Transformations of television systems: Implications for media content, political parties and political attitudes

This thesis investigates the transformation of West-European television systems since the onset of the liberalisation process through a systematic comparison of 17 television systems between 1980 and 2008. The transformation of West-European television systems is analysed through a dualistic approach by analyzing the changes in media structures along the related, but distinct dimensions of audience fragmentation and dependency on commercial income. The thesis investigates the consequences of these transformations for political content, political competition and political attitudes. The analysis shows that these transformations have increased sensationalism in news coverage. While audience fragmentation compels political parties to pay more attention to the immigration issue in comparison to other issues, this fragmentation compels them to differentiate themselves rather than to imitate the issue owner. Contrary to common expectations, the analysis also shows that increased audience fragmentation and dependency on commercial revenues in television systems are associated to higher instead of lower political trust.