Chapter 6. Comparing news media reach : Exploring effects of asymmetric news media consumption

This chapter addresses the topic of whether news media in different countries are still able to reach the general public and generate a shared public sphere as a prerequisite of democratic countries. The empirical part of the chapter focuses on the extent to which the different segments of the society use news media like newspapers, radio, television, and social media, comparing the results from 18 countries participating in the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) research project. We conclude that most people in most countries still use the news media regularly, although country-specific gaps exist related to sociodemographic factors like age, gender, and especially education and income. Most conspicuous is an intergenerational gap insofar