Contextualizing media behavior: Media environments and individuals’ media use in the European Union

• Authors: Loveless Matthew
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Individuals in “freer” media environments are assumed to have better choices among media and are thus able to make better and more effi cient use of media. Using the European Parliamentary Elections of 2009 as a highly visible political event, we fi nd that, as expected, individuals use media to satisfy informational needs about the elections in highly “free” media environments (Hallin & Mancini, 2004). In addition, we fi nd strong prima facie evidence that in “less free” media environments — distinguished by the strong alignment of parties, social and political cleavages, and media outlets — individuals also respond with higher information-seeking media behavior. For comparative media studies, by linking specifi c media environments to specifi c individual-level media behaviors, where media is used tells us more about how media is used.

Keywords

EN

media; political communication; European Union; political behavior; media effects; democracy

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Komunikacji Społecznej
• Journal: Central European Journal of Communication
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 1(14)

Contributors

author

Loveless Matthew