How different models of media regulation address social inequality: A Qualitative textual analysis of key media regulation texts from Germany and the UK

Abstract

The article employs a comparative textual analysis of key legal texts within German (democratic–corporatist) and UK (liberal) media regulation models to examine the relationship between mass media regulation and social inequality. The research addresses three key questions: firstly, how each model approaches different markers of inequality (such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, or religion); secondly, how regulation has evolved alongside changing identity politics; and thirdly, what this reveals about underlying power structures – conceptualised as “symbolic violence” with Bourdieu – within each system. The analysis demonstrates a broadly similar acknowledgement of inequality markers in both countries, though the normative justifications for addressing them diverge. Notably, both regulatory frameworks pay limited attention to socio-economic inequality, reflecting a global trend of prioritising cultural identity over economic disparities. The study provides insights into how mass media regulation both reflects and reinforces existing power dynamics within media regulation systems, and offers avenues for further research at the intersection of mass media and social inequality.