The Hybridization of Journalistic Cultures: A Comparative Study of Journalistic Role Performance

TLDR

Comparative media system research identifies distinct journalistic culture models for advanced democracies, yet revisionist studies highlight their limitations and the hybridization of cultures in other contexts. This article tests the hybridization thesis. The authors analyze the presence of six journalistic roles in print news from 19 countries, totaling 34,514 articles. The study reveals multilayered hybridization of journalistic roles across advanced, transitional, and nondemocratic countries, contradicting existing media system typologies and suggesting new directions for future research.

Abstract

Influential research on comparative media systems identifies distinctive models according to which certain countries—particularly advanced democracies—share key features in their journalistic cultures. Revisionist literature has not only emphasized the limitations of such models, but also highlighted the hybridization of journalistic cultures elsewhere. This article tests the hybridization thesis, analyzing the presence of six journalistic roles in print news from 19 countries (N = 34,514). Our findings show patterns of multilayered hybridization in the performance of professional roles across and within advanced, transitional, and nondemocratic countries, with journalistic cultures displaying different types of hybridity that do not resemble either existing ideal media system typologies or conventional assumptions about political or regional clusters. The implications of these findings for future studies are discussed.