The relationship (if any) between media systems and European codes of ethics

Abstract

Daniel Hallin and Paolo Mancini, in Comparing Media Systems (2004), identify three models of media systems. They come up with the Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model, the North/Central European or Democratic Corporatist Model and the North Atlantic or Liberal Model. Each model is based in a particular geographical region and has different media characteristics and a distinctive political system. This study explores whether there is a relationship between media systems and journalistic ethical codes. The study's goal is therefore to show the link, if any, between Hallin & Mancinj's Mediterranean and North/Central model and their relative codes of ethics to see if the division of media systems is also reflected in the countries' codes of ethics. Content analysis was the method used to analyse the codes of ethics. These were compared and contrasted in order to find similarities between codes in each model.