In Press We Trust? A Comparative Study of Three European Press Systems

For the vast majority of the citizens in today’s advanced democracies, the media, in particular traditional media, represent the only window that can be opened daily into current public and political debates. In fact, a very small fraction of the population is actually able to experience politics directly. Consequently, it becomes crucial that those means – the media – that are assigned to keep citizens informed about politicians’ management of public affairs obtain a sufficiently higher degree of trust from citizens. By comparing three press systems in the UK, Germany, and Italy, this manuscript aims to expose and explain the types of connections that can be established between the structural features of modern European press systems and the degree of trust in how the press performs. More specifically, particular attention is paid to the links between people’s attitudes and the degree of pluralism achieved within the print media sector in fast evolving media environments.