At the beginning of the 1990s S. Splichal (1994) coined the phrase “Italianization of the media” to describe the process of media change in the postcommunist world. Many other scholars in this period also compared Central European media systems to that of Italy, including A. Wyka (2008: 66) and T. Goban-Klas (1997: 40). Quoting Paolo Mancini, Goban-Klas describes the Italian media system as being dominated by the following four features: (1) state control over the media, realized in the direct control over television and indirect control over the press; (2) political party influence on the selection of topics and the structure of the media organizations; (3) a high degree of integration of the media and political elites; and (4) ethical divisions among journalists and media personnel (Mancini, 1991: 139). Goban-Klas argues that “these four characteristics of the Italian system are surprisingly close to the present situation in East-Central Europe” (1997: 40).

A few years later, many scholars expanded their comparative analyses by introducing a new concept: “Mediterraneanization.” One such scholar is K. Jakubowicz (2008b: 47), who argues that former communist countries share some features with the countries grouped in the Mediterranean media system: They have undergone recent democratization, they lag in economic development, and they are characterized by a weak rational-legal authority combined with a strong direct influence of state. He adds that their modernization is incomplete or (in some cases) little advanced.