Page 155 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Global Political Communication

is suggested, is that the free press plays an important role in promoting
the voice of disadvantaged groups in the policy-making process and
strengthening the accountability of governments to citizens. Liberal the-
ories, which focus only on the conditions of independent journalism
without taking account of the problems of restricted access, tell only one
half of the story.
Moregenerally,theglobalcomparativeapproachadoptedbythisstudy
suggests that we can go beyond more limited case studies of particular
countries, or research that contrasts media systems among a few coun-
tries within a particular region or continent. Clearly there is a need for
complementarymultimethodresearchdesigns,whichbenefitfromcom-
biningthestrengthsandweaknessesofanysingleapproach.Forexample,
it is difficult to go beyond the simple correlations examined here to es-
tablish patterns of causality that could be explored by detailed historical
case studies. Other approaches such as interviews with media and policy
elites would provide alternative insights into this process, such as how
far journalists see their role as watchdogs. Systematic content analysis
could reveal patterns of news coverage, for example reporting incidents
of abuse of government power or cases of corruption. Surveys could
shed light on audience patterns of use and the impact of news coverage
on political attitudes and values. No single method is wholly satisfactory.
NeverthelesstheendoftheColdWaranddramaticchangesinhumande-
velopment in recent decades have broken down the old tripartite distinc-
tions between postindustrial, postcommunist, and developing societies,
as well as between established democracies, consolidating democracies,
and nondemocracies. The process of globalization and the rise of new
information technologies have similarly transformed the subject. We
are commonly still stuck in the rut of studying the mass media within
particular nation-states, when some of the most electric transformative
movementsfalloutsidetheseboundaries(Norris2002).Studiesofpoliti-
cal communication need to revise and retool our conceptual frameworks
to reflect these developments. A broad-brush comparative framework
utilizing aggregate data in many different nations around the world,
mapping media systems, is one more research strategy that should be
added to our comparative toolbox.

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