Abstract
This edited collection seeks to reflect on the state of media and democracy in Central and Eastern Europe a quarter of century after the end of the Cold War. In what ways have the media in the region contributed to or obstructed the establishment of liberal democracies, and how have these developments been affected by the shifts and differences in the political and economic environments, as well as by the rise of new communication technologies? To answer these questions, the editors open the volume by outlining four models of media and politics relationships in Central and Eastern Europe, inspired by the typology proposed by Hallin and Mancini (2004) to categorise Western European and North American media systems. Their typology comprises four system types: the Hybrid Liberal, the Politicized Media, the Media in Transition and Authoritarian. This contribution is followed by a series of chapters that elaborate on specific aspects of the media-politics dynamics in the region, ranging from the importance of culture in media developments (Balčytienė) to a comparative analysis of journalistic cultures (Weaver). The second part of the book shifts attention to the impact on new communication technologies and includes contributions looking at issues such as the uses of the social media in Czech news production (Štětka and Hladík), the Facebook images of social protests in Bulgaria (Tomov and Raycheva) and the use of online media by civic initiatives in Serbia (Kleut and Spasojević). The book as a whole, and especially the typology proposed by the editors, makes an important contribution to the research on Central and Eastern European media and deserves to be read by anyone interested in European media systems.