Page 42 - Comparing Media Systems THREE MODELS OF MEDIA AND POLITICS

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Concepts and Models

Table 2.2 Gender Differences in Newspaper Reach, 2000

Men Women Male/Female
Portugal 58.3 24.1 2.41
Spain 47 26.2 1.79
Italy ∗∗ 50.2 29.8 1.68
Greece 22.5 17.2 1.31
Belgium 57.9 47.5 1.21
Canada 64.6 54.9 1.17
Netherlands 70.8 60.7 1.16
United States 59 52 1.13
Switzerland 78 72 1.08
Austria 78.4 73.2 1.07
France 34.3 32 1.07
United Kingdom ∗ 84 79 1.06
Denmark 76.1 72.1 1.06
Ireland 59 56 1.05
Finland 87 84 1.04
Norway 87 85 1.02
Sweden 89 88 1.01

Source: World Association of Newspapers, World Press Trends.
National dailies only.
∗
∗∗
1999.
The differential development of mass circulation newspapers is nat-
urally accompanied by differences in the relative roles of print and elec-
tronicmedia.Incountrieswheremasscirculationnewspapersareabsent,
the mass public relies heavily on electronic media for information about
political affairs. Table 2.3 shows the relative importance of newspapers
and television as sources of news (notice that the audience for television
varies much less than the audience for newspapers).
OTHER ASPECTS OF MEDIA MARKET STRUCTURE. We place particular em-
phasis in this book on the wide differences in newspaper readership.
Thesedifferenceshavedeephistoricalroots.Sofarasweknownocountry
that did not develop mass circulation newspapers in the late nineteenth
to early twentieth century has ever subsequently developed them, even if
its levels of literacy and pattern of political and economic development
have converged with those of the high-circulation countries. And we will
argue that the presence or absence of a mass circulation press has deep
implications for the development of the media as political institutions.

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