Reģionālie mediji Latvijā: Covid-19 izraisītās krīzes izaicinājumi

A multi-stage study was conducted to find out what is the role of regional media in the crisis caused by the coronavirus Covid-19, what problems do the media face, what is the opinion of consumers about the work of regional media: 1) audience surveys (1428 respondents); 2) survey of national and regional media (26 respondents); 3) analysis of the content of the regional newspaper Alūksnes un Malienas Ziņas (during the state emergency, March 12, 2020 –June 10, 2020); 4) in-depth, semi-structured interviews with regional media consumers (audience); 5) in-depth, semi-structured interviews with regional media editors. The Covid-19 crisis changed the work of regional media. The ways of obtaining media information diversified, mutual communication and the created content changed, and interaction with the audience increased. The number of subscribers and advertisers decreased significantly (up to 50 %), and therefore the total revenue, creating a serious threat to the existence of the media. The financial situation forced several media executives to reorganise the media – to reduce the number of employees and their salaries, decide on reducing the periodicity of newspapers, and raise prices. Several regional media leaders predict that the media will be shut down if the situation does not improve. The public appreciates and trusts the work of the regional media, they are happy to consume them as well, but more and more often, they cannot afford to pay for them. The results of the survey confirm that with each decade of life achieved, people’s interest in local events (news in the municipality and region, culture and sports) and, consequently, the intensity of regional media consumption increase. Local proximity increases mutual trust between regional media workers (their content) and local community residents (audience). Interactions (seeking advice and assistance, participating in content creation, recording violations of restrictions) were particularly active during the Covid-19 crisis when the doors of state and local authorities were closed (the work took place from home) throughout the emergency. The rapid spread of Covid-19 changed the traditional agenda of regional media – methods of information gathering and mutual communication (remote interviews, video conferences, and meetings, virtual meetings on electronic communication platforms), as well as the content created. The results of the content analysis confirm the priority status of the Covid-19 topic (multiplicity, intensity, location) in the content of the regional newspaper Alūksnes un Malienas Ziņas. With the materials dedicated to Covid-19, journalists informed the audience about the latest events, explained the decisions made by the government, motivated them to act responsibly, appealed to conscience, called for mutual help, condemned, comforted, and also saved. During the emergency, journalists performed not only the functions of an informant but also an educator, psychologist, and social worker (educating, explaining, reassuring, motivating, and helping), while reducing one of their main functions – the watchdog function. The regional press is the only mechanism of balance of power in the regions that exercises power control in local governments, as well as the only ones that regularly record the uniqueness of the local environment, promote the construction of local identity, create a sense of belonging, ensure objective information from reliable sources. Without receiving the necessary support from the state authorities (financial assistance, tax relief, arrangement of legislation), the existence of regional media will be endangered in the coming year, thereby a versatile media environment, diversity of opinions, availability of objective information, as well as preservation of literary Latvian language and culture will also be in danger.

From Don Juan to Comrade Ivan

This article examines discussions of love and marriage in a regional newspaper of the Communist Youth League (Komsomol) in the central Urals region. Although framed around the intention to communicate official communist morality and ideals about the family, these discussions included stories and readers’ letters that expressed a range of views that could both draw on and challenge Party ideals. While scholarship has emphasized the conservative elements of communist morality and the lack of support for men in the domestic sphere, these sources point to an understanding of love as central to a man’s life and comradely partnership as fundamental to Soviet marriage.

Where Have All the Stories and Voices Gone in Local Newspapers? The Effect Falling Advertising Revenues and the Rise of the Web Have Had on English Regional Newspapers

The regional newspaper industry in the UK is in freefall with sales down more than 60 percent in 10 years. With this decline has come cost-cutting. This study looks at how these cuts have manifested themselves in terms of the number of news stories now being printed in newspapers and the number of local people being quoted in the newspapers. The study has looked at a number of regional newspapers across 30 years to show the effect of the changing face of the newspaper business as the audience and advertising have moved online. The research includes interviews with experts on whether story count mattered and if fewer stories and local voices have damaged the product. This paper finds that generally newspaper companies with a web-first culture have been forced to reduce their local news content in their printed products as they concentrate their resources online. While fewer stories and voices cannot be blamed for the complete demise of the newspapers, it is a consequence of cost-cutting and disadvantages the product. Opinions do vary on the needs for high story count, but this paper shows that most experts believe it is important and that without it, printed newspapers have been damaged. Keywords: newspapers, regional, decline, stories, quotes

Anthropogenic climate change coverage in two Canadian newspapers : the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, from 1988-2007

Media portrayal of current events can influence public perception and the actions that policy and decision makers take with regard to these events. This study applied a content analysis to explore variations in the way Canadian news media depicted anthropogenic climate change by employing an approach previously used by Liu, Vedlitz and Alston (2008). This research applied their existing methodology to both the regional and national levels of media in a Canadian setting. Climate change articles from two newspapers published between 1988 and 2007, the Toronto Star, a regional newspaper, and the Globe and Mail, a national newspaper, were obtained. They were examined for aspects of climate change, including salience, image, scope, country representation, participants, and the origins of scientific information that was presented in the articles. Differences in the way climate change is portrayed between the newspapers at regional and national levels are also examined. Overall, climate change is portrayed similarly in the two newspapers as a large-scale (national and global) problem, despite the differences in audience scope. The Toronto Star exhibits a more national perspective with respect to climate change although it is a regional newspaper. Attention paid by the media to climate change increases from 1988-2007. Climate change is predominantly depicted in both newspapers as a destructive issue. There are linkages to other public issues, including those in international co-operation, science research and development, and energy and transportation. The analysis reveals that a number of non-government and government actors are concerned with climate change and a wider array of interest groups is becoming involved. Finally, the majority of the solution strategies presented in the articles focus on mitigation techniques, as opposed to adaptation strategies.

Anthropogenic climate change coverage in two Canadian newspapers : the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, from 1988-2007

Media portrayal of current events can influence public perception and the actions that policy and decision makers take with regard to these events. This study applied a content analysis to explore variations in the way Canadian news media depicted anthropogenic climate change by employing an approach previously used by Liu, Vedlitz and Alston (2008). This research applied their existing methodology to both the regional and national levels of media in a Canadian setting. Climate change articles from two newspapers published between 1988 and 2007, the Toronto Star, a regional newspaper, and the Globe and Mail, a national newspaper, were obtained. They were examined for aspects of climate change, including salience, image, scope, country representation, participants, and the origins of scientific information that was presented in the articles. Differences in the way climate change is portrayed between the newspapers at regional and national levels are also examined. Overall, climate change is portrayed similarly in the two newspapers as a large-scale (national and global) problem, despite the differences in audience scope. The Toronto Star exhibits a more national perspective with respect to climate change although it is a regional newspaper. Attention paid by the media to climate change increases from 1988-2007. Climate change is predominantly depicted in both newspapers as a destructive issue. There are linkages to other public issues, including those in international co-operation, science research and development, and energy and transportation. The analysis reveals that a number of non-government and government actors are concerned with climate change and a wider array of interest groups is becoming involved. Finally, the majority of the solution strategies presented in the articles focus on mitigation techniques, as opposed to adaptation strategies.

Orthodoxy during the Great Patriotic War on the Pages of the Newspaper “Severny Rabochy”

The article presents the results of a study of the Russian Orthodox Church in the view of readers of the Soviet press on the example of the Yaroslavl regional newspaper “Severny Rabochy” during the great Patriotic war. The study shows how the image of an Orthodox person was constructed, and what aspects of religious life were in sight of Yaroslavl correspondents. The conclusion is made about the ways to form public perception in a censored printed edition.

How Igor Dedkov arrived in Kostroma

The article focuses on the arrival of Igor Dedkov in Kostroma in September 1957. Being placed on a job at the editorial office of the regional newspaper Severnaya Pravda in a quiet provincial city, he worked in Kostroma for more than thirty years and returned to Moscow as a well-known and respected literary critic and journalist. The publication focuses on the fact that the first years of Igor Dedkov’s life and work were very difficult due to gradual adaptation to life in the Kostroma outland, which he later remembered very warmly and after a number of years even with frank admiration. But at that time (from September 1957 onwards) the situation for the young journalist was not easy at all. Unfortunately, in his diary published after his death, I. Dedkov referred to this stage of his biography only casually and without detail. Possibly, it can be accounted for by subsequent correction and radical change in I. Dedkov’s attitude to the province. The main purpose of this publication is to fill in this gap by introducing into scientific circulation a number of unpublished letters and other autobiographical materials which are currently stored in the I. Dedkov Interregional Scientific and Educational Center at Kostroma State University. The use of these and a number of other historiographical sources allowed us to clarify many important details in the life and work of the novice journalist of a regional newspaper, who left the capital for one of the provincial cities on his own initiative. The main methods used by the author of this article are the elements of system analysis, the method of historical reconstruction, induction and deduction. The use of these methods and the use of a previously unknown body of sources allowed the author of the article to significantly expand and deepen the existing (rather limited) ideas about the early period of I. Dedkov’s life and work, about the beginning of his formation as an original journalist and literary critic, who later entered the “great” literature.

Small Media on Instagram: Forms of Promotion and Interaction with the Audience (the Experience of the Regional Newspaper “Rodniki Irbitskie”)

The article discusses the practical experience of upgrading of district newspaper’s Instagram account: the results of the work of an SMM specialist are presented, the applicability of SMM tools on the scale of small media is investigated, and an algorithm of work is formed considering the specifics of the platform and publication format. In addition, the network needs and audience’ preferences were analysed, and the most probable points of emotional interaction and preference for interactive cooperation were identified.