Vladimir Putin on Channel One, 2000–2022

La Lova, Lanabi ORCID: 0000-0002-1918-5258 (2024) Vladimir Putin on Channel One, 2000–2022. Political Communication. ISSN 1058-4609

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Abstract

Drawing on transcripts from the television network Channel One, a popular news source in Russia, this article addresses the question: “How was Vladimir Putin covered by state-controlled media while the regime became increasingly centralized?” The literature on the subject is scarce and inconclusive. Dictators create different images of themselves, and the portrayals of present-day spin dictators — those who primarily rely on the power of propaganda to persuade rather than dominate — are understudied. While some analysts point to Putin’s omnipresence in mass media, others uncover the lack of media personalization and relatively neutral coverage. Using 385,981 news transcripts from 2000–2022 and relying on techniques from natural language processing, I examine how a present-day autocrat attempts to optimize the intensity of state-controlled propaganda. I uncover three main tendencies. First, during all the years in power, the ruler has been more frequently referred to through positive stories. Second, there is only partial evidence that the relative references to Putin on Channel One have significantly increased over time. Third, during all his years in power, Putin has been more frequently mentioned in domestic news rather than in stories about foreign affairs. However, I also demonstrate that the share of news about foreign affairs and events abroad that mentions the ruler has been increasing every year since 2013. By focusing on the supply side of propaganda, this article contributes to the literature on autocratic resilience and spin dictators.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/upcp20
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author
Divisions:	International Relations European Institute
Subjects:	J Political Science J Political Science > JZ International relations
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2024 14:18
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 04:22
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124266

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