Institutional Legitimacy and Russian News: Case Studies of Four Regional Newspapers

Lowrey, Wilson; Erzikova, Elina

doi:10.1080/10584609.2010.494282

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In accordance with previous research (Erzikova and Lowrey, 2010;Lowrey and Erzikova, 2010), isomorphic changes in the regional news organizations were mediated by the degree of dependency on government subsidies. The Citizen's expenses are paid by the regional government and its reporters seem to support the official agenda more strongly than papers that do not enjoy the same degree of financial support.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Unlike the early Western European press, Russian newspapers were political instruments of top-down control, not a public sphere (Arutunyan, 2009;Strovsky, 2012). It appears there is scant evidence of the culture of autonomy and resistance in Russian provincial journalism Lowrey and Erzikova, 2010), and this helps explain why the newspapers examined here might be susceptible to isomorphic pressures imposed by the local government more than Western publications of a similar kind.…”

Section: Coercive Isomorphismmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Preventive journalism as a means of controlling regional media in Russia

Erzikova

Lowrey

2014

Global Media and Communication

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This article utilizes new institutional theory and its principle -coercive isomorphism -to examine explicit and implicit pressures exerted on news organizations by a regional government in Russia in 2009 and 2010. The study found that while empowering regional reporters by the myth of helping underprivileged citizens, the authorities divert the media from scrutinizing the government. The political officials outsource media relations to media themselves, turning them into public relations agents. This mission seems to homogenize the content of regional newspapers since the government becomes the main source of information.In an attempt to capitalize on the perestroika and glasnost legacy, former Russian President Medvedev demanded openness and transparency from the state and regional governments. However, historically in Russia, the concept of glasnost has aimed to control, rather than promote, freedom of speech (Rulyova, 2010). Given that two Russian leaders of the 20th century -Lenin and Gorbachev -encouraged glasnost as a means to limit 'what could be publicly discussed' (Rulyova, 2010: 234), Medvedev's effort to simulate transparency was not a new phenomenon in Russian politics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Coercive Isomorphismmentioning

confidence: 94%

Preventive journalism as a means of controlling regional media in Russia

Erzikova

Lowrey

2014

Global Media and Communication

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“…News decision-makers tend to conform to needs of other institutions (Cook, 1998;Lowrey and Erzikova, 2010;Ryfe, 2006), to adhere to routines (Shoemaker and Vos, 2009;Tuchman, 1978), and to rely on available models for decisionmaking, mimicking the forms and practices of other news organizations (Boczkowski, 2007;Lowrey, 2005Lowrey, , 2009. As mentioned, they share ''tacit knowledge'' across the strong ties of this institutional network so as to ensure consistency with accepted norms and practices (Swan and Scarbrough, 2005).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 98%

Institutionalism, News Organizations and Innovation

Lowrey¹

2011

Journalism Studies

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“…Twenty years later, only a small number of studies have examined Russian regional media and provincial journalists (e.g., Davis et al, 1998;Erzikova and Lowrey, 2010;Koltsova, 2006;Lowrey and Erzikova, 2010;Pasti, 2005aPasti, , 2005b. As Davis et al noted, ''While centralized broadcasting and communications in the Russian Federation continue to have a dominant role, the centrifugal tendencies of the post-Soviet period have enhanced the autonomy and importance of the provincial media'' (1998, p. 77).…”

Section: The Regional Press In Russiamentioning

confidence: 98%