News reception and authoritarian control in a hybrid media system: Russian TV viewers and the Russia-Ukraine conflict
| Published date | 01 August 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02633957211041440 |
| Author | Maxim Alyukov |
| Date | 01 August 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/02633957211041440
Politics
2024, Vol. 44(3) 400 –419
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/02633957211041440
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News reception and
authoritarian control in a
hybrid media system:
Russian TV viewers and the
Russia-Ukraine conflict
Maxim Alyukov
University of Tyumen, Russia; Centre for Independent Social Research, Russia
Abstract
Authoritarian regimes attempt to control the circulation of political information. Scholars
have identified many mechanisms through which actors can use broadcast and digital media to
challenge or sustain authoritarian rule. However, while contemporary media environments are
characterised by the integration of older and newer forms of communication, little is known about
how authoritarian regimes use different media simultaneously to shape citizens’ perceptions. In
order to address this issue, this study relies on focus groups and investigates Russian TV viewers’
cross-media repertoires and their reception of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It argues that some
citizens evaluate state-aligned television narratives as more credible when they are reinforced by
similar narratives in digital media. Citizens’ reactions to this synchronisation are predicated on
their type of media use. For not very active news consumers, the reliance on digital media can
verify the regime’s narratives in television news. Others can escape the synchronisation effect
by actively searching online for additional information or not using digital media for news. These
findings show how authoritarian regimes can utilise the advantages of hybrid media systems to
shape citizens’ perceptions and specify the conditions under which citizens can escape the effects
of the regime’s simultaneous use of different media.
Keywords
digital media, hybrid media systems, media control, media effects, nondemocracies
Received: 5th January 2021; Revised version received: 8th April 2021; Accepted: 29th June 2021
All authoritarian regimes attempt to control the media (Guriev and Treisman, 2019). They
often capture major television networks (Gehlbach and Sonin, 2014). In recent decades,
the increased role of digital media in politics has been also accompanied by autocrats’
awareness of the opportunities offered by digital media. They can devise architectures to
Corresponding author:
Maxim Alyukov, School of Advanced Studies, University of Tyumen, 8 Marta 2/1, 625000 Tyumen, Russia.
Email: max.alyukov@gmail.com
1041440POL0010.1177/02633957211041440PoliticsAlyukov
research-article2021
Article
Alyukov 401
filter traffic (Boas, 2006), use digital media to monitor public opinion (Gunitsky, 2015),
and censor online discussions (King et al., 2013).
Existing studies have yielded rich results regarding citizens’ perception of state-con-
trolled broadcasting and digital media. While citizens in authoritarian countries are often
aware of media bias in television news (Gehlbach and Sonin, 2014; Mickiewicz, 2008),
authoritarian regimes can adapt to this challenge and employ intricate strategies to miti-
gate it, such as realistic messages (Stockmann and Gallagher, 2011) or pre-emptive cover-
age of social problems (Zhu et al., 2013). Similarly, while digital media can negatively
impact the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes (Bailard, 2012), governments can use digi-
tal media to shape public opinion (Deibert and Rohozinski, 2010) and discourage citizens
from protest (Pearce and Kendzior, 2012). However, despite rich evidence of the intricate
mechanisms through which different media can be used to challenge or sustain authoritar-
ian rule, autocrats’ simultaneous use of different media has been a largely ignored issue.
A number of scholars have suggested that the increased integration of media technologies
problematises the distinction between traditional and digital media (e.g. Aday et al., 2012;
Oates, 2016). In hybrid media systems, actors often use different media simultaneously to
shape political outcomes (Chadwick, 2013).
This article attempts to understand how citizens perceive political information in a
hybrid media system in which the government attempts to synchronise reporting across
broadcast and digital media. The Russia-Ukraine conflict presents a good opportunity to
investigate news reception in a hybrid media system under an authoritarian regime. Since
the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Russian government has attempted to
achieve full control of the hybrid informational space and spread similar narratives across
television (Oates, 2016), online news media (Yablokov, 2015), social media (Stukal et al.,
2017), and news aggregators (Daucé and Loveluck, 2021).
This article employs focus groups to investigate Russian TV viewers’ cross-media rep-
ertoires and their reception of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in a hybrid media system. I
argue that some citizens evaluate state-aligned television narratives as more credible when
they are reinforced by similar narratives in digital media. This perception is predicated on
the type of media use. To verify state-aligned television narratives via digital media, one
should consume news online in addition to television news, but not very intensively. The
most and least active TV viewers do not encounter identical narratives in digital media due
to either active digital media use which thereby allows them to circumvent homogeneous
information across media or by not using digital media for news at all. However, escaping
identical narratives in digital media does not guarantee a critical attitude towards the
regime. While the least active Internet users can still perceive the regime’s narratives as
credible due to reliance on state-controlled television, the more active Internet users can
still be receptive to the regime’s narrative due to political preferences.
The article begins with a review of the research on media control and media perception
in authoritarian countries as well as hybrid media systems. I then outline the research
design and analyse Russian TV viewers’ cross-media repertoires and their reception of
the Russia-Ukraine conflict in a hybrid media system. The article concludes by pointing
to the limitations and implications of the study.
Broadcast and digital media under authoritarian regimes
All authoritarian regimes attempt to control media organisations (Schedler, 2002). They
often capture only ‘commanding heights’ – major national television networks – and so
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