Media of Russia

Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom of speech the press has been plagued by both government censorship and self-censorship.

There are more than 83,000 active and officially registered media outlets in Russia that broadcast information in 102 languages. Of the total number of media outlets, the breakdown is as follows: magazines – 37%, newspapers – 28%, online media – 11%, TV – 10%, radio – 7% and news agencies – 2%. Print media, which accounts for two thirds of all media, is predominant. Media outlets need to obtain licenses to broadcast. Of the total number of media outlets, 63% can distribute information across Russia, 35% can broadcast abroad and 15% in the CIS region.

Reporters Without Borders compiles and publishes an annual ranking of countries based upon their assessment of their press freedom records. In 2016 Russia was ranked 148th out of 179 countries, six places below the previous year, mainly due to the return of Vladimir Putin. Freedom House compiles a similar ranking and placed Russia at number 176 out of 197 countries for press freedom for 2013, at the level of Sudan and Ethiopia. The Committee to Protect Journalists states that Russia was the country with the 10th largest number of journalists killed since 1992, 26 of them since the beginning of 2000, including four from '' Novaya Gazeta''. It also placed Russia at ninth world-wide for journalists killed with complete impunity.

In December 2014, a Russian investigative site published e-mails, leaked by the hackers' group Shaltai Boltai, which indicated close links between , a member of Vladimir Putin's administration, and Russian journalists, some of whom published Kremlin-originated articles under their own names.

History

Legislative framework

The Russian Constitution protects freedom of speech and of the press. Yet restrictive legislation and a politicised judiciary system have made it particularly difficult for independent journalists to work in Russia. Freedom House, reedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/russia Russia 2015 Press Freedom report/ref>

Russian laws on the media include the 1991 Law on Mass Media, the 2003 Law on Communications, and the 2006 Law on Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information. They have been amended several times. Other federal laws regulate specific issues, such as media coverage of state authorities and political parties, electoral campaigns and restrictions concerning national security.Natalya Krasnoboka
Russia #National Media Policies
, EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010

The broad definition of extremism in Russia legislation and its use to silence government critics has fostered self-censorship among journalists to avoid harassment. Amendments to the Mass Media Law in the late 2000s limited the spread of "extremism, terrorism, violence and pornography" as well as the coverage of anti-terrorism operations. However, the 2006 Federal Law on Combating Terrorism and the 2006 Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity, along with the Federal List of Extremist Materials, became a matter of concern for both domestic and international observers.The October 2009 Concluding Observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee
/ref>Report Of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation For the Year 2006
The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations criticized the lack of a precise definition for “terrorism” or “terrorist activity”, or of any requirement for the counter-terrorist regime to explain itself, or of any legal provision for the authorities' obligation to protect human rights in a counter-terrorist operation. The broad definition of extremism in Russian legislation and its use to silence government critics have fostered self-censorship among journalists to prevent harassment.

The Federal Law On Guarantees of Equality of Parliamentary Parties in Covering their Activities by the National State-Owned TV and Radio Channels adopted in May 2009 guarantees that each Parliamentary Party must enjoy equal share of coverage at state-owned national TV and radio channels. Independency of editorial policies towards viewing Parliamentary parties, as well as citizens right to be comprehensively and unbiasedly informed of parties activities are stipulated by the Law. Control over the proper fulfilment of this Law is performed by the Central Election Committee of Russia with participants of Parliamentary parties, since September 2009.Text of the Federal La
"On Guarantees of Equality of Parliamentary Parties in Covering their Activities by the National State-Owned TV and Radio Channels"

A new law to be implemented at the beginning of 2009 will allow reporters investigating corruption in Russia to be protected. Under new legislation, they will be able to apply for special protection, like court witnesses.

In 2014 two new laws extended the state control over the internet. According to the Federal Law 398 (February 2014), the prosecutor general may bypass the courts and make use of the federal regulator agency Roskomnadzor to directly block websites in order to prevent mass riots, "extremist" activities and illegal assemblies. In the first year of the law, Roskomnadzor blocked over 85 websites, including Aleksey Navalny's blog on Ekho Moskvy's website (which removed it) as well as the news site Grani.ru, the online magazine '' Yezhednevny Zhurnal'', and Kasparov.ru, the website of the opposition activist Garry Kasparov. In July 2014, the online extremism law was used to prevent a march for Siberian autonomy.

The "bloggers' law" no. 97 (May 2014) required any website with over 3,000 daily visits to register with Roskomnadzor as a media outlet, subjecting personal blogs and other websites to the same restrictions foreseen for major publications – including a ban on anonymous authorship and obscenities, as well as legal responsibility for users' comments. Under a follow-up law passed in July 2014, social networks are required to store their data in Russia in order for them to be accessible by the authorities.

Status and self-regulation of journalists

The Congress of Russia's Journalists adopted a Code of Professional Ethics in 1994. Yet, it has mainly remained dead letter, being hardly applied by most media workers.

An article of the Mass Media Law also specifies the rights and duties of journalists.

Media outlets

Russia was among the first countries to introduce radio and television. While there were few channels in Soviet times, in the past two decades many new state and privately owned radio stations and TV channels have appeared. Mass media in Russia continued to develop in 2000s, as the number of periodicals, broadcasting companies and electronic media has more than doubled from 1997 to 2006.Russia as friend, not foe
By Nicolai N Petro. In 2005 a state-run English language Russia Today TV started broadcasting, and its Arabic version Rusiya Al-Yaum was launched in 2007.

The allocation of advertising by governmental agencies is an important means of influence over content, as is access to subsidized state-owned printing, distribution and transmission facilities. Private businesses refrain from advertising on independent outlets. Starting from 2015, satellite and cable channels with subscription fees would be forbidden from airing advertisement, thus hindering the financial sustainability of Dozhd and of other foreign content providers.

According to a 2009 report by Reporters Without Borders in 2009, "the current situation of the media in the Russian regions provides grounds for hope as well as for concern"."Russia, Heroes and Henchmen, The Work of Journalist and the Media in Russian Regions"
, Reporters Without Borders, September 2009. The regional print media has been able to maintain a solid position as an information resource. However, most publishers shy away from politically charged topics in order not to endanger their business. The situation is similar in radio where journalist has set up an Internet forum in which radio journalists can publish reports that their often strictly formatted radio stations refuse to broadcast.

News agencies

As of 2018, the three main news agencies in Russia were TASS, RIA Novosti and Interfax.Natalya Krasnoboka
Russia #Media Organisations
, EJC Media Landscapes, circa 2010
* TASS, founded in 1904, is a federal, state-owned news agency, working throughout Soviet times as TASS. It has over 500 correspondents and broadcasts in six languages, with 350-650 items daily. In 2010 it was among the four biggest world news agencies (with Reuters, AP and AFP). It has the biggest photo archive in Russia.
* RIA Novosti is another state-owned news agency, founded in 1941 as the Soviet Information Bureau and in 1991 turned into the Russian Information Agency (RIA) Novosti with correspondents in 40 countries, and broadcasting in 14 languages.
* Interfax is a private news agency, part of the Interfax Information Services Group, founded in 1989, with over 30 agencies throughout Eastern Europe and Asia. It was the first non-state information channel in the Soviet Union, and in 1993 it established the first Russian news agency specialised in economics, Interfax-AFI.

Other news agencies include Rossiya segodnya, REGNUM News Agency, Russian Agency of Legal and Judicial Information, and Rosbalt. Overall there are more than 400 news agencies in the Russian Federation.

Print media

According to statistics published by UNESCO in 2005, Russia had the largest number of newspaper journalists in the world (102,300), followed by China (82,849) and the United States (54,134),.
As of 2008 Russia had over 400 daily newspapers, covering many fields, and offering a range of perspectives. The total number of newspapers in Russia is 8,978, and they have a total annual circulation of 8.2 billion copies. There are also 6,698 magazines and periodicals with a total annual circulation of 1.6 billion copies.

after television, newspapers are the second most popular media in Russia. Local newspapers are more popular than national ones, with 27% of Russians consulting local newspapers routinely and 40% reading them occasionally. For national newspapers, the corresponding figures are 18% and 38%, respectively.Oates, p.128

As of 2008, companies close to the Russian government, such as Gazprom, had acquired several of the most influential newspapers; however, the national press market still offers its consumers a more diverse range of views than those same consumers can sample on the country's leading television channels. Major Russian newspapers with foreign owners include the ''Vedomosti'' and '' SmartMoney'' owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. A number of American editions (such as '' GQ'') have Russian versions.
An October 2014 law limited to 20% the maximum quota of foreign ownership in the Russian media by 2017. This will affect independent publications such as ''Vedomosti'' and '' Forbes Russia''.

According to figures from the National Circulation Service agency, the most popular newspaper is '' Argumenty i Fakty'' which has a circulation of 2.9 million. It is followed by ''Weekly Life'' (1.9 million), ''TV Guide'' (1.2 million) and Perm Region ''Izvestiya'' (1 million).Oates pp.121–122 However, only about half of all Russian newspapers are registered with the agency. Some leading newspapers in Russia are tabloids, including '' Zhizn''. The most important business newspapers are ''Vedomosti'' and the influential ''Kommersant''. Many newspapers are opposition-leaning, such as the critical ''Nezavisimaya Gazeta'' and '' Novaya Gazeta'', which is known for its investigative journalism. The main English-language newspapers were ''Moscow Times'' and '' The St. Petersburg Times''. Six of the ten most circulated Russian newspapers are based in Moscow, while the other four are based in other cities and regions.

Main newspapers

*''Izvestia'' – oldest popular daily
*'' Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' – government-owned daily
*'' Komsomolskaya Pravda'' – mass circulation, left-leaning daily
*'' Trud'' – left-leaning daily
*'' Argumenty i Fakty'' – popular weekly
*'' Krestyanka'' – popular weekly
*''Kommersant'' – daily, news and business-orientated
*''Moskovskij Komsomolets'' – popular daily
*''Nezavisimaya Gazeta'' – pro-gowerment privately owned daily
*'' Novaya Gazeta'' – pro-opposition daily, known for its investigative journalism
*''Vedomosti'' – daily financial and analytical newspaper
*''RBC Daily'' – daily financial and analytical newspaper
*''Sovetsky Sport'' – daily (except Sunday) sport newspaper
*'' The New Times'' – weekly independent newspaper
*'' Vokrug sveta'' – monthly popular science magazine
*''Za Rulem'' - monthly car magazine
*''Autoreview'' - bimonthly car magazine
*'' Expert'' - weekly business magazine
*''Russian reporter'' - weekly sociopolitical magazine
*'' Afisha'' - bimonthly magazine on urban developments in the field of entertainment
*''Znanie-Sila'' - monthly popular science magazine
*''Ogonyok'' - socio-political and literary illustrated weekly magazine
*''Tekhnika Molodezhi'' - monthly popular science and literary magazine
*'' Literaturnaya Gazeta'' - weekly literary and sociopolitical magazine
*'' Zhizn'' - weekly tabloid
*'' Express Gazeta'' - tabloid
*''Sport Express'' - sport daily
*''Pravda'' - official triweekly newspaper of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

Main online newspapers

*'' Meduza -'' online general interest newspaper
*'' Gazeta.ru'' - politics and business online newspaper
*'' Lenta.ru'' - online general interest newspaper
*'' LifeNews'' - tabloid
*'' Moskovskiye Novosti'' - business newspaper
*'' Novye Izvestia'' - online general interest newspaper
*'' Pravda.ru'' - pro-government online tabloid (not connected to ''Pravda'' communist newspaper)
*'' Pravo.ru'' - online newspaper specializing in legal journalism
*'' Russia 24'' - state-owned online newspaper
*'' Russkiy Kurier'' - online general interest newspaper
*'' Slon.ru'' - business online newspaper

Publishing

Radio broadcasting

As of 2008 there were three main nationwide radio stations in Russia: Radio Russia (coverage: 96.9% of the population), Radio Mayak (92.4%) and Radio Yunost (51.0%). Most radio stations focused on broadcasting music but they also offered some news and analysis. Especially famous had been the independent Gazprom-controlled station Echo of Moscow, once known for its political independence.

The most popular radio stations are distributed by key nationwide radio holdings:

1. VGTRK (The Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company):

*'' Radio Rossii (Radio Russia)'' — national network.
*''Radio Mayak'' — state-run national network.
*'' Vesti FM'' — informational radio station.
*'' Radio Yunost'' — youth station.
*''Radio Kultura (Culture)'' — music of various genres and directions, as well as shows on cultural and social topics.

2. European Media Group:

*''Europa Plus'' — non-government commercial station.
*''Retro FM'' — commercial radio station. Domestic and foreign music of the 1970s-2000s.
*''Dorozhnoye Radio'' — music of Russian and foreign hits of the 80s, 90s, chanson, pop.
*''Radio 7'' — 2000s hits and 1960s-1990s classics.
*''Studio'' ''21'' — youth station dedicated to hip-hop culture.
*''Novoye'' ''Radio'' — music radio station. Hits and shows.

3. GPM Radio (Gazprom Media):

*'' AvtoRadio'' — music radio station. Mostly domestic hits and less often foreign hits of the 1980s-2000s.
*''Humor'' ''FM'' — comedy programs and pop music.
*''NRJ'' — branch of the radio station of the common French brand NRJ Group in Russia. Format: CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio).
*''Romantica'' — information and music radio station.
*''Like'' ''FM'' — radio station aimed at a young audience. Russian and foreign music.
*''Comedy'' ''Radio'' — federal talk radio station. Format: CHR.
*''Relax'' ''FM'' — melodic and relaxing music.
*''Detskoe'' ''Radio'' — radio station aimed at children.

4. Russian Media Group:

*'' Russkoye Radio'' — national network with music exclusively in Russian.
*''Radio Maximum'' — Russian-American radio station.
* ''Hit FM'' — Russian and foreign hits.
*''DFM'' — federal non-commercial dance radio station.
*''Radio Monte-Carlo'' — radio for a premium audience. World classics of jazz, rock and pop music.

5. Krutoy Media:

*''Radio'' ''Dacha'' — information and music radio.
*''Taxi'' ''FM'' — Russian and foreign rock music.
*''Love'' ''Radio'' — modern pop Russian hits and entertainment programs.
*''Vostok'' ''FM'' — music and information radio station. Mix of popular oriental, Russian and foreign songs.
*''Vesna'' ''FM'' — golden classic of the Russian and foreign stage. Modern hits.
*''Russkiy'' ''Hit'' — infotainment radio station.

6. Multimedia Holding:

*''Nashe Radio'' — post-Soviet Russian rock.
*''Rock'' ''FM'' — Moscow-based radio station tracing the classics of world rock.
*''Radio'' ''Jazz'' — music of Jazz styles

7. Rumedia:

*''Business'' ''FM'' — business radio station with news and analytics.
*''Radio'' ''Chocolate'' — "cover radio". New sound of recognized world hits.

Other well-known radio stations:
*''Kommersant FM —'' information radio station.
*''Radio Sputnik —'' information and analytical radio station.

''DND Russian Radio''
– News/Music from South Asia and Central and Eastern Europe
*'' Radio Record'' – club/dance radio network

Like the RIA Novosti news agency, the Voice of Russia broadcaster was merged into a new media agency Rossiya Segodnya, officially "to save money", under a 9 December 2013 presidential decree.

On 18 February 2014, a shareholders' meeting replaced the station's long-serving director, Yury Fedutinov, with former the Voice of Russia's Yekaterina Pavlova, a Kremlin-loyalist in "the latest in a series of personnel reshuffles at top state-owned media organizations that appear to point toward a tightening of Kremlin control over an already heavily regulated media landscape" the state owned RIA Novosti news agency reported the same day. The station's editor-in-chief, Alexei Venediktov, and his deputy, Vladimir Varfolomeev, were also removed from the broadcaster's board of directors. Venediktov, one of the station's founders, had written on 11 March on his Twitter account: "Gazprommedia (owner of 66% of the broadcaster's shares) urged the early dismissal of the radio's board of directors and a change in independent directors".

Television broadcasting

Television is the most popular media in Russia, with 74% of the population watching national television channels routinely and 59% routinely watching regional channels. There are 330 television channels in total. Three channels have a nationwide outreach (over 90% coverage of the Russian territory): Channel One (a.k.a. First Channel), Russia-1 (a.k.a. Rossiya), and NTV. As stated by the BBC
...