Scholarly record
TRADITIONALISTS VS. INNOVATORS: FRAGMENTATION OF JOURNALISTIC CULTURES IN TODAYS RUSSIAN JOURNALISM
Abstract
Todays comparative analysis of professional journalistic cultures has quite developed methodologies but relies on national level of comparison, which might be misleading. We test whether, in Russia of 2010s, the structure of professional journalistic community is as diverse and fragmented as the media system itself and, thus, whether it can be perceived as a whole, unlike journalistic cultures in the West. The cleavages include generational ones as well as value-based ones, the latter being reflected in journalists orientation to either post-Soviet or pro-Western standards of reporting. Another cleavage is based on the speed of adoption of ICTs in reporting and editorial practices, a major factor of change, e.g., in American journalism. We argue that this combination of divisions may be re-conceptualized as traditional vs. innovative journalistic cultures, based on technological, professional, legislative, and political factors; thus, traditional and innovative cultures co-exist within the Russian media system and do not supplant each other, and the new generation of journalists is described as experiencing rapidly changing professional standards.. Our results are based on an online survey of 200 journalists in Russian regions, 6 in-depth interviews with key media managers, and 30 video interviews with online media managers.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References14
Nygren, G. (ed.) Journalism in Russia, Poland and Sweden – Traditions, Cultures and Research. Sodertorn; Sodertorns Hogskola, Sweden, 2012.
Willnat, L., Weaver, D. H. The American Journalist in the Digital Age: Key Findings. Bloomington, USA, 2014.
Harro-Loit, H. Revisiting National Journalism Cultures in Post-Communist Countries: The Influence of Academic Scholarship. Media and Communication, vol. 3 / issue 4, 2015, pp. 5-14.
Vartanova, E. Constructing Russian media system in the context of globalization. In: Vartanova, E. (ed.), World of Media 2012: Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, Moscow: Moscow State University, Russia, 2013, pp. 9-36.
Zubarevich, N. Four Russias. Vedomosti, 2011. URL: https://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/articles/2011/12/30/chetyre_rossii.
Bodrunova, S. S., Litvinenko, A. A. Four Russias in communication: Fragmentation of the Russian public sphere in the 2010s. In: Dobek-Ostrowska, B., Glowacki, M.(eds), Democracy and Media in Central and Eastern Europe 25 Years On, London: Peter Lang, UK, 2015, pp. 63-79.
Toepfl, F. Managing Public Outrage. Power, Scandal, and New Media in Contemporary Russia, New Media & Society, vol. 13 / issue 8, 2011, pp. 1301-1319.
Bodrunova, S. S., Litvinenko, A. A. New media and political protest: The formation of a public Counter-Sphere in Russia, 2008-12. In: Makarychev, A., Mommen, A. (eds), Russia’s Changing Economic and Political Regimes: The Putin Years and Afterwards, London: Routledge, UK, 2013, pp. 29-65.
Kiriya, I. Media consumption and everyday life in rural areas. Presentation at seminar series ‘Sociology of markets of Laboratories of Economic and Sociological Research’, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, 2014. URL: http://www.myshared.ru/slide/950284/.
Kiriya, I. The Culture of Subversion and Russian Media Landscape. International Journal of Communication, vol. 6, 2012, pp. 446–466.
Anikina, M. Journalist and journalist’s culture in Russia. In: Vartanova, E. (ed.), World of Media 2012: Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies. Moscow: Moscow State University, Russia, 2013, pp. 281-296.
Anikina, M. Journalists in Russia. In: Nygren, G. (ed.) Journalism in Russia, Poland and Sweden – Traditions, Cultures and Research, Sodertorn: Sodertorns Hogskola, Sweden, 2012, pp. 20-30.
Pasti, S. Russian journalism as a social lift: comparing journalistic attitudes in the period 1992-2008. In: Glowacki, M., Lauk, E., Balcytiene, A. (eds), Journalism that Matters: Views from Central and Eastern Europe. London: Peter Lang, UK, 2014. pp. 153-173.
Salman, A., Ibrahim, F., Abdullah, M. Y. H., Mustaffa, N., Mahbob, M. H. The impact of new media on traditional mainstream mass media. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, vol. 16 / issue 3, 2011, pp. 1-11.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
