Media systems in transition: Poland, Russia, China
Sparks, C. 2008. Media systems in transition: Poland, Russia, China. Chinese Journal of Communication. 1 (1), pp. 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750701861871
Sparks, C. 2008. Media systems in transition: Poland, Russia, China. Chinese Journal of Communication. 1 (1), pp. 7-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750701861871
| Title | Media systems in transition: Poland, Russia, China |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sparks, C. |
| Abstract | This article discusses the transformation of the media system in three countries moving away from the classical “communist” model: Poland, Russia and China. Despite very significant differences, all three of these societies displayed similar starting points in terms of economics, politics and media. The dominant political science tradition has discussed post-communism as part of a more general theory of “transitology”, seeing the processes involved in these cases as examples of a world-wide transition from dictatorial regimes towards western-style democracy. An alternative is to see the shift away from communism as an example of “elite continuity”, in which the former bureaucratic ruling class attempts to restructure itself as the owners of private capital. The article tests the two theoretical views in these three cases. It is demonstrated that transitology gives very little insight into the prevailing situations, and that the theory of elite continuity accounts much better for major features of the media systems. |
| Journal | Chinese Journal of Communication |
| Journal citation | 1 (1), pp. 7-24 |
| ISSN | 1754-4750 |
| Year | 2008 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750701861871 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 2008 |