News media quality

Overview & Synopsis

News media quality is an indispensable precondition of democracy. However, investigating news media quality is not easy. The challenge lies in the fact that news media quality is a normatively loaded, multidimensional, relational concept that changes depending on time and space. This entry provides insights into some cornerstones of research that examines news media quality, explaining the difficulties involved in defining news media quality; the reason a common, fixed definition will never be established; and factors that influence our understanding of news media quality. Depending on the normative reference point (e.g., different traditions of democratic theories), the definition and operationalization of news media quality will differ. This entry sheds light on the difference between the content perspective of news media quality and the audience perspective and highlights the importance of making the normative standpoint employed transparent when investigating news media quality.