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" Election News Coverage in a Contemporary Autocracy: "
Sokolova, Diana
Gantz, Walter
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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1107900
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TLpq2459439037
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| Main Entry
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Gantz, Walter
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Sokolova, Diana
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| Title & Author
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Election News Coverage in a Contemporary Autocracy:\ Sokolova, DianaGantz, Walter
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| College
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Indiana University
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| Date
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2020
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| student score
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2020
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Page No
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202
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| Abstract
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This dissertation is a cross-disciplinary work that draws on theories from political science and mass communication. Using framing theory in the context of a competitive authoritarian regime, this study analyzed the evening news coverage of the 2016 Duma election in Russia. The goal of the study was to identify framing differences of the news aired on two television channels with different affiliations – the state-run Channel One and the independent TV Rain. This study involved a quantitative content analysis to analyze framing of the 2016 Duma election campaign, election candidates and the news in general during the three-month campaign period prior to the election. Coders independently examined 1,356 news stories aired during that period. Chi-square analyses revealed significant differences between the two channels in their framing of the 2016 Duma election, candidates running in the election, and the coverage of the following subjects: Russian economy, Russian politics, Russian army, Syria, international news, Russian foreign policy, law and order in Russia, and social welfare in Russia. No significant differences were found in the framing of the following subjects: tech and science in Russia, terrorism, Ukraine, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. This study addressed the value of issue-specific frames, which, despite criticism in the communications community, allowed to identify detailed framing differences in the news coverage of the 2016 election between the two channels. It was the application of issue-specific frames that revealed differences in (1) the news stories selection, with state-run media often covering more foreign than domestic issues; and (2) the coverage of the same stories involving the government, where the state-run channel acted as a lapdog, highlighting the positive angles of the stories; and the independent channel acted as a watchdog, highlighting the negative sides of the stories.
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Economic history
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International relations
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Journalism
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Mass communications
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Public policy
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Slavic studies
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