The role of Russian media in the formation of civil society in Russia. Journalism as a social institution of society. Media as the “fourth estate” References

In the era of development of the information society in Russia, the media are becoming increasingly important, playing an important role in the formation of the rule of law and civil society. Civil society is usually characterized as an open, democratic society where there is a plurality of opinions and general information. Therefore, one of the main elements of civil society is the media, which provide citizens with access to broad and varied information. Considering the media as an institution of civil society in this article, let us first define the meaning of the term “Civil Society” itself. Civil society, according to Doctor of Law S.N. Kozhevnikov. in the modern understanding, it is an independent system of social relations, independent of the state, but interacting with it, in which economic, political, spiritual and legal ties are present and freely developing. In his book “Structural Change of the Public”, the famous sociologist J. Habermas argues that the organizational principle of civil society is formed by non-state and non-profit associations that arose on a voluntary basis, which includes religious, cultural associations, independent mass media, sports organizations and extends to professional associations , political parties, trade unions and alternative institutions. The formation of civil society is a complex, permanent process where the development of society and the state is interconnected. Firstly, the formation of both occurs simultaneously, secondly, on the one hand, it is impossible to build a civil society outside the rule of law, since civil society gains its significance thanks to a certain system of guarantees from the state, on the other hand, the gradual formation of civil society institutions can influence development of the state itself. Thirdly, as we know, it is impossible to build a civil society only by decree “from above”. Civil society and the state, according to Doctor of Law N.I. Matuzov, should not oppose each other, but coherently interact on the basis of respect for the law. The state directly influences the structures of civil society, but at the same time experiences a reverse reaction. One of the key institutions influencing the legal policy of the state is the media. Since, due to their publicity and openness, fulfilling the will of the people, they can directly or indirectly influence the law-making activities of the state, criticizing bills, making changes to them or proposing new ones. This freedom of the media is primarily ensured by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, where Article 29 states that everyone has the right to freedom of speech and thought, censorship is prohibited. Clauses 3 and 4 of Article 29 state that it is inadmissible to force a person to express their opinions and beliefs or to renounce them, and everyone also has the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any legal way. In the Federal Law “On the Mass Media” No. 2124-1 of December 27, 1991. the first article also deals with freedom of the media. In the same law, Article 3 states that officials, bodies state power, organizations, public associations do not have the right to demand that media editors approve materials and impose bans on the dissemination of certain messages. Here, Article 4 of the Federal Law “On the Mass Media” states the inadmissibility of abuse of freedom of the media. Here we notice a certain coexistence of censorship and freedom of speech. We think that this is necessary in connection with establishing a balance of freedom, the inadmissibility of state censorship, on the one hand, and public and state control over the prevention of abuse of media freedom, on the other. But often these rights to freedom of speech are violated in Russian state. We believe that this is primarily due to the imperfection of our legislation, which periodically introduces new amendments to existing laws, thereby limiting freedoms and human rights. Therefore, not all media can function to the full extent required in a democratic society. Civil society, as many scientists believe, differs from authoritarian society by the presence of independent media that could objectively reflect state and legal reality. The independence of the media, in our opinion, is determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation in Part 1 of Article 13 on ideological diversity; according to this provision, different philosophical, legal, political, economic ideas and views can coexist in society. The principle of ideological diversity makes it possible to establish new media that differ in their typological palette. If in Soviet period development, in Russia there was only a vertical (party) typology of publications, which means the predominance of a single idea and complete state control over periodicals, then with the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a horizontal structure was developed that corresponded to modern democratic principles (the functioning of independent, autonomous and at the same time interacting information organizations ). The media provide the population with up-to-date and reliable information about the most important events. One of the equally important functions of periodicals is educational, educational, which contribute to the socialization of the individual. The media as an institution of civil society in a certain way shapes the legal consciousness of an individual. According to sociological statistics, the majority of the population prefer the media to other sources where they can find out legal information. Although today the legal reference systems “Garant”, “ConsultantPlus”, “Pravo”, “Code”, and special printed publications are quite well developed, they are dedicated to a narrow circle of readers, lawyers. While in state printed publications a set of legal acts is usually published already adapted for the mass reader. Thus, the media are an important tool for disseminating basic democratic ideas and principles for assimilating the legal norms of society. The media, being involved in the “state - media - civil society” system, on the one hand, contribute to the implementation of state information policy, regulating the processes of information influence in various spheres of life of society and the state. On the other hand, acting as an element of civil society, they carry out a dialogue between citizens, society and the state. They identify the interests of citizens, bring their problems and wishes to the attention of the highest authorities, accumulate and form public opinion regarding the actions of the authorities. Thus, the media in civil society act as a body of control and moderate criticism of government power.

(Grib V.V.) (“Information Law”, 2010, No. 1)

MEDIA AS AN INSTITUTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY

V.V. GRIG

Grib Vladislav Valerievich, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, candidate of legal sciences, associate professor.

Research of the media from the point of view of building civil society in the existing political and legal realities modern Russia is relevant. The article notes that there is still a lot to be done to meet international standards in the development of information democracy in our country. The author's conclusions can be used in law-making activities.

Key words: media, civil society, information relations, information.

Mass Media as institution of Civil Society V. V. Grib

Study of mass media from the viewpoint of formation of civil society in the existing political-law realities of contemporary Russia is topical. The article notes that a lot should be done to meet the world standards in the formation of informational democracy in our country. The author’s conclusions can be used in law-making activity.

Key words: mass media, civil society, informational relations, information.

In democratic states, their citizens have a need for access to information, which determines the important role of the media in the life of society, not only as an object of information policy, but also as its subject. At the same time, civil society is an open society in terms of providing access to broad and diverse information. It is difficult to imagine any of its spheres without information relations. These relationships can develop both directly in the communication of citizens with each other, and through indirect print mass-media, Internet, television, radio. The media has a significant influence on the formation of the legal consciousness of citizens. An important role of the media in the promotion of legal knowledge is assigned to printed legal propaganda, one of the sides of which is the publication of legal literature (scientific, popular, commentaries on current legislation). In a certain sense, the media are the bearer of public legal consciousness and a means of introducing it into individual legal consciousness. The media, acting as one of the ideal spiritual components of the social environment, connects individual legal consciousness with social existence, and this connection is indirect. The press and electronic media in our country have long become an integral part of the spiritual life of society. They belong to those factors whose influence a person experiences throughout his adult life. Legal literature not only introduces people to collective experience, but also serves as a method and means of social and legal orientation. The publication of legislative acts is fundamentally different from all other types of printed propaganda. This difference lies in the fact that there is a strictly regulated procedure for the official publication of regulations. Acts of a normative nature consolidate the state will in the form general rules behavior addressed to the broad masses of the population. They express legal ideology, which is concretized in a legal requirement. In this regard, the publication of a normative act serves printed form dissemination of legal ideology. In our country there is a widely ramified system of sources for publishing legal acts. These are, first of all, periodicals of official bodies that publish regulations, information and reference manuals on legislation, various collections of regulations, which are designed both for certain categories of employees of government and non-government organizations, and for various groups of the population. However, the publication of legislative acts alone is not enough to resolve the issue of legal literacy of the population. Therefore, a lot of work is needed to ensure that people understand the norms of the current legislation. The media shape the citizen's legal consciousness. “Enlightenment is a person’s exit from the state of his minority, in which he finds himself through his own fault. Juvenility is the inability to use one's reason without the guidance of someone else."<1>. ——————————— <1>Kant I. Works in six volumes. T. 6. M.: Mysl, 1966 (Philosophical heritage). pp. 25 - 36.

So, the media, as a purposeful process of transmitting information, are a necessary condition formation of personality and civil society, since they represent the most important means of disseminating basic democratic ideas and principles of mastering the legal norms of society. From the media, a person receives from the state and society a significant part of the information, the necessary cognitive material that he needs to become a citizen and develop civil society. A number of scientists note that the inclusion of the media in the structure of civil society has traditionally<2>. However, N.I. Matuzov believes that one of its main elements is not just any media, but independent media<3>, and V.S. Mokry considers state media to be such elements<4>. ——————————— <2>See: Gavrilenko V.I. Civil society and the rule of law: the problem of ensuring synchronous development // Constitutional development of Russia: Interuniversity. Sat. scientific Art. Saratov, 2006. Issue. 7. P. 37.<3>See: Matuzov N. I. Current problems of the theory of law. Saratov, 2003. P. 395.<4>See: Mokry V.S. Local self-government in the Russian Federation as an institution of public power in civil society. Samara, 2003. P. 28.

I think a more balanced approach is needed. Media independence is a kind of legal fiction. The media in any case depend on the owner, founder, who appoints the editor-in-chief, on the availability of information sources, pressure from law enforcement agencies or crime, etc. In addition, state media also often reflect different positions, and publications of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is a vivid example of this. Both houses of parliament are headed by leaders of competing parties. It should be especially emphasized that the media, as an institution of civil society, is the most effective means of control over power. Thus, Kwame Anthony Appiah, a professor at Princeton University, noted: “Democracy cannot function if citizens are deprived of basic information on the basis of which they can judge the actions of their leaders.”<5>. ——————————— <5>Competition of the professional press as a prevention of demagoguery // Nezavisimaya Gazeta. 2009. 12 Oct. // URL: http:// www. lenizdat. ru/ a0/ ru/ pm1/ c-1080305-0.html.

In Art. 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of mass information, censorship is prohibited, and also guarantees “freedom of thought and speech”, the right “to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and disseminate information in any legal way.” Currently, from a sphere of ideological influence completely controlled by the state in Soviet times, the media have turned into a mass information industry and a key instrument of the country’s political system. Today, electronic media are one of the most important areas of economics and politics. The media is a single whole, with a complex structure and diverse functions. During the Soviet years, our citizens were isolated from global information exchange. Materials in the Soviet media were selected in such a way as not to allow citizens to doubt the correctness of the actions of the country's leaders. The party elite understood well that information is power, and its leakage would allow the governed to have their own opinion about the political processes taking place in the state. But the right to information and freedom of speech is a natural human right; it is not granted by the authorities, but arises independently of it. This right has been confirmed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation<6>, which stipulates that “everyone has the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, produce and distribute information in any legal way” (Part 4 of Article 29). Part 5 of the same article guarantees freedom of mass information and prohibits censorship. But enshrining the right to information in the Basic Law does not create real opportunities for citizens to obtain the information they need. ———————————<6>See: Constitution of the Russian Federation of December 12, 1993 (taking into account amendments made by the Laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2008 N 6-FKZ and of December 30, 2008 N 7-FKZ) / / Russian newspaper. 2009. 21 Jan. N 7; Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 2009. N 4. Art. 445; Parliamentary newspaper. 2009. 23 - 29 January. N 4.

Today in our country there is no single regulatory act on the mechanism for implementing the right to information. The provisions on the use of information resources are reflected in Federal Law No. 149-FZ “On Information, information technology and on information protection"<7>. This Federal Law is of a “technological” nature and regulates relations arising in the formation and use of information resources, the creation and use of information technologies, the protection of information, etc. The rules and regulations governing the right to information are scattered across various regulations and fragmentarily regulate relevant legal relations, and some are outdated. ———————————<7>See: Federal Law of July 27, 2006 N 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and information protection” // Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 2006. N 31 (part 1). Art. 3448.

This situation, according to a number of authors, has led to the fact that “censorship has moved from the sphere of control over the content of information in the media to the sphere of control over information provided to journalists”<8>. Journalists' access to it began to be regulated. Modern democracy, according to Russian lawyers, is unthinkable without freedom of the media, which is its necessary element<9>. ——————————— <8>Russian journalism: freedom of access to information. M., 1996. P. 10.<9>See: Nikitushkina V. Mass media - an institution of an emerging civil society in Russia // Law and Life. Independent legal journal. M.: Manuscript, 2000. N 31. P. 102.

The imperfection of domestic legislation in the field of media can lead to situations where officials can hide objective information without violating established rules. Opinions are expressed that “press centers, public relations centers and other similar units that emerged under many structures have become not intermediaries in the relationship between government bodies and the media, but a kind of barrier in such communication, an organizational structure designed to dose, filter, and sometimes distort information, even through a kind of censorship"<10>. Information often becomes a tool for manipulating public opinion and mood on the part of the state, which is especially acute during election campaigns. ———————————<10>Judicial Chamber for Information Disputes under the President of the Russian Federation. M., 1997. P. 371.

I would like to note that the process of establishing information democracy in our country is in its infancy, and much remains to be done to meet international standards. And although the government legally defined the boundaries of freedom of speech and allowed the establishment of independent media for its expression, it stopped there. There are no real mechanisms to respond to problems voiced by free media. But it is the media that are the “watchdogs of democracy.” In Russia, where the process of formation of civil society and the state legal system is underway, the problem of the media and legal regulation of their activities is especially acute. An analysis of the provisions of the Constitution gives grounds for the conclusion that they comply with international standards established by the norms international law. The Russian Constitution has defined the fundamental principles of the activities of the media, and more specific issues should be resolved by special and sectoral legislation. As you know, in December 1991 the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Mass Media” was adopted<11>. The Law is based on the democratic principle of freedom of the media. It enshrined the freedom to search, receive, produce and disseminate mass information, as well as establish media. The prohibition of censorship has been confirmed, but the abuse of freedom of media is also prohibited. The prohibitions contained in the Constitution include: the use of the media to commit crimes, to disclose state secrets, to promote war, as well as pornography, the cult of violence and cruelty (Article 4). ———————————<11>See: Law of the Russian Federation of December 27, 1991 N 2124-1 (as amended on February 9, 2009) “On the Mass Media” // Russian newspaper. 1992. 8 Feb. N 32; Gazette of the SND and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. 1992. N 7. Art. 300.

It should be especially emphasized that an important form of interaction between the state and the media is the reaction government agencies to critical materials concerning them. Suffice it to recall the Presidential Decree of June 6, 1996 “On measures to strengthen discipline in the public service system”<12>. A decree that obliged the heads of federal executive bodies and heads of executive power of the constituent entities of the Federation to consider critical media materials and report on the measures taken. But we must frankly admit that practice in this area can hardly be considered satisfactory. ———————————<12>Russian news. 1996. June 8. N 106; Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 1996. Art. 2868. N 24. ; Russian newspaper. 1996. June 11. N 109.

It is also necessary to note the Federal Law of January 13, 1995 N 7-FZ (as amended on May 12, 2009) “On the procedure for covering the activities of government bodies in state media”<13>. Its essence is that state media must promptly and sufficiently inform the population about the activities of state bodies. It must be admitted that this Law actually does not work, since the corresponding by-laws have not been adopted. ———————————<13>Collection of legislation of the Russian Federation. 1995. N 3. Art. 170.

The role of civil law in regulating the activities of the media is key. First of all, this concerns the economic side of those activities that were not mentioned in the Law “On the Mass Media”. At the same time, it is positive that the norms of the Civil Code extend their provisions to the protection of intangible rights, including personal dignity, honor and good name, business reputation, privacy, personal and family secrets (Article 150 of the Civil Code). The state, for a number of reasons - the difficult economic situation in the country, the underdevelopment of civil society and the processes of self-regulation of the media - must take on the brunt of regulating processes in the field of mass communications.

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Media and civil society: definition of the concept, basic models of civil society.

Media and civil society (CS)

A concept is the main cell of culture in the human mental world.
The concept does not arise directly from the lexical meaning of a word, it is broader. This is the result of a collision between the dictionary meaning of a word and a person’s personal and folk experience (Stranger, Blockade, etc.)

Concept structure:
- Everything that belongs to the structure of the concept (generic characteristics, etc.)
- What translates a word from the dictionary into life makes it a cultural factor (etymology, history of the concept, modern associations, assessment of the phenomenon...)

Concepts form their own world in the mind. Any conceptualization must take this into account.

Civilization is the will to coexist. They grow wild as they stop taking each other into account.
Civil society does not speak on behalf of the entire people, but everyone has a voice.
GO = Open Society = Information Society.
Main components of GO:
- market relations in the economy
- human rights
- respect for the law (which protects human rights!)
- publicity and information openness of the authorities (which is really accountable to the people!)

GO life projects:
1. Westernization project. It is based on the belief in the inevitability of building a universal world community, based on democracy, liberalism, scientific and cultural progress, and a market economy everywhere.
2. Modernization project. A form of adaptation of traditional society to the conditions of a globalizing world. The point is to preserve cultural roots, but connect them with Western civilization.
3. Archaic project. (Fundamentalist). A fundamental rejection of Western values. Reliance on the idea of ​​returning to the roots, the foundations of folk wisdom.

Historical roots of civil defense:
- L-tendency. (Locke). Civil society is an ethical community living according to natural laws “before” and “outside” politics. The world of pre-political life of society.
- M-tendency. (Montesquieu). GO – A set of independent associations of citizens that mediate relations between an individual and the state and, if necessary, protect the individual’s freedom from power. The starting point is a strong centralized state, where organizations protect individuals from it. They are schools of freedom.
- Hegel. Synthesis: GO is one of the stages in the development of ethical life, whose contradictions will be removed when a state appears that realizes universal interests.

The “vulgar” version of civil society is a dense network of civil associations that promote the stability and effectiveness of democracy by influencing the mental makeup of citizens and calling them under the banner of public activity, if suddenly this is necessary through the ability of associations.

Russian mentality:
- State-paternalistic complex
Paternalism – 1. patronage of the elder over the younger, guardianship. 2. a system of additional benefits and payments at the expense of the entrepreneur in order to reduce tension and retain staff. 3. Guardianship of large states over weaker states, colonies, trust territories.

The psychology of egalitarianism (nothing to do with equality!)
The feeling that any person is socially weak. This is a compensator, not for me, but for everyone. The success of one deprives of consolation and causes condemnation. Lack of success ethics.
Weak responsibility for one’s life - trust in fate, power, God, Rock...

A unique understanding of freedom
Invariably associated with anarchy. True freedom of speech - I don’t write what I want, but freedom to disseminate and receive information.

Today's lecture.

The principles of civil society and their applicability to modern Russian reality still cause lively discussions, including in the domestic mass media. The future journalist needs to know the basic provisions of this concept and the principles of civil society, especially those related to the role mass communication, including the media, in the development of democratic processes and the formation of civil society, in order to independently develop their point of view and competently implement their professional activity taking into account modern democratic concepts of the functioning of the media.

The implementation of the information and communication essence of the media requires them to reflect all social processes occurring in society, including already known and newly emerging evidence of the activity of citizens, their solidarity and organization, defending their rights and interests, participation in public affairs, in other words, forms civil participation and when covering these topics, a special value approach is required, characteristic of the civic position of the media. No matter how banal it may sound, it is necessary to evaluate certain ongoing events from the point of view of society, its interests and civic values, which is not always realized in the practice of modern media.

Civil society is considered as a special relatively autonomous sphere of social life, which develops as it historical development thanks to the processes of self-regulation and self-government occurring in it.

Among the institutions and elements of civil society with which citizen journalism should interact, the activities of which should be reflected in their materials, various public associations and non-profit organizations (often called non-governmental) are considered. The most important direction of the functioning of the media is its interaction with public opinion, the special role of the media in relation to it as an attribute and element of civil defense.

It is also important to study the ways and forms through which public participation in media activities, the so-called civic participation, is possible, and those that exist in today’s Russian media.

The modern understanding of mass communication assumes its functioning as a two-way channel of communication with society and public participation in the production of content. Only under this condition can the media, as the most powerful channel of MK, effectively perform their functions of socially orienting the audience and forming public opinion. At the same time, the interaction of the media with the most active, responsible and interested part of society contributes to the emergence and strengthening of civil society institutions in the country. The relevance of this issue has intensified with the entry of the media into the market. In pursuit of advertising funds, the management of publications and channels began to focus more on the requests of advertisers and sponsors, paying significantly less attention to the interests of their audience and the needs of society for complete, reliable and objective information. A common model of the media's relationship with the audience has been to view it as a commodity sold to an advertiser or sponsor. The advertising market acts as an incentive and financial support for audience research. But at the same time, it limits the direction of these studies to ratings, forgetting about the need for editorial staff to know the motives for consuming information, the situations in which the audience addresses it, the social experience they have, the existing image and lifestyle, etc. deeper characteristics.

This orientation has led to an underestimation of the connections between editorial offices and the audience and society in general. We are talking about such forms of communication as traditional mail and electronic mail, which emerged with the Internet, which remain now, as in the Soviet period, a valuable source of information about the audience, about points of view existing in society and centers of tension. These forms also include the participation of representatives of society on the air, in programs with so-called feedback, in discussions such as talk shows, etc. Separately, we should indicate the forms of interactivity characteristic of the Internet with online versions of newspapers and other media, blogs, networks, forums, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to study all currently existing channels of communication between the public and editorial offices, identify the specifics of traditional and online media, and develop methods for their research. Constant presence in media content of opinions and positions of different social groups and the emerging public associations on issues that concern everyone and the most pressing situations can be considered as a factor in increasing public trust in the media and, therefore, their social capital necessary for the media to fulfill their purpose as a public service and civil institution.

The media are the most important institution of civil society.

Television, press and radio shape citizens' perceptions of the country in which they live.

The objectivity of such a picture primarily depends on the diversity of the media, the presence in the information field various points vision. The development of global digital telecommunications networks has significantly increased the influence of mass communications on the formation of worldviews and value orientations of Russian citizens. According to recent sociological studies, the coverage of the population by various media today is unprecedentedly wide: only 2% of Russians do not watch television, 20% do not read newspapers and 35% do not listen to the radio.

Despite the absence of legislative barriers to journalistic activity in Russia, independent media face serious problems.

Today, the press and television are only to a small extent instruments of civil society. Thus, the founders of most regional and up to 80% of municipal newspapers are regional and municipal authorities, which affects the editorial policy of these publications and their economic independence, since one way or another they are all subsidized from regional and local budgets. In 2010, the trend of nationalization of the media sphere continued, as well as the strengthening of the positions of large state-oriented businesses in it. Losing its autonomy, the press turns into an information lobbyist. The share of independent media in the information field for last years decreased significantly. This situation allows us to say that the Russian media as an institution of civil society are still in their early stages of formation.

On the agenda is the gradual denationalization of the media, which is necessary both for society to exercise its constitutional rights and the voluntary concentration of intellectual resources, and for the state, which can rely on personnel, expert and other public resources broadcast through television and the press. It is advisable to transfer the functions of distributing budget funds among various media from government agencies to independent experts. As an economic guarantee of the independence of the media, a public fund should be created to finance the activities of local media, independent of the political situation.

The detachment of journalism from the most pressing problems of society, the passion for PR and the entertainment component erodes the importance of the media as one of the main institutions of civil society. These trends have intensified under the influence of the economic crisis, which has undermined the financial foundations of some independent publications.

Against this background, public interest in investigative journalism is also declining. The journalistic community needs internal consolidation to overcome negative trends. One example was set in 2010 by the Union of Journalists of Russia with the “Formula of Trust” initiative, aimed at building bridges between journalists and society.

It is necessary to pay attention to the influence of the media, especially television, on human consciousness. This problem is of great social importance today: as an effective tool for broadcasting culture, television must be responsible for its work and contribute to society in achieving its goals.

In 2008-2009, researchers almost universally reported insufficient media coverage of civic engagement. The most active part of society, which sought to convey its position to the authorities, to representatives of public associations, rushed to social networks. However, in 2010 the picture changed somewhat. The media have begun to cover various civil events more often, especially in print, radio and online media. Federal television, as in previous years, mainly informs about the activities of the highest echelons of power. Stories about public associations rarely appear on screens, and mostly only when it comes to the adoption by the State Duma of laws related to the activities of non-profit organizations, the distribution of state support grants, or unique charitable events. Regional television channels adhere mainly to the same rules, since local authorities are the customers of the information. On federal and regional television channels there has been a noticeable increase in the number of references to various forms of protest activity. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, the protest activity of the population has really increased, and secondly, television, forced to compete for audiences with the Internet, can no longer fail to respond to the mood and demands of society as before. In addition, if in previous years NGOs and other public associations paid virtually no attention to positioning their activities, considering it an unnecessary function, now there is an understanding that public discussion of problems is possible only through the media and the Internet.

Such high-profile actions as protests against the construction of a road through the Khimki forest and against child abuse in the Bogolyubov Monastery, and the collection of signatures in defense of the rights of victims in tragic accidents not only came to the attention of the authorities, but in some cases also influenced decision-making. This, to some extent, strengthened the public’s belief that the manifestation of a civic position, its active expression through the media and the Internet, allows one to achieve results.

In addition, the media today, independently or using the blogosphere as a primary source, have managed to raise the most important problems related to the plight of the elderly in nursing homes, people injured during summer wildfires, and the problem of environmental violations by large industrial enterprises. Thus, it was in 2010 that a system began to take shape in Russia for the first time active interaction civil society and the media as its most important institution.

The active position of the media, bloggers and other social media resources that covered the details of the attack on Kommersant newspaper journalist Oleg Kashin confirms what has been said.

However, this is still only an emerging trend, while a huge number of the most important problems associated with the activities of civil society institutions remain outside the purview of the media. Social media continues to be the easiest and fastest way to reach a mass audience about an issue. The media today practically do not reflect the enormous work that socially oriented NGOs do, providing daily assistance to citizens. As a result, people do not know about this activity and, therefore, do not receive help, which in some cases would become their salvation and prolong their lives.

The solution to this problem depends on many components, among which is overcoming the mistrust of NGOs that exists in society and the media and misunderstanding of the importance of their activities. In some cases, this negatively affects the livelihoods of citizens, and also damages the reputation of authorities that fail to cope with their responsibilities.

Thus, the lack of interest on the part of the media in providing information about the work of volunteers related to eliminating the consequences of forest fires and delivering humanitarian aid, sharply reduced its effectiveness. Volunteers shared information on social networks, but the affected population did not have access to the Internet, while the media ignored requests to inform the population about where and when aid would be delivered. If the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations had taken over the function of informing the media about the activities of volunteers, then the media, including television channels, on which all the victims watched the news as reports from the front, would have quickly paid attention to such a powerful resource. This would increase the influx of volunteers and contribute to more effective fight with fire and assistance to victims. In addition, prompt and reliable informing of the population would help volunteers obtain the information they need about new fires, the population’s need for help, and would allow them to organize their work more efficiently.

The Internet is becoming not only an additional space for uniting citizens based on interests, but also a platform for defending their rights and freedoms. At the present stage of development, social media in general and the blogosphere in particular are alternative media, in which the trust of the majority of Internet users is much higher than in traditional media.

Research on blogs as a new platform for civil society activism is just beginning. A group of researchers from the Berkman Center (USA) for the Study of Internet and Society analyzed Russian-language blogs in order to identify discussion networks that have arisen around discussions of political and social topics. The study showed that the discussion core consists of four main groups:

• 1. Political and public relations (discussion of news, business and finance, social and political activism, etc.).
• 2. Culture (literature, cinema, elite and popular culture, etc.).
• 3. Regional bloggers (including bloggers from Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Israel, etc.).
• 4. Instrumental bloggers (most likely using a blog as a means of earning money).

Bloggers from political and social groups cover a wide range of topics and positions. The group contains many discussions reflecting an independent point of view, as well as discussions related to offline political and social movements.

The Russian political blogosphere is more inclined to exchange links between different sides of the political arena compared to other blogospheres (for example, the American blogosphere). In the Russian blogosphere, the phenomenon of self-repetition and isolation within a cluster is less pronounced own opinion. The “news diet” of Russian-speaking bloggers is more independent, international and oppositional than that of users of the Russian-language Internet in general, and even more than that of those who do not use it, but receive information primarily from federal television channels.

In general, public opinion is steadily moving to the Internet, which remains an uncensored space. Informal journalism is becoming a powerful competitor to print and electronic media. The interactive web encourages a huge number of people to create their own photo and video reports, comments and analytical materials. Social revival on the Internet also brings traditional media, primarily print, out of sleep.

At the same time, television and the Internet are completely different environments with their own ways of influencing the audience. The majority of Russian citizens do not use the Internet, do not read blogs, all the scandals or topics that are a storm on the Internet simply do not exist for the majority of citizens. The Internet affects a fairly narrow segment of society that is socially and politically active.

People who communicate via the Internet access information faster than those who do not use it. They comprehend events in a multifaceted way, have the opportunity to become familiar with different positions and gain experience in conducting discussions with representatives of different points of view. Their sensitivity to ideological attitudes broadcast by television channels sharply decreases; it becomes possible to transfer network interaction to real life: from conducting volunteer actions to organizing large-scale protest events. Thus, we can talk about growing differences between the part of society that has access to the Internet and has mastered the culture of network interaction and the television audience that does not use the Internet.

In a situation where society remains a passive consumer of information, the media become only a lever for solving current problems of the authorities or corporate structures that finance them.

At the same time, the situation is not radically different in the provinces and in the center, as it was before. It turns out that many of the models worked out in the regions by governors and other “masters of life” now work at the federal level, although they are implemented more elegantly.

It should also be recognized that modern Russian media cannot fully comply with the generally accepted concept of “mass media”. The fact is that in the conditions of a traditional social contract, when there is a process of interaction between civil society and the state, as equal partners, the media act, first of all, as a mediator in this dialogue Golov M.V. The emergence of the media in Russia as an instrument of democracy: the policies of the state and private corporations. - M., 2001.

Thus, in conditions of lack of demand by society for the institution of an independent press and the widespread understanding of the press as a mouthpiece, a “Russian model” of relations between the state and the media is emerging. The mechanism of their interaction begins to depend entirely on the subjective factor, i.e. the official's personal attitude to this problem. Therefore, if the regional government is the co-founder of the overwhelming majority of local publications, then naturally it completely determines the information policy, which may even be liberal, but this liberalism completely depends on the current opinion of the governor. There are many similar examples.

Naturally, this kind of situation is fraught with easily predictable consequences. It is obvious that the essence of any power lies in the constant desire to absoluteize its influence. Moreover, this is done exclusively in the interests of democracy and public good. Civil society and independent media, as one of its institutions, create a system of relations with the state that balances this trend. Because power, deprived of public control, very quickly switches only to solving its own problems.

Be that as it may, the media, having maintained a certain inertia over the past ten years, to this day remain perhaps the most developed institution of the emerging civil society in Russia. Therefore, it is very important to remain in this capacity, so that after some time you do not have to reinvent the wheel. True, in the beginning you need to strengthen the trust of society. This must be done, if only because a press that is not trusted will ultimately be of no use to anyone, including its owners.

The fundamental principle of the media should still be their responsibility to society. But to establish this principle, it is not only and not so much the material basis that is important, but the personal position of the representatives of the workshop.

The Russian infrastructure of mass information includes traditional electronic (television and radio broadcasting) and print media, news agencies and various sites on the global Internet. At the same time, there is an intensive convergence of various media based on the use of modern information and communication technologies, networks and systems.

However, in Russia, traditional media and, first of all, electronic ones still play a dominant role in mass information. Russian media, having received political freedom under the 1991 Law “On the Mass Media,” quickly found themselves struck by the disease of “economic lack of freedom.” As a result of this, both state-owned or supported in various forms by government structures, and “independent” media today are actually forced to express not the opinion of society, but the private or corporate interests in the media space of their explicit and implicit owners - representatives of various elite groups. Moreover, some Russian media, especially print media, are generally not such in the classical sense, since their activities, in principle, are not based on economic dependence on the mass consumer of information. Such structures are rather open-loop information systems designed to deliver pre-paid and pre-prepared information messages in the form of traditional media to a mass recipient or to specific nodes of an elite network.

The reason for this phenomenon is that the economic and organizational-legal mechanism of the Russian media is not sufficiently clear and transparent and needs prompt legislative regulation based on bringing it into compliance with the current Civil Code and legislation in the field of economic and business activities. As part of such a settlement, the rights, duties and responsibilities of the owner (holder), publisher and editorial office of the media must be clearly defined and delineated. The absence of a law on television and radio broadcasting to date is also significant.

Many Internet sites, based on such characteristics as “frequency of dissemination (updating) of information” and “mass distribution (unlimited circle of users) of information,” from a legal point of view can be classified as mass media - network media. An analysis of Russian media legislation shows that most of the norms currently in force and being drafted within the framework of this legislation can and should be applied to online media.