Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:06:51.724Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is There a Distinct Quebec Media Subsystem in Canada? Evidence of Ideological and Political Orientations among Canadian News Media Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2020

Simon Thibault ,
Frédérick Bastien ,
Tania Gosselin ,
Colette Brin  and
Colin Scott
Simon Thibault*
Affiliation:
Département de science politique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, H3C 3J7
Frédérick Bastien
Affiliation:
Département de science politique, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, H3C 3J7
Tania Gosselin
Affiliation:
Département de science politique, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, H3C 3P8
Colette Brin
Affiliation:
Département d'information et de communication, Université Laval, 1055, avenue du Séminaire, Québec, G1V 0A6
Colin Scott
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, H3A 2T7
*
*Corresponding author. Email: s.thibault@umontreal.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In their much-quoted typology of Western media systems, Hallin and Mancini (2004) associate Canada's media system with what they call the “Liberal model,” given its strong professionalization and limited politicization. They also hypothesize the existence of a more professional and more politicized media subsystem in Quebec. This article tests their hypothesis with data from a 2018 survey of 209 experts across Canada. The findings do not support the hypothesis of a media subsystem in Quebec. However, they show a diversity of ideological and political orientations among news media organizations, which has important empirical and theoretical implications for the study of political communication in Canada.

Résumé

Résumé

Dans leur typologie de systèmes médiatiques en Occident, Hallin et Mancini (2004) associent le système médiatique canadien au « modèle libéral » en raison de sa professionnalisation élevée et de sa faible politisation. Ces auteurs formulent aussi l'hypothèse d'un sous-système médiatique plus professionnalisé et plus politisé au Québec. Les résultats d'une enquête menée auprès de 209 experts canadiens en 2018 n'appuient pas l'hypothèse de l'existence d'un sous-système médiatique au Québec. Cependant, ils révèlent une diversité d'orientations idéologiques et politiques parmi les médias canadiens, ce qui soulève des questions empiriques et théoriques importantes pour l’étude de la communication politique au Canada.

Keywords

Canadian mediaQuebec mediamedia systemmedia politicizationexpert surveymédias au Canadamédias au Québecsystème médiatiquepolitisation des médiasenquête auprès d’experts
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , September 2020 , pp. 638 - 657
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bastien, Frédérick. 2018. “Histoires de campagnes: L’évolution des études sur la communication électorale au Canada.” In Histoires de communication politique, ed. Gingras, Anne-Marie. Quebec: Presses de l'Université du Québec.Google Scholar
Benoit, Kenneth and Laver, Michael. 2006. Party Policy in Modern Democracies. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benson, Rodney. 2002. “The Political/Literary Model of French Journalism: Change and Continuity in Immigration News Coverage, 1973–1991.” Journal of European Area Studies 10 (1): 49–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benson, Rodney. 2013. Shaping Immigration News: A French-American Comparison. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brin, Colette, Charron, Jean and de Bonville, Jean. 2004. Nature et transformation du journalisme: Théorie et recherches empiriques. Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval.Google Scholar
Brüggemann, Michael, Engesser, Sven, Büchel, Florin, Humprecht, Edda and Castro, Laia. 2014. “Hallin and Mancini Revisited: Four Empirical Types of Western Media Systems.” Journal of Communication 64 (6): 1,037–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chakravartty, Paula and Roy, Srirupa. 2013. “Media Pluralism Redux: Towards New Frameworks of Comparative Media Studies ‘Beyond the West.’” Political Communication 30 (3): 349–70.Google Scholar
Chalaby, Jean K. 1996. “Journalism as an Anglo-American Invention: A Comparison of the Development of French and Anglo-American Journalism, 1830s–1920s.” European Journal of Communication 11 (3): 303–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christians, Clifford G., Glasser, Theodore L., McQuail, Denis, Nordenstreng, Kaarle and White, Robert A.. 2009. Normative Theories of the Media: Journalism in Democratic Societies. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Christin, Angèle. 2018. “Counting Clicks: Quantification and Variation in Web Journalism in the United States and France.” American Journal of Sociology 123 (5): 1,382–415.Google Scholar
Curini, Luigi. 2010. “Experts’ Political Preferences and their Impact on Ideological Bias.” Party Politics 16 (3): 299–321.Google Scholar
Demers, François and Le Cam, Florence. 2006. “The Fundamental Role Played by Unionism in the Self-Structuring of the Professional Journalists from Québec.” Canadian Journal of Communication 31 (3): 659–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Desbarats, Peter. 1990. Guide to Canadian News Media. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Frankfort-Nachmias, Chava and Leon-Guerrero, Anna. 2014. Social Statistics for a Diverse Society. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Gagnon, Lysiane. 1981. “Journalism and Ideologies in Quebec.” In The Journalists, vol. 2 of the Royal Commission on Newspapers. Ottawa: Supply and Services.Google Scholar
Gélineau, François and Blais, André. 2015. “Comparing Measures of Campaign Negativity: Expert Judgments, Manifestos, Debates, and Advertisements.” In New Perspectives on Negative Campaigning: Why Attack Politics Matters, ed. Nai, Alessandro and S, Annemarie. Walter. Colchester: ECPR Press.Google Scholar
Gidengil, Elisabeth. 2014. “Setting the Agenda? A Case Study of Newspaper Coverage of the 2006 Canadian Election Campaign.” In Political Communication in Canada: Meet the Press and Tweet the Rest, ed. Marland, Alex, Giasson, Thierry and A, Tamara. Small. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Gómez, Rodrigo. 2016. “Latino Television in the United States and Latin America: Addressing Networks, Dynamics, and Alliances.” International Journal of Communication 10: 2, 811–30.Google Scholar
Hallin, Daniel C. and Mancini, Paolo. 2004. Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hallin, Daniel C. and Mancini, Paolo, ed. 2012. Comparing Media Systems beyond the Western World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hanitzsch, Thomas. 2009. “Comparative Journalism Studies.” In The Handbook of Journalism Studies, ed. Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin and Hanitzsch, Thomas. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hardy, Jonathan. 2008. Western Media Systems. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hazel, Kathryn-Jane. 2001. “The Media and Nationalism in Québec: A Complex Relationship.” Journalism Studies 2 (1): 93–107.Google Scholar
Hooghe, Liesbet, Bakker, Ryan, Brigevich, Anna, De Vries, Catherine, Edwards, Erica, Marks, Gary, Rovny, Jan, Steenbergen, Marco and Vachudova, Milada. 2010. “Reliability and Validity of the 2002 and 2006 Chapel Hill Expert Surveys on Party Positioning.” European Journal of Political Research 49 (5): 687–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, John and Inglehart, Ronald. 1995. “Expert Interpretations of Party Space and Party Locations in 42 Societies.” Party Politics 1 (1): 73–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakubowicz, Karol and Sükösd, Miklós, eds. 2008. Finding the Right Place on the Map: Central and Eastern European Media Change in a Global Perspective. Chicago: Intellect.Google Scholar
Lindstädt, René, Proksch, Sven-Oliver and Slapin, Jonathan B.. 2018. “When Experts Disagree: Response Aggregation and Its Consequences in Expert Surveys.” Political Science Research and Methods, 1–9. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/psrm.2018.52.Google Scholar
Nechushtai, Efrat. 2018. “From Liberal to Polarized Liberal? Contemporary U.S. News in Hallin and Mancini's Typology of News Systems.” International Journal of Press/Politics 23 (2): 183–201.Google Scholar
Nerone, John C., ed. 1995. Last Rights: Revisiting Four Theories of the Press. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa. 2009. “Comparative Political Communications: Common Frameworks or Babelian Confusion?” Government and Opposition 44 (3): 321–40.Google Scholar
O'Malley, Eoin. 2007. “The Power of Prime Ministers: Results of an Expert Survey.” International Political Science Review 28 (1): 7–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, Thomas E. 2007. “Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics, by Daniel C. Hallin and Paolo Mancini.” Political Communication 24 (3): 329–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pfetsch, Barbara, Mayerhöffer, Eva and Moring, Tom. 2014. “National or Professional? Types of Political Communication Culture across Europe.” In Political Communication Cultures in Europe, ed. Pfetsch, Barbara. New York: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Popescu, Marina (with Gabor Toka, Tania Gosselin and Jose Santana Pereira). 2011. “European Media Systems Survey 2010: Results and Documentation.” Research Report. Colchester, UK: Department of Government. University of Essex. www.mediasystemsineurope.org (February 28, 2020).Google Scholar
Powers, Matthew and Vera Zambrano, Sandra. 2016. “Explaining the Formation of Online News Startups in France and the United States: A Field Analysis.” Journal of Communication 66 (5): 857–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pritchard, David, Brewer, Paul R. and Sauvageau, Florian. 2005. “Changes in Canadian Journalists’ Views about the Social and Political Roles of the News Media: A Panel Study, 1996–2003.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 38 (2): 287–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pritchard, David and Sauvageau, Florian. 1999. Les journalistes canadiens: Un portrait de fin de siècle. Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval.Google Scholar
Puppis, Manuel. 2009. “Media Regulation in Small States.” International Communication Gazette 71 (1–2): 7–17.Google Scholar
Robinson, Gertrude J. 1998. Constructing the Quebec Referendum: French and English Media Voices. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rollwagen, Heather, Shapiro, Ivor, Bonin-Labelle, Geneviève, Fitzgerald, Lindsay and Tremblay, Lauriane. 2019. “Just Who Do Canadian Journalists Think They Are? Political Role Conceptions in Global and Historical Perspective.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 52 (3): 461–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saint-Jean, Armande. 1998. “Journalistic Ethics and Referendum Coverage in Montreal.” In Constructing the Quebec Referendum: French and English Media Voices, ed. J, Gertrude. Robinson. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Saurette, Paul and Gunster, Shane. 2011. “Ears Wide Shut: Epistemological Populism, Argutainment and Canadian Conservative Talk Radio.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 44 (1): 195–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sauvageau, Florian, Schneiderman, David and Taras, David. 2006. La Cour suprême du Canada et les médias: À qui le dernier mot? Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval.Google Scholar
Seethaler, Josef. 2017. “Media Systems Theory.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Communication, ed. Moy, Patricia. New York: Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0185.xml (February 28, 2020).Google Scholar
Siebert, Fred S., Peterson, Theodore and Schramm, Wilbur. 1956. Four Theories of the Press. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Siegel, Arthur. 1996. Politics and the Media in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.Google Scholar
Skaaning, Svend-Erik. 2017. The Global State of Democracy Indices Methodology: Conceptualization and Measurement Framework. Stockholm: International IDEA.Google Scholar
Soderlund, Walter C., Brin, Colette, Miljan, Lydia and Hildebrandt, Kai. 2012. Cross-Media Ownership and Democratic Practice in Canada: Content-Sharing and the Impact of New Media. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.Google Scholar
Soroka, Stuart N. 2002. Agenda-Setting Dynamics in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Transparency International. 2019. Corruption Perceptions Index 2018. https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/corruption_perceptions_index_2018 (February 28, 2020).Google Scholar
Vincent, Diane, Turbide, Olivier and Laforest, Marty. 2008. La radio X, les médias et les citoyens: Dénigrement et confrontation sociale. Quebec: Éditions Nota Bene.Google Scholar
Voltmer, Katrin. 2013. The Media in Transitional Democracies. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
Williams, Bruce A. and Delli Carpini, Michael X.. 2011. After Broadcast News: Media Regimes, Democracy, and the New Information Environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, Nathan and Dugas, Eric. 2012. “Comparing Climate Change Coverage in Canadian English- and French-Language Print Media: Environmental Values, Media Cultures, and the Narration of Global Warming.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 37 (1): 25–54.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Thibault et al. supplementary material

Thibault et al. supplementary material

Download Thibault et al. supplementary material(File)
File 804.1 KB