Includes bibliographical references (p. 449-485) and index.

The media in democratic and nondemocratic regimes, a multilevel perspective / Anthony Mughan and Richard Gunther -- The media and politics in Spain, from dictatorship to democracy / Richard Gunther, Jose Ramon Montero, and Jose Ignacio Wert -- Institutional incapacity, the attentive public, and media pluralism in Russia / Ellen Mickiewicz -- Democratic transformation and the mass media in Hungary, from Stalinism to democratic consolidation / Miklos Sèukèosd -- The modernization of communications, the media in the transition to democracy in Chile / Eugenio Tironi and Guillermo Sunkel -- Media influence in the Italian transition from a consensual to a majoritarian democrarcy / Carlo Marletti and Franca Roncarolo -- The United States, news in a free-market society / Thomas E. Patterson -- Japan, news and politics in a media-saturated democracy / Ellis S. Krauss -- The Netherlands, media and politics between segmented pluralism and market forces / Cees van der Eijk -- Great Britain, the end of news at ten and the changing news environment / Holli A. Semetko -- Germany, a society and a media system in transition / Max Kaase -- The political impact of the media, a reassessment / Richard Gunther and Anthony Mughan.