Political stability and subnational media systems: Comparing Bahia and the Federal District (Brazil)

Abstract

In this article, we argue that the degree of political stability is a critical element in the evolution of media systems. In our view, it is the causal mechanism allowing for the political parallelism of media systems. We argue that political stability has three main effects on media systems: it consolidates the operating principles and mechanisms of the public sphere; it gives clear and self-assumed political identities to media actors; and it allows for the establishment of predictable, long-term professional relationships within the media system as well as between journalists and their sources. To test this hypothesis, we compare Bahia and the Federal District, two Brazilian subnational units that differ essentially by the degree of political stability they experienced between 2003 and 2018.