Mass media in 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.
According to a 2016 study conducted by media database platform MediaDigger, 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, largely attributable to Vladimir Putin's 2012 reelection. 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. According to the disinformation analysis centre Debunk.org, Russia's mass media expenditure in 2022 was estimated to be $1.9 billion.
History
Legislative framework
The Russian Constitution protects freedom of speech and of the press. Yet restrictive legislation and a politicized judiciary system have made it particularly difficult for independent journalists to work in Russia.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.
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 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. The independent nature of editorial policies towards viewing Parliamentary parties, as well as citizens right to be comprehensively and informed of parties activities without bias are stipulated by the Law. Control over the proper fulfillment of this Law is performed by the Central Election Committee of Russia with participants of Parliamentary parties, since September 2009.
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, 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 Alexei Navalny's blog on Ekho Moskvy's website 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 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. 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 TV Rain 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". 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.- 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. 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 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 specialized in economics, Interfax-AFI.
Print media
According to statistics published by UNESCO in 2005, Russia had the largest number of newspaper journalists in the world, followed by China and the United States.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.
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 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, TV Guide and Perm Region Izvestiya. 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.