Stylianos Papathanassopoulos

The “Americanization” of Political Communication A Critique

This article examines the notion of the “Americanization” of political and campaign communication. Beginning with the literature on the evolution of political communication practices in the United States and their adoption in other political systems, We explore the significance of the seeming convergence of practices and the implications for future patterns of political communication and sociopolitical development. Finally, we seek to link the notion of the Americanization of politics with a discussion of the “modernization” of societies.

The Politics and the Effects of the Deregulation of Greek Television

Broadcasting has been a source of controversy in Greece since its beginning. It is not surprising that the deregulation of the broadcasting sector has been closely associated with politics rather than a well-organized plan according to the needs of the industry. The speed with which private broadcasters have moved into the broadcasting arena has been impressive, while politicians seem unwilling (or unable) to bring order to the sector. This article attempts to review and analyse the politics of deregulation of Greek broadcasting and the side-effects of an undisciplined television environment.

Turkey and the European Union An Analysis of How the Press in Four Countries Covered Turkey's Bid for Accession in 2004

A B S T R A C T ■ This article examines how the press in four countries — three EU members (France, Britain, Greece) and Turkey — covered the run-up to the discussions surrounding Turkeys bid to become a member of the European Union in October and December 2004. Given contemporary debates about the nature of Europe and European identity, the prospect of Turkey — a large, poor, Muslim country — joining the EU was likely to generate much discussion. The data show important differences in the coverage from one country to the next, with some countries reflecting significant concerns about differences between Europe and Turkey and others much less so. Overall, many of the differences in coverage that were found in the analysis could be attributed to the ways in which the press in different countries reflected domestic political, cultural and historical considerations. Such differences, it is argued, may not be surprising given the complexity of the subject matter and need not necessarily be seen as antithetical to the construction of a European public sphere or a European identity. ■

Media and Nationalism: The Macedonian Question

As divisive political ideologies in the era of globalizatin, contemporary nationalisms differ considerably from the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century nationalisms. They are fueled by the worldwide antinomy between the global and the local. Because nationalism is rooted deeply in different political cultures, nationalist biases affect the way journalists and media organizations select and present news stories about national collective identities and the national “others.” However, it is legitimate to expect that supranational developments will redirect selection criteria of news coverage toward a less parochial and more responsible attitude on the part of the press. In this article, an effort is made to examine the positions of fourteen leading Greek newspapers, taking as a point of departure an earlier study on the Macedonian question and expanding it to include the interim accord between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is argued that in comparison to the past, we see an important alteration of the normative framing of the articles, from an ethnocentric to a polycentric approach. However, an analysis of the results also demonstrates that this shift does not reflect a deeper and permanent change in the nationalistic attitude of the Greek newspapers on the Macedonian question.

Turkey and the European union: An analysis of how the press in four countries covered Turkey's bid for accession in 2004

A B S T R A C T ■ This article examines how the press in four countries — three EU members (France, Britain, Greece) and Turkey — covered the run-up to the discussions surrounding Turkeys bid to become a member of the European Union in October and December 2004. Given contemporary debates about the nature of Europe and European identity, the prospect of Turkey — a large, poor, Muslim country — joining the EU was likely to generate much discussion. The data show important differences in the coverage from one country to the next, with some countries reflecting significant concerns about differences between Europe and Turkey and others much less so. Overall, many of the differences in coverage that were found in the analysis could be attributed to the ways in which the press in different countries reflected domestic political, cultural and historical considerations. Such differences, it is argued, may not be surprising given the complexity of the subject matter and need not necessarily be seen as antithetical to the construction of a European public sphere or a European identity. ■

Turkey and the European Union

A B S T R A C T ■ This article examines how the press in four countries — three EU members (France, Britain, Greece) and Turkey — covered the run-up to the discussions surrounding Turkeys bid to become a member of the European Union in October and December 2004. Given contemporary debates about the nature of Europe and European identity, the prospect of Turkey — a large, poor, Muslim country — joining the EU was likely to generate much discussion. The data show important differences in the coverage from one country to the next, with some countries reflecting significant concerns about differences between Europe and Turkey and others much less so. Overall, many of the differences in coverage that were found in the analysis could be attributed to the ways in which the press in different countries reflected domestic political, cultural and historical considerations. Such differences, it is argued, may not be surprising given the complexity of the subject matter and need not necessarily be seen as antithetical to the construction of a European public sphere or a European identity. ■