<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Since Janez Janša’s government has been installed, not a day has gone by that the ruling coalition party, SDS (the Slovenian Democratic Party), has not been accused of undermining the freedom of media or threatening media pluralism. Sometimes, critics go even further in condemning Janša as wilfully subordinating media to politics. Regarding subordination, independent media studies from 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and lastly 2020 haveclearly indicated that the media in Slovenia are to a certain extent already under the influence of politics, namely those close to the left circles. Whilst scientific conclusions prove the fact that changes in media legislation are more than needed, the question that arises is whether the proposers are looking at the concept of media pluralism from the right perspective. Leaning on the most recent Media landscape research, this article stands out from the rest as it draws parallels with the state of political pluralism, demonstrating how partial and imbalanced covering of news could lead to the domination of one political spectrum. Further, we do a historical review of the right-wing media policy and bring to light those aspects that have undergone the sharpest criticism when it comes to media pluralism. In addition, new ideas for future research are discussed.</p>
</abstract>

Since Janez Janša’s government has been installed, not a day has gone by that the ruling coalition party, SDS (the Slovenian Democratic Party), has not been accused of undermining the freedom of media or threatening media pluralism. Sometimes, critics go even further in condemning Janša as wilfully subordinating media to politics. Regarding subordination, independent media studies from 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008 and lastly 2020 haveclearly indicated that the media in Slovenia are to a certain extent already under the influence of politics, namely those close to the left circles. Whilst scientific conclusions prove the fact that changes in media legislation are more than needed, the question that arises is whether the proposers are looking at the concept of media pluralism from the right perspective. Leaning on the most recent Media landscape research, this article stands out from the rest as it draws parallels with the state of political pluralism, demonstrating how partial and imbalanced covering of news could lead to the domination of one political spectrum. Further, we do a historical review of the right-wing media policy and bring to light those aspects that have undergone the sharpest criticism when it comes to media pluralism. In addition, new ideas for future research are discussed.

Fight For Media Pluralism Or Just “JanŠA’S War On Media”?

Research in Social Change

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Fight For Media Pluralism Or Just \u201cJanŠA\u2019S War On Media\u201d?"}

Since Janez Janša’s government has been installed, not a day has gone by that the ruling coalition party, SDS (the Slovenian Democratic Party), has not been...

Fight For Media Pluralism Or Just “JanŠA’S War On Media”?

Article Category: Original Scientific Article

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 59 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rsc-2021-0009

Keywords
plurality, democracy, media, media pluralism, political pluralism, political elites, right-wing politics, media landscape, media legislation

© 2021 Rok Bratina., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fight For Media Pluralism Or Just “JanŠA’S War On Media”?

Article Category: Original Scientific Article

Published Online: Dec 30, 2021

Page range: 59 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rsc-2021-0009

Keywordsplurality, democracy, media, media pluralism, political pluralism, political elites, right-wing politics, media landscape, media legislation

© 2021 Rok Bratina., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
plurality, democracy, media, media pluralism, political pluralism, political elites, right-wing politics, media landscape, media legislation