%0 Journal Article %A Downey, John %A Stanyer, James %D 2013 %T Comparative media analysis: why some fuzzy thinking might help. Applying fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to the personalization of mediated political communication %U https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Comparative_media_analysis_why_some_fuzzy_thinking_might_help_Applying_fuzzy_set_qualitative_comparative_analysis_to_the_personalization_of_mediated_political_communication/9474134 %2 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/17098628 %K Comparative media research %K Fuzzy sets %K Hallin and Mancini %K Personalization %K Personalized political communication %K Ragin %K Language, Communication and Culture not elsewhere classified %K Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified %X This article examines the benefits of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) for comparative media research. It shows the advantages of fuzzy set theoretic thinking in examining the causes of a major feature of contemporary political communication research, namely personalization. The article has three parts. The first is a critique of the method adopted by Hallin and Mancini, a generally laudable and highly influential recent contribution to comparative media analysis. The second is a brief introduction to fsQCA. The third demonstrates the method’s usefulness by investigating the personalized character of mediated political communication. %I Loughborough University