Classical theories of media systems: relevance for the contemporary research

Abstract

The results of a comparative analysis of classifications of media systems developed by foreign researchers in the 20th-21st centuries are presented. Particular attention is paid to the criteria, determinants and comparison parameters that were used in different classifications to identify common characteristics of media systems in different countries. The empirical base of the study includes both popular and little-known authors in the Russian scientific literature, but widely cited in foreign studies, who have formed original classification structures. The basis for the choice of concepts and classifications were the results of the analysis of research and educational programs of Russian and foreign universities, the historical sequence of scientific papers, logical connection with predecessors and followers, contribution to the scientific literature on the theory of journalism and high citation in modern media studies. The main criterion for the selection of the most popular classifications became a citation analysis of foreign researchers’ scientific publications on this topic in the scientometric system Google Scholar that accumulates scientific works from different countries, as well as statistics of Yandex. It is concluded that the main characteristics of media systems, as well as the criteria and parameters used in the most famous classifications (the second half of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century), remain relevant and can be adapted to the analysis of the modern media sphere.