The changing media in the USSR: New evidence from a recent survey

Abstract

A study examined the changes taking place in the Soviet press and readers' attitude to the media in the age of glasnost. A suri,ey, prepared in English and translated into Russian, was conducted among 96 fourth and final year journalism students at the Leningrad State University, U.S.S.R. to obtain information concerning demographics, readership frequency and sources, and readership of foreign news. Five centrally circulated national newspapers were used (Pravda, Izvestia, Trud, Selskaya Zhizn, and Komsomolskaya Pravda); respondents were requested to report the countries they read about and the countries about which they would like to have more information. Findings revealed that readers appreciated the changes in newspaper content and coverage as a result of the new press freedoms, that they would like to read more about Western countries, and that the circulation of Pravda was on the decline in the wake of a rising electronic media as the primary source in the U.S.S.R. (Six tables of data are included; 39 references are attached.) (KEH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. THE CHANGING MEDIA IN THE USSR: NEW EVIDENCE FROM A RECENT SURVEY Festus Eribo, Stephen Vaughn and Hayg Oshagan Mass Communication Research Center University of Wisconsin-Madison 5050 Vilas Hall Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (608) 263-4859