Media Image of the Republic of Tatarstan in Post-Soviet Russia: The Factor of Polycentrism

One of the indicators of state information policy in the media sphere is the manifestation of polycentricity at the regional level. The post-Soviet period of media space development offers a wide field for research, as differences in agenda formation and its evaluations are particularly evident at federal and regional levels. Based on the analysis of the media image of the region according to the established criteria, conclusions can be drawn about the influence of polycentricity on state information policy at both federal and regional levels. The study analyzes television materials from federal and regional broadcasts and establishes criteria for analyzing the media image, such as the theme of the image, the relevance of the image (its correspondence with reality), the function of the image, and the methodology for creating the image (in textual or audiovisual format). The research has practical implications, and its methodology can be further used to study the media image of the region, as well as to analyze the transformation of state information policy of the state or a specific region. The study specifically examines the post-Soviet period in the history of media sphere development. Significant limitations arise from the lack of a structured video archive of materials from the chosen period. The research employs a method of selective content analysis of television materials from federal and regional channels from 1990 to 1998. The novelty of the study lies in the developed methodology for analyzing television materials concerning the factor of polycentricity. Polycentricity is considered in the article as a component of the state policy complex in the field of television. Currently, there are few studies examining polycentricity as part of state policy in the media. The analysis of the positioning of the Republic of Tatarstan in federal television broadcasts during the post-Soviet period identified three main periods of change in the factor of polycentricity, along with their important characteristics. For example, the years 1990–1994 were marked by the emergence of critical materials on central television channels. The main semantics of messages focused on the alleged separatist activities of the republic. The data from the analysis have been presented in a comparative table for clarity and evaluation of major media topics during the specified periods, which reveals the specifics of coverage of media topics in the regional television broadcast of the Republic of Tatarstan and in the federal broadcast of nationwide channels.