Structural pluralism

Structural pluralism is a concept used to examine the way in which societies are structured, and specifically is a way to explain coverage differences in media mar and less homogeneous areas.

However, prior to the Olien, Tichenor, Donohue writings came those of Breed (1958) and Paletz, Reichert and McIntyre (1971). In their original pieces, the lack of criticism by the press on central powerholders was discussed.

Other studies of the impact of structural pluralism on journalism have looked shown that women are more often represented in areas that are more ethnically diverse (Armstrong, 2002); that newspapers in more diverse communities will be less likely to ignore protest stories or report them in an abbreviated fashion (Stein, et al., 2003); and others.

Structural pluralism has been discussed in law journals as a paradigmatic shift regarding the privatization of government entities (Roberts, 2001).

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See also

• Freedom of the press
• Cultural diversity

References

• Armstrong, C. (2002). Papers give women more attention in ethnically diverse communities. Newspaper Research Journal, 23(4): 76–80.
• Donohue, G. A., Olien, C. N., & Tichenor, P. J. (1985). Reporting conflict in the press by pluralism, newspaper type, and ownership. Journalism Quarterly, 62, 489–499, 507.
• Durkheim, E. (1933). The division of labor in society. New York: The Free Press.
• Hegel, G.W.F. 1821. Philosophy of Right. Translated by T.M. Know 1967. Oxford University Press, UK.
• Hindman, D. B. (1996). Community newspapers, community structural pluralism, and local conflict with nonlocal groups. Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly, 73, 708–721.
• Hindman, D. B. (1999). Social control, social change and local mass media. In D. Demers, & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Mass media, social control, and social change: A macrosocial perspective. Ames, IO: Iowa State UP.
• Morton, L. W. (2000). The Impact of Civic Community on Rural Community Quality Summary. Paper submitted to the annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society.
• Olien, C. N., Donohue, G. A., & Tichenor, P. J. (1978). Community Structure and Media Use. Journalism Quarterly, 55, 445–455.
• Roberts, A. (2001). Structural Pluralism and the Right to Information. University of Toronto Law Journal, 51, 243–271.
• Stein, S., McCluskey, M., Boyle, M., Devanathan, N., McLeod, D., Hillback, E., & Shevy, M. (2003). Community influences on newspaper coverage of social and political protests. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Diego, CA.
• Tichenor, P. J., Donohue, G. A., & Olien, C. N. (1980). Community Conflict and the Press. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
• Young, F. W. (1999). Small Towns in Multilevel Society. Lanham, New York: University Press of America.