Blogginh in Russia. The Platform LiveJournal as a professional tool of Russian journalists

• Main Author: Elena Johansson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Södertörns University 2014-09-01
• Series: Baltic Worlds
• Subjects: media; social media; freedom of speech; russian press
• Online Access: http://balticworlds.com/the-blog-platform-livejournal-as-a-professional-tool-of-russian-journalists/

The Russian media model combines elements of Western market economy with the considerable influence of the political elite. In regard to professional journalism, it is characterized by state control of media, restriction of journalistic autonomy, and censorship (including self-censorship). The Russian media system today is a hybrid composed of the main public sphere — that is, state-owned mainstream media — and a parallel public sphere or counter-sphere, consisting of mainstream media relatively disloyal to the Kremlin, and social media. The technological developments that led to the introduction of social media changed traditional journalists’ practices, challenged their professional roles, and created new conditions for journalists worldwide. Russian journalists actively use new social media services, and especially blogs. LiveJournal, one of the most popular and relatively non-controlled blog platforms, is considered a core medium of political and public discourse in Russia. As one of the basic components of the new media system, it has great potential as a useful tool for professional journalistic work. The present study is based on an analysis of one hundred journalist’s blogs maintained on the LiveJournal platform in during the 2012 presidential election in Russia. The findings show to what extent journalists’ blogging (called “j-blogging”) might assist them in their working routine and can be used as a compensatory medium or a tool for professional and personal self-expression in conditions of editorial restrictions.