Bringing together empirical studies of former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe, this Special Issue explores the relationship between censorship and self-censorship. All the cases under consideration share a history of state-led censorship. Importantly, however, the authors argue that journalism in the former Eastern bloc has developed features similar to those observed in many countries which have never experienced state socialism. This introduction presents the theoretical framework and the historical backgound that provide the backdrop for this Special Issue’s contributions, all of which take a journalist-focused angle.
This article argues that today in Central and Eastern Europe self-censorship, journalistic freedom and autonomy are just as severely affected by economic constraints, oligarchic influences and new authoritarianism as they are by their Communist pasts. Either way, journalists know exactly what to report, what to omit and how to advance their careers. This is reminiscent of adekvatnost’; a distinct strategy employed by Russian journalists, who regard this skill as an expression of professionalism. It implies having a ‘feel for the game’ and the ‘right instinct’, which allows them to enjoy a certain level of freedom in their work and express their creativity. The authors’ interviews with Latvian and Hungarian journalists, editors and producers examined the extent to which adekvatnost’ might be a feature of journalism beyond Russia, in particular when a media system faces rising populism and authoritarianism, paired with oligarch-dominated ownership. As such, knowledge gained about journalistic practices in the countries under investigation might also be useful in understanding media development beyond the post-Communist space, including Western Europe.
This article discusses examples of strategies employed by representatives of Russia's new social upper class to acquire social distinction. By the late 2000s many of the upper-class Russians included in this study distanced themselves from the conspicuous ostentation ascribed to the brutish 1990s. Instead, they strove to gain legitimacy for their social position by no longer aggressively displaying their wealth, but instead elaborating more refined and individualized tastes and manners and reviving a more cultured image and self-image. These changes found their expression in various modes of social distinction ranging from external signs, such as fashion and cars, to ostentation vicariously exercised through the people these upper-class Russians surrounded themselves with. The article will trace these interviewees' strategies for distinction in the late 2000s by discussing tastes in lifestyle and consumption as well as adornment through sartorial signs and through vicarious ostentation, as exemplified by their choice of female company. Changing attitudes towards vehicles and modes of transport, with special regards to the Moscow Metro, will serve as a further illustration of modes of distinction. Crucial for this discussion is the role of the Russian/Soviet intelligentsia, both for vicarious status assertion and elite distinction anchored in the interviewees' social backgrounds.
This article seeks a nuanced understanding of the troubled state that Russian journalism finds itself in today. As much as the Kremlin may be blamed as the source of these woes, it cannot be responsible for low ethical standards and lack of solidarity among journalists. This article explores what has hindered the journalistic community from developing stronger ethical standards over the past twenty‐five years. Three significant events in the first post‐Soviet decade serve as case studies: first, an early ethical code of conduct, the Moscow Charter of Journalists, produced in 1994; second, the 1996 presidential election campaign, which led to president Yeltsin's victory over the Communist Gennadii Zuiganov; and third, the so called “information wars” between oligarchs, culminating in the 2001 demise of the television channel NTV. In unique interviews, conducted by the authors, thirty‐five Russian elite journalists and media managers assessed the role they played in major political events and how these events impacted the freedom of media in Russia today.
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