Scholarly record

AGENDA SETTING ROLE OF THE RUSSIAN TWITTER IN THE HYBRIDIZED MEDIA SYSTEM: MEDIATIZATION OF BIRYULYOVO ETHNIC BASHINGS OF 2013

Svetlana S. Bodrunova, Anna A. Litvinenko, Alexander V. Yakunin, Ivan S. Blekanov, Aleksei I. Maksimov

Abstract

According to a number of scholars, the rise of Twitter publishing had to lead a new level of informational openness in social networks and to increase of press freedom. At the same time, some recent studies have shown significant criticism towards political efficacy of Twitter [7]. We analyze Twitter as a part of the hybridized media system [6] suggesting after Adam and Pfetsch [1] that political dimension of hybridization and spill-over effects between different media will be specific to the socio-political context. In terms of the media system modernization [15] and hybridization context, Russian media system is the one bearing both unique and post-Communist-specific features. In our research, we aim at analyzing the role of Twitter in the process of agenda setting in the hybridized media system in Russia and finding out if the use of Twitter potentially leads to the formation of the ‘crossroads of opinions’ or, in contrast, to encapsulation of political discussion and further fragmentation of public discourse. Our research focuses on structural and content aspects of discussion on anti-migrant bashings in Biryulyovo (Moscow) in October 2013. Methods of research include automated web crawling, framing analysis via semantic coding, and interpretation of descriptive statistics. Preliminary results suggest unexpectedly high level of mediatization of the discussion. The ‘crossroads’ nature of the discussion showed up but in such a way that makes Twitter differ from elite communicative milieus like the Russian Facebook.

Publication details

Back to publication list