Media use and confidence in institutions : a comparative analysis of Hallin and Mancini's three models

In Comparing Media Systems (2004), Hallin and Mancini identify three models of media systems: the Mediterranean, Corporatist and Atlantic models. They distinguish them according to newspaper circulation, political parallelism, levels of professionalisation and role of the state in the media system. This article extends their analysis by interpreting the media systems in terms of confidence in institutions. How does the use of media affect institutional support? Using the Eurobarometer dataset integrated with data on media consumption (newspaper circulation and television viewership), this article explores the relationship between the media and institutional trust. Overall, the results obtained from multivariate analysis reinforce Hallin and Mancini’s theoretical approach. The research also reveals that media’s influence on the level of citizens’ confidence in institutions has a positive effect – in contrast to the opinion that media increase distrust in institutions.