Newspapers in the media-communication system of million cities. Content analytical study

Abstract

In the article the media structure of Russian cities with over one million people is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the content analysis of city newspapers. The study was carried out in correlation between particularities and development conditions of megacities and media system. Statistics on the composition of population, economic, environmental, industrial, transport and other infrastructure indicators were taken in account. The research concept was based on modern approaches to urbanism and sociology of the city, taken as a complex of territorial, managerial, economic, socio-demographic and sociocultural perspectives. Informational and communicative components in the functioning of a modern city, especially a large one, were considered to be especially important. The study has analyzed the content and communicative peculiarities of city newspapers in 13 million-plus cities (excluding Moscow and St. Petersburg).The results of the study showed that the system and content structure of the press in million-plus cities corresponds to the role of megacities in the life of the country. It reflects the functional and infrastructural features of such cities, although some areas of life and problems (economic, environmental and social) are not sufficiently represented by newspapers. In general, newspapers are aimed to serve the leisure function, following the commercial paradigm of communication in general. Although there is reason to say that the structure of the content reflects not only the objective needs of the audience, but rather its interests. Newspapers tend to entertain rather than draw attention to solving important problems. At the same time, the possibilities of professional journalism, which has significant resources not only to keep readers' attention, but to maintain a high level of urban communication, solve urgent problems of the population and the primary tasks, megacities are facing as drivers in the implementation of national projects, are underestimated.