Abstract

International comparison in the fi eld of political communication has recently focused its attention on the convergence of media systems in Western democracies. The study of the French and Italian cases falls into this debate, identifying the key features that distinguish the two domestic contexts. After a period of convergence, the article suggests that currently Italy and France present more divergences than similarities, due especially to a different mass media differentiation process. In order to check this hypothesis, a reconstruction of the evolution of the relationship between politics and media is proposed. Finally the main results of a fi eld research focused on political coverage in major newspapers and national TV news are presented and discussed.