Sensationalism in news coverage: A comparative study in 14 television systems

Using a sample of 14 television systems and 29 television stations, we investigate the effect of two media systems dimensions on sensational news coverage: the television system dependency on commercial revenues and audience fragmentation. At the aggregate level, both audience fragmentation and the dependence on commercial revenue yield significant effects on three forms of sensationalism. In more fragmented/competitive markets, sensationalism (1) in topics—for commercial channels—and (2) in formal features—for both channel types—is higher. However, the analysis reveals that (3) not fragmentation but rather dependency on commercial revenues stimulates the use of vivid storytelling. While the use of sensational formal features does not (significantly) depend on channel type, both topics and storytelling are clearly more sensational on commercial channels. The results shed light on the behavior of public broadcasters in various media systems contexts, pointing out their increased role and importance as counterbalance in highly fragmented systems