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Articles

Vol. 5 No. 2: Fall 2012

Changing political attitudes towards media accountability in Sweden

  • Torbjörn von Krogh
Submitted
April 1, 2013
Published
2013-04-01

Abstract

 

Considering the changes in media and in society that have occurred since the heyday of the Democratic Corporatist Model, with its strong emphasis on institutionalized self-regulation of the press Hallin & Mancini, 2004, this article examines changes in attitudes towards media accountability measures among policymakers. Attitudes prevalent in the peak years of political pressure on the media system in the Democratic Corporatist countries are compared with the attitudes existing today. The data studied are printed minutes of media debates in the Swedish Parliament in the 1960s and similar debates in recent years, Sweden being a typical country for the model. The comparison indicates that both the views on media deficiencies and the views on remedies have changed over the last 40 years. Accountability measures are still in demand, although more through governance than from government.