Representation of Information Sources in the Regional News Agenda of the TASS Agency

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of balancing the news agenda within the representation of newsmakers. The paper analyzes approaches to study the institutions and authority representation as news sources, and highlights the fact of the dependence of news editorials on PR-structures as a general trend that has developed in world practice in recent decades. The author analyzes the range of information sources that journalists of the most extensive correspondent network in the country TASS agency have been working with for 10 years. The article discusses various types of information sources, and also presents the author's version of it based on the "Galtung's triangle". According to this, the percentage of the presence in the news various newsmakers — representatives of government, business, and civil society — was calculated using the content analysis method. Data on the share of exclusive information on the agency's feed and its dynamics over 10 years have been obtained, and the difference in this indicator in various federal districts of the Russian Federation was shown. The study demonstrates how often journalists attract additional sources working with press releases. The results indicate a high degree of editorial dependence on regional officials as information sources, as well as the hypertrophied presence in the news of law enforcement agencies, emergency services, etc. The author concludes that the information sources range used by journalists in the regions reflects the dominance of the executive branch; journalists should interact more actively with representatives of the legislature, business structures and civil society.