As journalism goes...so goes the nation
Ashley Stewart
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Journalism
THE WORLD'S DEMOCRACIES AND THEIR PRESS
In 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit survey the world's top democracies. Here is a look at the relation between the highest ranked countries and their media consumption.
1 Sweden 420
2 Iceland 322.25
3 Netherlands 279.48
4 Norway 569.01
17 United States 196.3
As Americans, we assume we live in an ideal democracy.
We think of the American Dream and the vast number of immigrants who have come to our country to pursue it. As it happens, the United States is not the most democratic country in the world. It is, in fact, far from it.
In the Economist Intelligence Unit's survey, the United States ranked 17th among the world's top democratic nations. The survey was based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of governments, political participation and political culture.
The United States had an overall score of 8.22 out of 10; that's a B- for America. The chart above shows a distinct parallel between the top democratic countries and the abundance of their press.
In 2005, the total amount of daily newspapers in the United States amounted to 196.3 per 1000 people, ranking the US press system far behind the others. This number has since drastically declined.
If, as Americans, we are unable to restore that which helps our democracy to prosper, "America the Beautiful" will lose face.
In 2006, the Economist Intelligence Unit survey the world's top democracies. Here is a look at the relation between the highest ranked countries and their media consumption.
1 Sweden 420
2 Iceland 322.25
3 Netherlands 279.48
4 Norway 569.01
17 United States 196.3
As Americans, we assume we live in an ideal democracy.
We think of the American Dream and the vast number of immigrants who have come to our country to pursue it. As it happens, the United States is not the most democratic country in the world. It is, in fact, far from it.
In the Economist Intelligence Unit's survey, the United States ranked 17th among the world's top democratic nations. The survey was based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of governments, political participation and political culture.
The United States had an overall score of 8.22 out of 10; that's a B- for America. The chart above shows a distinct parallel between the top democratic countries and the abundance of their press.
In 2005, the total amount of daily newspapers in the United States amounted to 196.3 per 1000 people, ranking the US press system far behind the others. This number has since drastically declined.
If, as Americans, we are unable to restore that which helps our democracy to prosper, "America the Beautiful" will lose face.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
JD
posted 3/01/10 @ 7:49 PM PST
Very interesting information-good work.
Dan DeMay
posted 5/26/10 @ 1:52 PM PST
This is interesting indeed. I've been working all year on a research project detailing the relationship between political culture and the press in the U. (Continued…)
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