Rude Awakening Social and Media Change in Central and Eastern Europe
- 1 January 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Javnost - The Public
- Vol. 8 (4), 59-80
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2001.11008786
Abstract
This article reviews the transformation in society and the media in the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Adopting a “path dependence approach,” the different countries of the region are analysed and allocated to two general categories, depending upon the nature and extent of the changes that have taken place in society and the media. The first group of countries (called here “Type A”) have advanced relatively far along the road to transformation. Examples would be Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and Estonia. The second group (called here “Type B”) retain much more of the old order. Examples would be Russia and some of the other republics that have issued from the collapse of the old Soviet Union. A range of theories of media change are reviewed, and their prognoses for the development of the media after the fall of communism are tested against the subsequent developments. It is argued that the media in both Type A and Type B countries remain highly politicised, particularly in the case of broadcasting, and with limited independence from the political elite. Journalism, too, remains paternal and didactic, partly as a result of the historical position of intellectuals in the region. While there are important differences between Type A and Type B countries, neither represents a stable and finished model of transformation. In neither case, are the media the passive victims of social forces. On the contrary, their shortcomings help to reproduce the limits of the overall transformation process.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- MEDIA IN TRANSITIONPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2010
- Democratic Transformation and the Mass Media in Hungary: From Stalinism to Democratic ConsolidationPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2000
- Institutional Incapacity, the Attentive Public, and Media Pluralism in RussiaPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2000
- Media automony, diversity vs unity and the state in transition: the Belorus experienceCommunicatio, 1996
- Between censorship and commercialization. Structural changes in the public sphere in Eastern EuropeRéseaux. The French journal of communication, 1995
- The Hungarian Media's War of Independence: A Stevenson Lecture, 1992Media, Culture & Society, 1994
- Media Performance: Mass Communication and the Public InterestCanadian Journal of Communication, 1993
- `Solidarity' and Media Reform in PolandEuropean Journal of Communication, 1990