Transformation of News Content in a Pandemic

O. V. Dubkova

and A.V. Zakharova

Xi'an International Studies University, Xi'an, China

Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia

Keywords: National Security, Russian Media, News Content, Pandemic, Post-Pandemic Era.

Abstract: The pandemic and post-pandemic epochs put forward new requirements for the formation of national security.

State, public, environmental, informational and personal security are in the first place. Following the political

and social changes in the mass media, a new video news format is being created, reflecting a new national

idea. In the context of the formation of new news content, new technical means and resources, changes in the

subject matter and content of news, a new “covid” era needs to be studied within the framework of the concept

of “National Security of the Russian Federation” (last revised on July 6, 2021). The purpose of this article is

to identify trends in the transformation of the news content of the Russian media in the context of a pandemic.

All this as a whole makes it possible to create a basis for further research of the Russian media within the

framework of the above concept and to determine relevant information for strengthening various levels of

general national security at the level of public consciousness for individual citizens, social groups and society

as a whole.

1 INTRODUCTION

The formation of a new reality associated with

changes in the social structure, communication

methods and means of transmitting information leads

to significant changes in the format of news in the

Russian media. New requirements for news messages

related to changes in the target audience, social needs

and new requirements for the reliability of

information lead to the formation of new video news

content in the programs Vesti, Novosti, Vesti on

Saturday, Vesti nedeli, etc. broadcast by the leading

Russian television channels "Russia 1", "Russia 24",

"Russia Culture", "Mir 24", etc. As the comparative

analysis of news reports and analytical video

materials shows, both the content and the video

presented by the modern Russian media have

changed. The main trends in 2020-21 formats of

zoom-conferences and filming in the "screenlife"

format are becoming, which make faces from the TV

screen closer to the audience, and the plots - more

vivid and real. In the context of a pandemic (post-

pandemic), the media continue to expand the

coverage and speed of message transmission through

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platformization and intellectual development, a

modern multi-level communication system is actively

developing; as for the news audience, during the

epidemic, the ratings of television news significantly

increase (Zhang Zhi'an, 2020). All this as a whole has

a significant impact on the target audience and puts

forward new requirements for the selection of factual

material and its content in a pandemic (post-

pandemic).

2 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

CONCEPT "NATIONAL

SECURITY OF THE RUSSIAN

FEDERATION" (2018–2021)

The concept of national security, adopted by the

government of the Russian Federation in 2018, is a

system of interconnected levels of security of the

state, society as a whole and individual citizens, in

which the general national security is understood as "

the state of protection of the national interests of the

Russian Federation from external and internal threats,

Dubkova, O. and Zakharova, A.

Transformation of News Content in a Pandemic.

DOI: 10.5220/0011119900003439

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference "COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals" (RTCOV 2021), pages 317-321

ISBN: 978-989-758-617-0

317

which ensures the implementation of the

constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, a

decent quality and standard of their life, civil peace

and harmony in the country, the protection of the

sovereignty of the Russian Federation, its

independence and state integrity, socio-economic

development of the country. " (Ukaz prezidenta №

400). The presence of various levels of formation and

development of the general security of the state

requires the use of various instruments and

mechanisms, one of which is the mass media.

As the analysis of scientific literature shows, in

the last five years, the interest of social and political

scientists in the formation of public opinion by media

resources, the degree of trust in them of society as a

whole and individual social groups has been steadily

increasing, their place and role in various social

processes and phenomena are being considered (see

the studies of Ali Maya, E. Kvernadze, V.N. Ivanov,

M.M. Nazarova, I.V. Privalov, E.A. Petrova, etc.) on

the basis of various sociological studies, including

surveys, questionnaires, analysis of VTsIOM

databases, etc. Nevertheless, the question of the

relationship between the concept of state security and

the news content of modern Russian media remains

outside the scope of research. We consider it

appropriate to identify trends in the transformation of

the news content of the Russian media in the context

of a pandemic. To accomplish this task, it is necessary

to highlight the key topics of Russian news media

containing video content over the past five years, on

the basis of key topics, to establish the current

changes in connection with the objective situation and

the implementation of the state security policy.

We believe that for the selection of news content,

it is possible to use various selection methods: 1) a

continuous sample of news materials presented in the

news section of television channels; 2) selection by

tags in the "News" section; 3) search for news by

keywords, etc. As the analysis of the results of

different types of samples shows, the simultaneous

use of different selection methods is required, which

allows, on the one hand, to reflect the existing reality

presented by modern Russian media, to present

information relevant to the central media and the

characteristics of various regions of the Russian

Federation. Thus, based on the analysis of relevant

content and informational content, the authors

highlight about 20 topics that reflect the new reality

of Russia: culture, history, traditions, politics,

economics, social processes, as well as the Russian

view of global and regional processes. All this as a

whole determines the current situation in the country

and allows you to imagine the situation in a new era.

3 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF

THE CONTENT OF THE NEWS

CONTENT OF THE RUSSIAN

MEDIA

A comparative analysis of the news content of the

Russian media, carried out by the authors over the

past five years (2017-2021), shows a change in

current topics. Further, we consider it appropriate to

present the main results of the analysis of the news

content of the leading Russian media.

2017:

Culture: cultural events in museums, exhibition

halls and open areas, music, theater and film festivals,

book fairs, anniversaries of cultural figures

Education: Teacher of the Year, University

Rankings, Admissions Company

Russian language: Society of Russian Literature,

«Russkiy Mir» Foundation

Science and innovation: new technologies and

discoveries in the field of technical sciences

History: Navy Day, Victory Day, cultural heritage

monuments, the work of search teams

Society: Foundation for Social Initiatives, social

assistance to various categories of the population

Ecology: reserves, federal programs for nature

conservation

Economy: federal budget, economic forums,

ratings of enterprises and highly paid professions,

energy development, rural and rural development

International relations and international

organizations: SCO, BRICS, EVRAZES, Meetings of

Heads of State, development of bilateral relations,

events of bilateral humanitarian exchanges

Sports: professional and grassroots sports

(Russian Ski Track, city marathons, friendly matches,

etc.)

2019:

Culture: mass and entertainment events, national

cultural policy, culture of various countries of the

world, the spread of Russian culture abroad,

anniversaries of Russian cultural figures

Peoples of Russia: ethnographic festivals in

different regions, ethnographic dictation, Mother

Language Day

Russian language: Day of the Russian language,

summer language schools, events for foreigners

learning Russian

Education: Teacher of the Year, Admissions

Company, Leaders' Meetings with Teachers,

Schoolchildren and Students

Science and innovation: new technologies and

discoveries in the field of technical sciences

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History: important historical dates in the history

of the Russian Federation, objects of the country's

historical heritage; history of other countries

Society: social problems of various categories of

the population

Ecology: federal programs for nature

conservation, care for the environment and

conservation of forests, water bodies, coastal areas,

environmental actions

Tourism: development of domestic tourism,

tourism facilities and infrastructure

Economy: federal budget, economic forums,

ratings of enterprises, development of ecological

production, development of agriculture

International relations and international

organizations: SCO, BRICS, EVRAZES, Meetings of

Heads of State, development of bilateral relations

Sports: mass sports, anniversaries of athletes, the

success of the Russian Federation in the international

sports arena

2020-2021:

Volunteer movement in Russia: assistance to

various categories of the population in a pandemic,

the work of doctors

Russian youth and youth problems: state support

for youth, youth actions and movements, youth

participation in public life, raising the level of

education and social responsibility of youth

Ecology and environmental protection: ecological

campaigns "Clean Country", etc., federal support, the

construction of environmentally friendly enterprises,

the use of new energy

Travel and tourism: rejection of "external" and the

development of domestic tourism, the development of

Russian tourism infrastructure, objects of domestic

tourism, including ecological, culinary, extreme

Cultural and natural heritage: UNESCO

monuments, protection of cultural and natural

heritage in the center and in the regions

The peoples of Russia: small peoples, traditional

folk culture, customs and traditions of the peoples of

Russia

World and Russian art: music, painting, cinema,

theater

History of Russia: important dates in the history

of the Russian Federation (Victory Day, Day of

Russia, etc.), events related to historical dates

Russian language: World Day of the Russian

language, changes in the Russian language in a

pandemic

Science and higher education: scientific

discoveries and achievements of Russian scientists,

anniversaries of the country's leading universities,

scientists and educators

Modern Russian economy: development of

leading sectors of the Russian economy, including

agriculture, infrastructure construction, etc.,

government support, projects to support small and

medium-sized businesses

International organizations and international

relations: UN activities, summits of the OSCE,

BRICS, SCO, NATO and other regional and

international organizations, the work of the Russian

Foreign Ministry, armed conflicts, bilateral relations,

answers to questions and press conferences of the

heads of state and press services, assistance from the

Russian Federations to other countries in the fight

against the pandemic

As the thematic analysis shows, news content as a

whole reflects the main directions of state policy in

the field of economics, education, culture, sports, etc.,

representing a kind of “cut” of reality. However,

according to Ye.B. Gromova, the theme of safety and

security, as well as the theme of holidays are

excessively presented on the air, while there are not

enough acute conflict stories (Gromova, 2020). If in

2017 the Russian media pays attention to federal

programs related to the development of culture, sports

and agriculture, then in a pandemic, the problems of

assistance and support for various groups of the

population and enterprises within the country, as well

as interaction with other countries in the fight with a

pandemic and countering external threats. In the

context of the rapid rise to the fore of the level of

personal security, news media also need to

“strategically define a new stage, a new concept and

a new model, activate resources, break the shackles,

cross-border integration and start all over again”

(Shao Huadong et al., 2021). Particular attention

should be paid to sources of information, the content

of the report must be accurate. “This requires

journalists to be able to respond in a timely manner to

large-scale emergencies, as well as the ability to

accurately predict the nature of news events” (Xin

Xin, 2020).

All this creates new conditions and a new reality

for our country, reflecting the profound changes of

the modern era, thereby forming a new "covid

content".

4 ANALYSIS OF RUSSIAN VIDEO

NEWS IN A PANDEMIC

(POST-PANDEMIC)

Traditionally, the content of news is represented by

different in structure and duration "reports" from the

Transformation of News Content in a Pandemic

319

scene, in which the leading role is played by the

journalists directly participating in the news "event".

In the context of increasing "remote" communication

and the need to establish and maintain contacts in a

"pandemic" (post-pandemic) society, the structure of

news is fundamentally changing. On the one hand,

various new technical means are used, on the other

hand, the news video series is changing. Whereas pre-

pandemic news coverage is preceded by a short

summary from the studio, followed by another

journalist's story in real life through live coverage,

etc., nowadays it is often possible to observe a

completely new “pandemic” message format using

Zoom-conferences, screenshots, videos from other

sources, etc. All this forms a new perception of

reality, on the one hand, giving the effect of direct

presence, on the other, direct contact with the speaker

(bypassing the journalist). Thus, the change in the

visual series of news requires the formation of new

skills of perception of messages and their textual

representation.

We consider it appropriate to note the following

features of the news video content of the leading

Russian media:

1) a high degree of reliability of the information

provided, which is ensured by the use of news reports

of the Russian state central (regional) TV channels

(“Russia 1”, “Russia 24”, “Russia Culture”, etc.);

2) the representation of various regions of the

Russian Federation (from Kaliningrad in the west to

Kamchatka in the east and from Karelia in the north

to the Caucasus in the south), which makes it possible

to form a general idea of the socio-economic ties and

differences of Greater Russia;

3) representation of various ethnic and social

groups in different regions of the Russian Federation

(peoples of the Far North, Caucasus, Urals and

Siberia; youth and elderly people; students, doctors,

builders, scientists, culture, education, etc.);

4) the relevance and relevance of the topic for

various social groups (youth policy, volunteer

movement, assistance to victims of natural disasters,

accidents and man-made disasters, support for

pensioners, state support and development of small

and medium-sized businesses in a pandemic, etc.);

5) the presence of "live reports" (answers to

journalists' questions, expression of assessments and

opinions of political leaders, ministers, heads of

various organizations and ordinary people);

Thus, when creating news video content, various

factors are taken into account that are directly or

indirectly related to the reliability of the information

provided and the formation of public opinion, which

contributes to strengthening the consciousness of

state security. This approach is especially relevant in

the context of increasing "remote" communication

and the need to establish and maintain contacts in a

pandemic (post-pandemic) society, as well as to

"tune" internal and external ties and relationships.

As a result of analyzing the information content of

the leading television channels of the Russian

Federation, we have identified the following topics

that are relevant for modern Russian media:

international organizations and international relations

in the modern era, economic development, the

situation in agriculture and environmental protection,

cultural, national and historical heritage, education,

youth and volunteer movements, language situation

and language policy, travel and tourism, sports and

health care. All this is directly related to the levels of

the concept of state security to mobilize the

development of the Russian Federation, improve the

overall quality of life of citizens of the Russian

Federation, ensure political stability and increase the

prestige of the Russian Federation in the world arena

and its competitiveness of the economy.

However, in addition to the representation of

various types of security, it is advisable to consider

the perception of their reliability from the point of

view of video news consumers in a pandemic. The

main functions of public trust, according to A. B.

Kupreychenko, I. V. Mersiyanova, «... ensuring the

self-organization of society and the reproduction of

the social structure. This type of trust is the basis for

the joint life of people, contributes to the maintenance

of moral foundations and social norms» (Trust and

Mistrust, 2014). As noted in the article by E.E.

Ermolaev et al., Those who are actively involved in

the content of the information and news feed about

COVID-19, there are violations of the unity of the

system of trust in themselves and in the world

(Ermolaev et al., 2020). According to our

observations, in Russia, there have been no studies of

changes in the degree of trust in news media in the

context of a pandemic, therefore, we consider it

appropriate to cite the results of studies carried out in

the PRC. The results of Chinese studies show that in

2018–2021. the attitude of respondents to the

reliability of information provided by the media

themselves does not change, the low degree of trust is

60.9%, 57.4%, 62.9% and 61.1%, respectively, over

the years, with particular attention being paid by the

respondents to the presence of "vulgar" and "kitsch"

information, the main purpose of which is to attract

viewers (Zhao Ding, 2021). In general, this reflects

the general global trends in the development of news

media.

RTCOV 2021 - II International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference " COVID-19: Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

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320

5 CONCLUSION

There are no boundaries for today's modern media,

both in technological and informational terms. The

pandemic has forced a new look at the role of

information and the particular importance of reliable

information, therefore, changes in the format of the

media are obvious, which are increasingly becoming

a means of shaping public opinion, social attitudes

and values; the most important is the analysis of the

information flow, which turns into a powerful tool for

the formation of new thinking in the framework of the

implementation of the concept of "State security of

the Russian Federation". Russian ones allow citizens

to form all the potential necessary for an adequate

perception and create a basis for further personal

development in love and respect for Russian culture

and Russia.

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