Abstract
Despite voluminous literature explaining the emergence and the electoral contours of right wing radicalism in Europe, little is known about the location of radical right mass communication channels in the media sphere. The aim of this article is to fill the gap by identifying and analysing the positions of the radical right media within the network structure of the general media sphere. To do so, Hungary is an excellent illustrative case as a country in which the radical right wing Jobbik party won 21 percent of the votes in the 2014 parliamentary election that cemented its status as by far the largest radical right group in Central Europe. We provide an issue-centred approach in which the media networks of two of the most controversial political topics of the year 2014 in Hungarian politics are explored. To compose the networks, we concentrate on the interaction ties that are defined here as direct, and explicit citations or hyperlinks to the content of other media products. The empirical test of ideal typical networks reveals that the radical right products stay under the radar of the mainstream media. It is our finding that the representatives of the radical media remain on the fringe of the media sphere in Hungary.
Highlights
One of the toughest challenges for contemporary social science is to comprehend the characteristics of radical right politics in Europe
Inspired by Ellinas’s conclusion, this study addresses the issue of media visibility of right wing radicalism in Hungary
We argue that interaction is key to comprehend the relationship between radical right media and other media products
Summary
One of the toughest challenges for contemporary social science is to comprehend the characteristics of radical right politics in Europe. Monographs and articles address the question why right wing radicalism enjoys increasing electoral success at the national and local levels throughout the continent (Carter 2005; Norris 2005; Mudde 2007; Mammone et al 2012), its effects on the party system (Mudde 2014) and public policies (Minkenberg 2001). The advance and the performance of new movements and parties have been interpreted in multiple ways, but an important segment remained unconsidered so far: the position of the radical right media products in the media sphere. Our results show that the radical right media products have not been integrated into the mainstream media sphere in Hungary. It is demonstrated that right wing radicalism has not formulated a single or unified group of media outlets
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