Freedom of expression. Ideals and realities (original) (raw)

Freedom of Speech in Russia. Politics and Media from Gorbachev to Putin

Europe-Asia Studies, 2018

and hegemonic authoritarianism. The causal link that explains how increased state control of the media has affected the framing of the opposition candidates but not agenda-setting is less well proven. Although the 11 interviews with journalists and other online data provide some insights, it remains unclear to what extent the framing of opposition candidates as less ‘serious’ in 2008 was due to the state ownership of the media and to what extent it could be attributed to alternative factors, such as electoral rules and the political will of the opposition. Similarly, it is unclear why agenda-setting was not affected by state ownership in the same way as framing. The attention given to the effects of regime type and media manipulation or priming is disproportionately small. Overall, the book provides a clear, well-written and informative analysis of media manipulation and media content during two presidential campaigns in Russia.

Factors that Influence Freedom of Speech and Self-censorship in Mass Media in Contemporary Russia

An attempt to define the degree of media freedom in contemporary Russia leads to contradiction between the declaration of the mass media freedom provided by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Soviet Union heritage of unequivocal control of the press by the government, described by Siebert et al. (1984) as the Soviet-Communist Press Theory. The reason for this ambiguity could be explained by the great deal of different factors that exert an influence on the journalism, such as features of mass media legislation, governmental control of the media, the diversity of media ownership, sources of media incomes, and traditions of censorship in Russia. The current development of the media legislation in Russia shows no improvement regarding the freedom of speech. In the beginning of the third presidential term in 2012, Vladimir Putin has signed several laws that reduced the freedom of speech through the limitation of public assembly, criminalization of defamation in the mass media, and intensification of governmental censorship on the internet. On the other hand, the contemporary press freedom that appeared in conditions of the new market economy in the beginning of the 1990s has brought discredit as to the conception of an exclusively positive impact of unconditional freedom on the mass media since the newspapers, television and radio channels were controlled by several powerful oligarchs who used the owned mass media to spread and support their political influence. However, after the authorities’ reference in the 2000s the balance was not regained. As a result, the majority of the media outlets in Russia became co-owned or fully controlled by the government. Another crucial aspect of the mass media freedom as the cultural phenomenon should be kept in mind: seven decades of severe censorship could not be erased from the journalism professional community’s memory in several years. The negative experience of predecessors transforms censorship into self-censorship in modern Russia.

Russian media and censorship: a means or an end?

Russian Journal of Communication , 2015

An underlying motive of the paper is to explore the question, is censorship a means or an end? The initial point is that there is a wide understanding and definition of censorship, with many various forms and means. A contradiction that emerges is by law censorship is forbidden in Russia, but there are ways and means of trying to muzzle media and journalists. Something that does emerge is the picture of the perceived importance of media in shaping the attitudes, morals and values of society. This is seen as being particularly important during times of social and political conflict, which is currently being experienced.

Media and Freedom of Expression in the EU - Eastern Partnership and Russian Federation

Media and Freedom of Expression in the EU – Eastern Partnership and Russian Federation, 2022

This report is published at a time of Russian invasion of Ukraine. It underscores the central role of freedom of expression in the maintenance of democracy at home, as well as international order and security abroad. This report provides the analysis and conclusions on the state of freedom of expression and the work of the media in seven countries of the EU Eastern Neighborhood, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia.

Stifling the Public Sphere: Media and Civil Society in Russia

In her essay on Russia, Maria Snegovaya identifies three distinctive features of the Russian government’s system for media control. The first is a combination of selectivity and “strategic uncertainty” in the censorship regime, which offers a number of clear advantages over traditional mass repression. For example, it is less expensive to maintain, and it allows the regime to backtrack in case of overreach. The second feature is the authorities’ efforts to modify key narratives rather than trying to fully control them. Russia’s modern propaganda system has come to depend in part on the dissemination of falsehoods to sow confusion, especially beyond its borders. Finally, the authorities use a mix of economic pressure and arbitrary legal restrictions to cow or cripple domestic and international media outlets—as well as civil society groups—that threaten regime interests.

Russian Media in content and social dimensions (in-depth interviews with media experts)

Applied and Fundamental Studies: Proceedings of the 7th International Academic Conference. November 29-30, 2014, St. Louis, USA. Publishing House Science and Innovation Center, Ltd., 2014

The article presents analytical results of in-depth interviews with media experts on conditions of mass media in contemporary Russia. Main questions relate to changing media content as well as ideological preferences and professional skills of employees. The experts' discourse is tightly connected with freedom of speech how it is performed in official declarations and in a reality.

Post-Soviet Perspective On Censorship and Freedom of the Media: An Overview

International Communication Gazette, 2008

This article provides an overview of how journalists and the media in the post-Soviet countries are regulated by law, and of how in the sociopolitical structure of a law-based state their work can be optimized to become a foundation for public accord and stability. The author sees the legal conditions for a free press in the development of mechanisms of journalists' access to information, in the creation of public broadcasting, in the access of political opposition to the public (or state) media, in the denationalization of mass media outlets, etc. Limitations under the pretext of informational sovereignty or the fight against terrorism and political extremism should not undermine ideological and political plurality in the media and society. The article concludes with a comparison of the level of press freedom between all 15 post-Soviet states.

Journalism and the political: Discursive tensions in news coverage of Russia

2011

Journalism is often thought of as the ‘fourth estate’ of democracy. This book suggests that journalism plays a more radical role in politics, and explores new ways of thinking about news media discourse. It develops an approach to investigating both hegemonic discourse and discursive fissures, inconsistencies and tensions. By analysing international news coverage of post-Soviet Russia, including the Beslan hostage-taking, Gazprom, Litvinenko and human rights issues, it demonstrates the (re)production of the ‘common-sense’ social order in which one particular area of the world is more developed, civilized and democratic than other areas. However, drawing on Laclau, Mouffe and other post-foundational thinkers, it also suggests that journalism is precisely the site where the instability of this global social order becomes visible. The book should be of interest to scholars of discourse analysis, journalism and communication studies, cultural studies and political science, and to anyone interested in ‘positive’ discourse analysis and practical counter-discursive strategies.