World Media Systems

Getting Started | A Country's Press/Media | Country Information (Political, Social, Economic)
Where To Find International News Sources | Television News From Around the World
Videos on a Country's Mass Media

Getting Started

Do you have an assignment that requires you to compare or better understand the media — like newspaper, television, or radio — system and structure within a country? This guide is divided into sections that will help you to locate the best sources for beginning just this kind of project.

Although all sources are organized by country, the sources in the first section focus primarily on the media and media systems within the country, while the second section focuses on the country and its political, economic, and social structure. Together, these sections will allow you to apply the basic theories of media systems to your specific country and the media you have chosen.

A variety of sources are included, like: web sites, print sources available in the University Libraries, and news databases provided by the University Libraries. If you need help locating a specific type of information or media source either on the Internet or in the library, please ask for additional help in the News & Microforms Library (Ground Floor, Pattee Library, West) or the Social Sciences Library (2nd Floor, Paterno Library). The staff and librarians in both libraries will be able to provide additional recommendations to help you with your specific assignment.

Please note: Selected Internet resources in this guide will only be accessible to Penn State University students and researchers with a Penn State Access Account. This guide is recommended for use by students in:

• COMM 410 : International Mass Communication
• COMM 419 or Comm 419H : World Media Systems-Sources and Resources
• COMM 510 : Comparative Theories of Press Systems

For a more comprehensive list of resources that compare media by country, take a look at Sources for Media Comparisons by Country. For additional help with any of these resources, or to schedule an appointment, please contact Debora Cheney, Foster Communications Librarian and Head, News & Microforms Library, 814-863-1345.

A Country's Press/Media

• Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications
  • Search by subject or country
  • Country overview includes political structure, media ownership
  • Limited statistics available
• Freedom of the Press : A Global Survey of Media Independence
  • Annual short reports on the state of press freedom in 193 countries
  • Map of Press Freedom
  • Legal, political, and economic environment analyzed for each country; numerical scores assigned to each of these indicators with high scores indicating limited or no press freedom
• World Press Trends
  • Considered "the primary and most authoritative source of data on the newspaper industry world-wide"
  • Free chapter downloads available for Brazil, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, and Kenya
• World Press Encyclopedia
  
  • Overview of the press by country
  • Information on political and economic framework, press laws and censorship
• International Press Institute's World Press Freedom Review
  • Global organization with members in 120 countries; promotes and defends press freedom
  • Media law watchdog
  • Good source for articles on issues concerning journalism from many regions around the world

Specific Country Information

• Political Handbook of the World
  Overview of the political system and situation in countries around the world
• Europa World Yearbook
  Snapshots of the political, economic, and social conditions of countries worldwide
• CIA World Fact Book
  Very brief, current information including a few basic statistics, on countries of the world
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations
  Each country chapter includes an overview of the media
• Country Profiles (BBC)
  Each profile includes a section on the media

For additional information about countries, see these guides provided by the Social Sciences Library: Country Information and Data Sources, Country Analysis Guide, and International Relations.

Where To Find International News Sources

All international news sources are available via the Libraries' Databases by Title (A-Z List): News Sources

• NewsStand e-edition Library (Newsbank : Electronic Image Newspapers)
  Read, browse, and search issues of Al-Hayat, Die Welt, El Pais, Le Monde, and Stern.
• PressDisplay : Electronic Image Newspapers
  • Access to 200 daily newspapers from many countries
  • A 60-day searchable archive
• LexisNexis Academic
  • News coverage from U.S. and international publications
  • Search topic to find stories, op-ed articles, and more from English-language newspapers around the globe
  • Useful tool to compare how news events are covered by different media outlets
  • Some news cotentis selected vs. full coverage
• World News Connection
  Provides translations of latest international headlines
• Russian Newspapers (Digital Archive)
  • Full-text files of over 40 Russian newspapers including some in English, for example, the Moscow Times
  • Includes official government sources (ITAR-TASS, Rossiiskaia gazeta, Krasnaia zvezda), independent media and partisan publications
  • Archives more than 20 additional Russian newspapers

Use Newspapers from Other Countries to determine what print newspapers are available in the News & Microforms Library on the Ground Floor of West Pattee Library. The News & Microforms Library is also an excellent source for suggestions about additional newspaper databases.

Television News from Around the World

The News & Microforms Library provides international television news programming from around the world! Visit this area and ask for the latest television schedule of news programming. For more information visit the Television News Viewing Area.

Videos on a Country's Mass Media

Divided by language : India's newspapers
"Divided by Language reports on the newspaper in India and examines its role in India's democracy and multicultural, multilingual society. [...] The film also details a unique feature of India's press: newspapers published in the country's many languages are attentive to local and regional issues and concerns while English language papers cater to a pan-Indian, national readership." [National Film Netowrk]

Brazil Revealed
"Discover Brazil through the eyes of its people and explore the surrounding beaches, jungles and landscaping mountains that make this land so vibrant. Witness the roles that history, geography, culture, religion and the natural environment have played in shaping one of the most fascinating countries in the world. From a government worker who dreams of performing the samba at Carnaval, to a young man whose life is capoeira, to a river trader whose livelihood depends on the Amazon, and a maid determined to win the biggest amateur soccer tournament in the world, meet some of the individuals who personify the energy and intensity of this tropical South American paradise. Using the latest HD camera technology coupled with movie-caliber cinematography and effects, hear the stories of several Brazilians whose lives sum up the essence of Brazil and epitomize its people's natural habit of "seizing the moment." [Discovery Channel Canada]