A holey web: the European network of news flows - a network analysis

This study investigates the structure of the European network of newsflows. According to recent literature in the field, the horizontal integration of national public spheres is a constitutive element of a European public sphere. Based on a sample of news items in 25 countries, we present a comprehensive depiction of the mutual coverage of member states in the EU by applying network analysis. The results show that the network of newsflows is shaped by the economical and political power of the involved countries as well as by their cultural and historic proximity. Moreover, we identify two structural gaps: Smaller countries are generally marginalized and there is a clear division into an Eastern and a Western European public sphere. The duration of the membership of a country in the EU, however, has a positive effect on its integration in the network. In contrast to other recent studies in the field we find little evidence of the existence of a coherent European public sphere.