World of Media-2012
World of Media-2012. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies
The issue was published in 2013 by the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Part 1. Mass Communication Research: Russian Approaches
Vartanova, E. (2013). Constructing Russian Media System in the Context of Globalization. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 9-36.
In the last century, Russia’s identity has been characterized by numerous contradictions and tensions being simultaneously a centre of empire and geopolitical periphery, a world-wide known culture and quite strong economy based on supply of natural resources, a multi-cultural and multilinguistic society with a dominance of the Russian background. In the nation state building process Russian media have played different roles, among which the following ones are of great importance: provision of communication infrastructure for a large territory and development of the national identity through instrumental use of media. In the recent decades, economic interests of the media industry through national advertising have become new agents to support all-national television channels as a backbone of Russian media system. The transformation of the Russian media has shown an interesting case of interplay between nationally determined post-Socialist transition and influences of media globalization.
Key words: Russian media; media system; media market; globalization; post-Soviet Russia.
Received: 11.01.13
Accepted: 16.02.13
Bodrunova, S., Litvinenko, A. (2013). Hybridization of the Media System in Russia: Technological and Political Aspects. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 37-49.
Communication patterns of our society have undergone crucial changes due to the development of the digital public sphere and the emergence of “hybrid media systems” (Chadwick, 2011). The formation of such media systems influences the established media-politics relationship, which is especially relevant to democracies in transition such as Russia. This paper examines the transformation of the mass media system in Russia with its implications to the online public sphere and the democratic state of the Russian web. Special attention is given to the role of the Russian new media in fostering civic engagement along with the political mobilization after the parliamentary elections of 2011. The authors argue the two-side understanding of hybridization of media systems: the one based on technological media convergence and that of political nature, including the configuration of online vs. offline media parallelism, substantial agenda flows, and the level of solidity of the national public sphere. Concluding from the analysis of the evolution of the Russian media system in 2000s, the authors outline the perspectives of the Russian hybrid media system and its democratic potential.
Key words: Russian media; hybrid media system; new media; political mobilization; democracy; participation divide; political hybridization.
Received: 13.03.13
Accepted: 20.04.13
Dzyaloshinsky, J. (2013). Business Communication: Institutional Approach. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 50-73.
The article deals with the issue relating to the analysis of the influence of profound institutional, cultural and communication matrices on the Russian business communication functioning. It also reveals the connection between institutional matrices defining the life of a society as whole, communication matrices regulating social communication and matrices setting frameworks of professional activity in business communication.
Key words: institutional matrices; cultural matrices; communication matrices; business communication
Received: 07.02.13
Accepted: 10.04.13
Annenkova, I. (2013). Media Rhetorics – Particular Rhetorics of Language of Mass Media World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 74-87.
Mass media are the most influential sphere of the existing modern culture. They form their own picture of the world or a world media picture in the consciousness of the audience. Its basic features are separation, fragmentariness and step-type behavior. The estimation of this fragmentariness is possible within the framework of the rhetorical methodological approach. Traditional central concepts of classical rhetoric – ethos, logos and pathos – can become the basis of a descriptive model of a modern world media picture.
Key words: world media picture; rhetorical modality of a media discourse; culture of a ready word; protheism of the language person of the journalist.
Received: 22.07.13
Accepted: 19.08.13
Dunas, D. (2013). Mapping Mass Communication Theories in Contemporary Russia. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 88-107.
The author of this article suggests separating two main ways of classifying mass communication theories – according to the sphere of social / private life and the element of mass communication process as the object of scientific consideration. Moreover, it provides a possibility to indicate the universal way to classify theories.
Key words: mass communication theories in Russia; media and journalism theory; classification of theories.
Received: 20.06.13
Accepted: 14.08.13
Chernov, A. (2013). Russian Media Studies: Regional Paradigm. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 108-122.
The state of media researches at the Russian regional universities is analyzed in the article. The article presents the analysis of self-presentations and problems of mass media researches of some higher education institutions having taken part in the poll. Additional data were taken from the appropriate universities’ sites. The quantitative statistical analysis is accompanied by a qualitative research in which the problem of scientific investigation of the universities in the sphere of mass media studying is analyzed. The article describes serious distinctions between self-presentation of the scientific mass media researches and real researches in their purposes, tasks, used methodology. The article proves the necessity of universal terminology, the common qualifier of scientific researches in mass media studies. The approximate model of such a qualifier which was supported by National Association of Mass Media Researchers (NAMMI) is offered. It is taken now as a basis for the creation of Map of Russian Media Studies of the author of the article and with NAMMI’s support.
Key words: media studies; typology and classification; Russian regional universities; National Association of Mass Media Researchers; Map of Russian Media Studies.
Received: 12.06.13
Accepted: 14.07.13
Part 2. Russian Media: Analyzing the Current Trends
Richter, A. (2013). Russian Supreme Court's Vision of Media Freedom. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 125-143.
The article explains and illustrates what can be called the most important milestone in Russian media law since 20 years: the adoption by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of the Resolution “On the Judicial Practice Related to the Statute of the Russian Federation ‘On the Mass Media’”. The author argues that it brings Russia closer to a modern and coherent legal framework for the media sector. The adoption of this Resolution is a unique, long-awaited and important event in the regulation of Russian mass media. The Resolution instructs how to interpret and apply the Statute on the Mass Media of 1991 to digital and Internet based services in today’s market. With its Resolution the Supreme Court fills in the gaps in the overall legal framework applicable to mass media and shows how Russian Media Law may be adapted to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
Key words: media law; censorship; privileges of journalists; access to information; freedom of the media.
Received: 13.03.13
Accepted: 16.04.13
Makeenko, M., Vyrkovsky, A. (2013). Economic Effects of Convergence in Russian Daily Press. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 144-162.
The “industrialization” of convergence, the tendency to build multimedia and social elements into the mass media business model most vividly manifest themselves in daily newspapers: high periodicity requires, firstly, a highly developed culture of financial management and, secondly, well-functioning managerial processes. The goal of this paper is to understand the share of convergence projects (websites, in particular) in the total financial results for the Russian daily press. In addition, the authors focused on the methods for monetization of the projects implemented on the convergence basis. In terms of the development of convergence projects, there is an obvious gap between the daily press of the two capitals (Moscow and St-Petersburg) and their counterparts in the Russian regions. The financial results for convergence projects of the national daily newspapers exceed those of the regional ones by an order of magnitude and even more. In general, for Russian dailies convergence is not a significant source of revenues, which do not exceed 10% of the gross revenues made by the newspaper as an enterprise (the print version plus the website). Exceptions are rare. Moreover, half the media outlets under our consideration declare zero or negative cash flow from convergence projects.
Key words: convergence; daily newspaper; economics of daily press; investments; profit.
Received: 23.04.13
Accepted: 19.06.13
Ershov, Y. (2013). The Regional Dimension of Russian Broadcasting. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 163-179.
The author examines the role of television in the construction areas and other imagined communities, new typological approaches to the television channels definitions. The article analyzes the existing and possible classification of media coverage areas. This material may be of interest to journalists, researchers of the federal, regional and local television stations.
Key words: broadcasting; territory; broadcaster; region; typology.
Received: 08.03.13
Accepted: 11.04.13
Lukina, M. (2013). Russian Media and the Internet World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 180-195.
The Internet that changed the shape of media at a global, national and regional level influenced the Russian media as well. Despite the economic crisis the Russian media advertising indexes showed positive dynamics and Internet advertising market since 2010 demonstrates the faster growing in comparison with advertising in the “old” media. Russia gains the first place in Europe in the number of Internet users (68,0 million as for June, 30 2012) and is rated as intermediately penetrated country (Internet World Stats. Usage and Population Statistics, 2012). The Internet has become the third resource for obtaining news after television and print media for the whole population (18+0), and the second – for the younger generation in the age group of 18–24 (Osobennosti potrebleniya informacii: stolici vs drugie goroda Rossii, 2012). Two Russian media websites – www.kp.ru and www.ria.ru got into European top 10 in this category by the number of unique visitors. These data drive media researchers to move further for comprehensive understanding of online media sites and their affects on traditional media practices, experiments with new media platforms forcing them to newsroom convergent solutions, new platform integrations, interaction with audiences, and alternative agenda setting. The paper covers historical perspective of Russian Internet media, and describes its three periods of development; it distinguishes two media groups and several sub-groups, their basic and extra features as part of media system, and figures out local and global trends that sooner or later affect development of Russian media industry and determine a next stage in online media development.
Key words: Internet; Runet; online media; hypertext; multimedia; interactivity; user generated content.
Received: 05.01.13
Accepted: 15.02.13
Khroul, V. (2013). Media and Religion in Russia. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 196-216.
The author puts the relations and interactions of two social subsystems – media and religion – into the context of the contemporary Russian public sphere. Based on several case studies and the analysis of a value dialogue in society, the paper underlines the role of mass media in mediatization of religions, shows dysfunctions and “system errors” in the process. The author suggests that religions are to become active and transparent actors in public debates with their moral monitoring of public sphere and mass media in order to achieve a minimal constructive value consensus in a poly-normative society.
Key words: media; religion; value dialogue; dysfunctions; consensus.
Received: 17.04.13
Accepted: 16.05.13
Zorin, K. (2013). Information and Attitude as Products of Journalism and PR. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 217-231.
The article reviews the issue of demarcation between two kinds of journalism and public relations as two types of mass and information activity. The author offers to use journalist’s and PR specialist’s professional societies representations about products of labor and the most important professional activity tasks as a dividing line.
Key words: journalism; public relations; product of labor; professional consciousness; mass information.
Received: 14.03.13
Accepted: 28.04.13
Ushanov, P. (2013). Binarizm of Structural Elements of Communication Strategy as a Factor in Winning Russian Presidential Election in 2012. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 232-240.
The article analyzes the nature of communications technology of the campaign headquarters of Russia presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. For the research and analysis the author has used the method of schematic modeling, the main theory of a binary opposition as a feature of the human mind. There is a description of its nature and structural elements. This article reconstructed the management scheme and communication stream and flows, provided analysis and general characteristics of Communication Management of the campaign of Russia presidential candidate Vladimir Putin.
Key words: political communication; campaign; political technologists; media; binary.
Received: 21.05.13
Accepted: 18.07.13
Part 3. Journalism Studies in Russia and Abroad
Pasti, S., Nordenstreng, K. (2013). Paradoxes of Journalistic Profession: Case of Russia in the Context of the BRICS Countries. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 243-268.
Our empirical studies suggest four paradoxes characterizing Russian media and journalism. The first paradox is the profession itself. On the one hand, journalism is a life-threatening job for truth-seekers. On the other hand, journalism is a fashionable occupation as seen in the growth of journalism schools and number of applicants. The second paradox is the media market. On the one hand, ranked 10th in the world by economic indicators, it has grown into a mass industry. On the other hand, the majority of regional and local newspapers depend on governmental resources. The third paradox is a marriage of liberalism and authoritarianism. On the one hand, media reveal the same logic of commercialization and concentration as in the West moving to homogenization. On the other hand, market liberalism of the Russian media successfully co-exists with the authoritarian approach of the government. The fourth paradox is between deterioration in the quality of democracy with a decline of media freedom, on the one hand, and the satisfaction of the majority of journalists in their profession, on the other. Two thirds of journalists in Russia are satisfied with their work conditions in spite of their autonomy being reduced. This paradoxical situation is reflected in Russian media system, offering an intriguing case with elements of both a Western libertarian system and an Eastern communitarian system, referred to as “Eurasian”. Rather than studying it alone and in relation to two main directions of West/Europe and East/Asia, a new approach is provided by the emerging geopolitical entity known as “BRICS” – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Although these countries are different in many respects, they share crucial features in the globalizing world, making them a vanguard group in international arena. The BRICS context is used as an attempt to open new intellectual avenues.
Key words: Russian media system; journalism; comparative studies; BRICS countries.
Received: 11.02.13
Accepted: 20.03.13
Smirnova, O. (2013). The Digital Devices in Journalists' Professional Activity in Russia. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 269-280.
The article presents the first results of the research “The Digital Devices in Journalists’ Professional Activity in Russia”. The research is set to define which digital means of collecting, processing, creating and storing information are currently used by Russian journalists in newsrooms of the traditional and new media. Special attention is given to the influence of such factors as age groups, gender, and journalistic specialization. The aim of the research is to determine the key factors affecting the growing digital gap between the different generations of journalists and the peculiarities of the digital divide in the Russian context.
Key words: Russian journalism; journalist’s profession; technological transformations; digital divide.
Received: 12.06.13
Accepted: 01.08.13
Anikina, M. (2013). Journalist and Journalist's Culture in Russia. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 281-296.
This article scrutinizes the figure of media professional in Russia, deals with sociological portrait of a journalist taken in historical prospective. Following the existing research practice, some comparisons have been made between journalists acting in different periods of modern Russian history (from 1920s to 2000s), between Russian and foreign media professionals. Russian professional journalistic culture is analyzed in the international context. In this article a brief description of sociological study tools and methods is given, a journalist is seen as a subject of study in Russia. On the base of concrete sociological research projects the main frames, problems and significant conditions of journalist’s work in Russia are presented.
Key words: media professional; journalist; journalistic culture; sociological approach; institutional roles; ethical ideologies.
Received: 07.02.13
Accepted: 02.04.13
Strovsky, D. (2013). Journalism in Russia: Why Its Future Looks Uncertain. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 297-312.
The diversity of media processes in the modern society makes them very difficult to study. Contemporary changes in the information space, through the development of computer technologies, put on the agenda issues related to media professional guidelines. These prerequisites stimulate debates within the academic community on various aspects of mass communication theory. One of the most important of these issues circulates around a clear identification of such kind of mass communication as journalism. The political evolution in Russia has always prevented the development of the journalism process. It occurred due to many limitations imposed on the media. The modern political context keeps provoking Russian journalism which seems to be more than before absorbed by other types of mass communications, such as PR and advertising. Does this situation threaten society in general, and the media community in particular? What are the prospects for journalism in Russia? These issues look pivotal in relation to the theory of mass communication. Paying attention to the possibilities of Russian journalism to survive in current conditions, the author tends, to some extent, to anticipate its future, which is important for building an optimal model of training of journalists.
Key words: mass communication; information space; journalism; objectivity of information; political relations.
Received: 11.01.13
Accepted: 16.02.13
Bakulin, O. (2013). Photography and Photojournalism in Russia: Current Trends of Development. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 313-324.
Photography was invented when printed Guttenberg culture could not represent the whole diversity of quickly changing world. Being “an evidence of a fact”, photography possessed complete advantage in comparison with painted pictures or written sources. It could also transmit a huge amount of information during the shortest period. And in this respect photography exceeded radio and cinema. But in fact photography has become an effective tool of communication when two key problems were solved at last – relative ease of reproduction and possibility of mass copying (first of all thanks to periodicals). When both of them were solved – photography became indispensable part of mass media, effective element of propaganda in conflicts and World wars. As well as abroad, photography was rather popular in pre-revolutionary Russia but the most dynamic period of its development is connected with the Soviet epoch. Photography and photojournalism in the USSR was under the state control along with other media, but after the Soviet system collapse Russian photography and especially it’s such important direction as photojournalism began to develop under the influence of new factors –absence of the Soviet ideology and developing market economy, digital technologies’ development etc. – to identify and analyze the most significant ones is the main purpose of the work.
Key words: photography; photojournalism; Russia; communication; trends
Received: 14.03.13
Accepted: 24.05.13
Gladkova, A. (2013). Cultural Pluralism in Russian Press: Challenges and Prospects of Development. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 325-334.
The article considers the role of cultural pluralism in the Russian society today, and dwells on a set of challenges and prospects it is facing in multiethnic, culturally and linguistically diverse country. Special attention has been given to exploring phenomenon of cultural pluralism in the media, in particular print media, and highlighting governmental initiatives aimed at developing pluralistic media landscape in Russia.
Key words: cultural pluralism; minorities; inter-ethnic relations; multiculturalism.
Received: 19.04.13
Accepted: 18.05.13