coexists with a common journalistic culture manifested
in a relatively high level of consensus on standards of practice and

24 This is also reflected in relatively high levels of trust in political institutions. Euro-
barometer 55, for example, shows all the Democratic Corporatist countries above the
EU average in trust in government institutions. See also Borre 1995 and Listhaug and
Wiberg 1995. Almond and Verba (1963) also noted the greater trust in institutions in
Germany, Britain, and the United States, compared with Italy.

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