Russian Mass Media and Changing Values

Arja Rosenholm, Kaarle Nordenstreng, Elena Trubina, Arja Rosenholm, Kaarle Nordenstreng, Elena Trubina

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781136935725
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

This book provides a multi-faceted picture of the many complex processes taking place in the field of contemporary Russian media and popular culture. Russian social and cultural life today is strongly individualised and consumers are offered innumerable alternatives; but at the same time options are limited by the new technologies of control which are a key feature of Russian capitalism. Based on extensive original research by scholars in both Russia itself and in Finland, the book discusses new developments in the media industry and assesses a wide range of social and cultural changes, many of which are related to, and to an extent generated by, the media.

The book argues that the Russian mass media industry, whilst facing the challenges of globalization, serves several purposes including making a profit, reinforcing patriotic discourse and popularizing liberalized lifestyles. Topics include changing social identities, new lifestyles, ideas of "glamour" and "professional values". Overall, the book demonstrates that the media in Russia is far from homogenous, and that, as in the West, despite new technologies of control, media audiences are being offered a new kind of pluralism which is profoundly influencing Russia's cultural, social and political landscape.

Part 1
Mapping the media landscape

1
Contemporary structure of the Russian media industry

Elena Vartanova and Sergei Smirnov

In one word, the basis of the contemporary media system in Russia is the market. In spite of all the difficulties accompanying the media market, the market brings tangible changes into the structures and typology of the media, the practices of professional journalists, the audience demands and the patterns of media consumption. In this chapter, we will map out the main trends of the present media industry as shaped by the market.

It is not an easy job to attribute a general character to the structure of Russian media. First of all, Russia has the largest territory of all the countries in the world. This has many consequences for the mass media. The number of distinct regional and local media markets considerably exceeds even the number of subjects of the Federation (local governments) of the country, which is 83 in 2009.

The quantitative diversity of the Russian media market is indisputable. As of 1 December 2008, the number of media outlets registered in Russia was 101,000 (Roskomnadzor). Among the officially registered Russian media, some do not really exist. This is why the national media register includes only 66,032 print and electronic mass media (Reestr SMI). They are as follows: Television programmes 5,254, Radio programmes 3,769, Newspapers 28,449, Magazines 21,572, Digests 1,378, Other media 5,610.

Another reason why it is very difficult to characterise the Russian media is the lack of transparency in the market in general, and in the media market in particular. The most obvious problems are the overstated circulation of newspapers and magazines and the falsified ratings of the broadcasting channels, aimed at comforting advertisers. In addition, a debate around the concept of ‘oligarchs’ has become popular recently, as a result of which we now know some ‘names’ but do not have a full understanding of how they correlate with ownership of particular media companies. In fact, no government agency today possesses exhaustive statistical data on the condition and dynamics of the national media market as a whole.

Key segments of the media market

All data show that whereas in the USSR the key role in the media system was played by print media, in post-Soviet Russia this role is played by television. Today there are three main types of terrestrial broadcasters: centralised national channels, networked national channels and regional channels. In 200 cities and towns of Russia, 10–12 publicly accessible TV channels are available. In addition, cable and satellite TV are rapidly developing. Market experts believe that the total number of channels broadcast in Russia is about 1,500. Today, TV is the most important source of information and entertainment for most citizens of Russia. About 40 per cent of Russians watch the central TV channels from Moscow daily. Public opinion polls also show that for another 40 per cent of the population it is local TV that is the main provider of information and entertainment. The changing attitude of Russians to different media is not the only explanation of the growing role of TV in the national media system. For many families, an important factor in the choice of this or that medium is money: they do not have to pay for TV (leaving aside the cost of electricity as insignificant).

The newspaper sector of the Russian media market can be divided into three almost equal parts: national newspapers account for 35 per cent of the total circulation, regional papers for 33 per cent and local papers for 32 per cent. In 2007, the total circulation figure for regular newspapers was about 7.8 billion copies. Market experts hold that of the 28,449 registered newspaper outlets (daily and weekly), only about 15,000 are actually being published. The total audience for national newspapers does not exceed 20 per cent of the population, but local print media, and in particular rural papers, are as much again. The main tendency in the newspaper market, however, is a reduction in circulation. This is accounted for by the demographic situation (the number of traditional newspaper readers is decreasing), as well as by a general decrease in interest among Russian citizens, especially young people, in newspapers as a source of current information, which results from the rapid development of online media. Publishers have to spend additional resources on confronting this threatening tendency. Free newspapers have become a good way to solve the problem.

The magazine sector of the Russian media market is developing more rapidly. In the past three years its annual growth has exceeded 13 per cent (only in India and China it is developing faster). The total circulation of Russian magazines in 2007 was 1.9 billion copies. These include 900 million glossy magazines, 600 million of which were printed abroad. Magazine periodicals in Moscow far outperform those in the regions, in a ratio of 60:40. However, as was the case with news papers, out of the total number of registered magazines titles in the country (21,572), only 12,000 are really being published. One of the major problems with this sector is the imperfect system of distribution, especially when it comes to subscription. The main consumers of magazines are citizens of metropolitan areas.

A positive dynamic is also observed in the development of the radio market. It comprises national networks and local radio stations. The market started to grow in the mid-1990s with the emergence of local FM stations. Wired broadcasting has become less popular since then, both because of the strong competition in large cities, and because of the wearing out of equipment in distant regions. The key players in the radio market are a few core central stations. The development of radio broadcasting in the regions occurs through local broadcasters joining existing networks – altogether 31.

The fastest-growing sector of the media system in Russia is the Internet. In the Russian-language area of the Internet (RUnet), almost 2.5 million domain names were registered in November 2009 (Stat.reg.ru 2009). Notably, some RUnet sites position themselves as a mass medium, and their number amounted to 2,018 outlets in 2008. The total Russian audience of the Net is estimated to be 30–40 million in 2009. Many of these users search for the news, which suggests that the Internet is really making its way next to traditional news media. On the other hand, Rambler’s rumetrics service, for example, measures only about 10 per cent of news-oriented hosts (visits to webpages) in the RUnet. Although news is the most popular search topic, about 90 per cent of activities online happen around other subjects such as games, social networking and shopping. In terms of the size of the Internet audience, the clear leader is Moscow, where more than 5 million people a month use the Net. In Russia as a whole, 6 per cent of the population has not heard of the Internet and 73 per cent do not have any opportunity to use it regularly.

Advertising in the Russian mass media

With the introduction of market relations, the Russian economy found itself in need of a new type of information: advertising. So, against the background of the economic growth of the mid-2000s, the development of the advertising market was especially important for the media industry, as it became the primary vehicle for advertising. Research shows that there are obvious connections between the national economy, the development of the advertising market and the media industry as a whole. Between 1997 and 2008 the total growth of the advertising market was 650 per cent, with its annual growth around 30 per cent. By 2008 the share of the advertising industry in the gross domestic product (GDP), calculated as the percentage of advertising market volume within GDP, was 0.9 per cent. The contribution of the Russian advertising industry to the GDP is comparable to that of Austria, where it is about 1 per cent. As a result of the intensive growth of its advertising market in recent years, in terms of its volume Russia was number 13 in the world in 2008 and sixth among the European countries. According to estimates by the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia, this figure amounted to 8.9 billion dollars in 2008 (including outdoor, indoor and the below the line (BTL) sector).

It is clear that the 2008 crisis could not but be reflected in the general situation in the Russian advertising market. However, in comparison with the problems facing the economically developed countries of Europe and the USA, the dynamics are better in Russia. As a well-known advertising analysis agency pointed out in December 2008,

we have to reduce our prognosis for the advertising market growth in 2009 for the countries of the Asian-Pacific region from 5.2 per cent to 3.2 per cent and for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe from 12.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent. For the rest of the world our prognosis remains the same… In the most rapidly developing markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China we predict further growth in 2009: 5 per cent in Russia, 9 per cent in China, 13 per cent in India, and 30 per cent in Brazil.

(ZenithOptimedia 2008)

Since these predictions, fresh data show that the first nine months of 2009 have in fact experienced 30 per cent decline of the Russian advertising market size compared to the previous year. Internet was the only segment that demonstrated some growth (3 per cent), whereas the rest of the segments showed minus ranging between −55 per cent for advertising publications and −21 per cent for TV advertising.

In the long run, however, the Russian advertising market will continue growing, pushed also by globalisation. The Russian consumer market remains insufficiently developed and less attractive to global advertisers. The removal of barriers against foreign companies gaining access to Russian consumers has resulted in intensive foreign capital investment into the media business. The same process has caused an acceleration in the development of the Russian advertising market. Since 2000, many foreign media corporations have bought Russian media companies or established subsidiaries in Russia. Compared with the first wave of foreign media capital in the early 1990s, the second is more substantial. Its first tangible result is the growth of the Russian advertising market. The second result is that global media companies are making preparations in case Russia joins the World Trade Organization, which might be quite profitable for them.

The Russian advertising market is based on all kinds of agencies: full-service agencies, specialised agencies and mega-agencies. A natural tendency towards concentration can be clearly seen here: more than 75 per cent of advertising on TV is controlled by Video International. Among other specific features are the leadership of TV, slower development of print advertising and an increased interest in the Internet. But the most pervasive tendency for the advertising market is its growth hand in hand with the Russian economy, which introduces new challenges to the media, such as a better understanding of the audience and a more precise measurement of its size, structure, demands and interests.

Ownership structures

The central feature of the modern media market in Russia is the heterogeneous character of its economy. This is caused not only by the uneven development of Moscow and the regions but also by the differences in the ownership structures in the media market. Considering the formation of the Russian media market in the 1990s to 2000s in terms of ownership structure, one can observe two basic components: state capital (or, to be more precise, budget capital) and commercial capital. Of the latter there are two varieties, that of Russian financial and industrial groups (also known as ‘oligarch’ capital) and foreign capital (historically always concerned with the media).

In our experience, state capitalisation and commercial capitalisation have proved to be effective in the Russian media not only separately but also in combination. There are three main types of media companies in Russia: state, commercial and mixed companies (‘hybrids’). It is no exaggeration to say that the media industry in Russia has, almost without exception, developed through total diversification, which manifests itself in the entry of Russian financial, industrial and financial and industrial groups’ capital into the media market. It was the latter type, commonly known as the FPG C° business, that was the basis for the foundation of the Russian media enterprises.

Forms of ownership

The main tendency in the evolution of large media ownership in this country in the 2000s has been a decrease in commercial capital and the proportionate increase in state capital and mixed capital. The media are concentrated (directly or indirectly) in the hands of governmental or government-controlled structures. The following three companies of national importance lead the media market today: VGTRK, a state enterprise, Gazprom-Media, an enterprise with a mixed form of ownership, and Prof-Media, a purely commercial structure.

• The Russian Federation Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) controls the national TV companies Rossiia, Kul’tura, Sport, Vesti, RTR-Planeta, Sport-Planeta, Bibigon, regional TV and radio companies (GTRK), the radio companies Radio Rossiia, Maiak, Kul’tura, Vesti-FM, and the Rossiia Internet channel.

• Gazprom-Media controls the TV companies ...

Table of contents

• Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• List of contributors
• Introduction
• Part 1 Mapping the media landscape
• Part 2 Biopolitics of the media
• Part 3 Media as the arbiters of style
• Index