Russian sports media on social networks: changing the tools in the context of the current geopolitical crisis

 

For citation: Shvykov D. Russian sports media on social networks: changing the tools in the context of the current geopolitical crisis // Mediascope. 2024. 2. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2863

 

© Dmitry O. Shvykov

Head of SMM department at Championat.com, Rambler&Co (Moscow, Russia), D.Shvykov@rambler-co.ru

 

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the changes that have occurred in the strategies of the leading Russian sports media (Match TV, Сhampionat, Sports.ru) on social networks since February 24, 2022. The data collected demonstrated that media have had its own view on social media presence under restrictions, as well as its own specific tasks and anti-crisis actions. These actions reflected the political and business interests of the larger core business. Approaches to the selection of social platforms for further activities have determined two opposite trends. The first one is the movement towards technological independence, the transition to domestic platforms. The second trend is comeback to the platforms that are affected by restrictions. It was also found that in addition to legislative restrictions and restrictions from the platforms, there was a third type of restrictions – in-house. These are restrictions accepted inside the companies.

 

Key words: social networks, media on social networks, banned social networks, geopolitical crisis.

 

Notes

“Gazprom-media” nazval nevozmozhnym stroit' dolgosrochnyye delovyye otnosheniya s YouTube [“Gazprom Media” Called It Impossible to Build Long-term Business Relationships with YouTube] (2023) TASS. Available at: https://tass.ru/obschestvo/16986189 (accessed: 20.01.2024). (In Russian)

Issledovaniye otechestvennykh i zarubezhnykh sotsial'nykh setey/onlayn-platform: sostoyaniye, sravnitel'nyy analiz, perspektivy [Research of Domestic And Foreign Social Networks/Online Platforms: Status, Comparative Analysis, Prospects] (2023) Issledovatel'skiy Tsentr AKAR / ARIR / RAMU pri podderzhke ARIR, ROTSIT [Research Center ACAR / ARIR / RAMU with the support of ARIR, ROCIT]. (In Russian). Available at: https://www.akarussia.ru/files/docs/AKAR23_socseti_bezpervogo.pdf (accessed: 20.01.2023).

Modeli mediapotrebleniya. Chto lyudi chitayut, pochemu, kogda i kak. Issledovanie kompanii Mail.ru Group [Media Consumption Models. What People Read, Why, When and How. Research by Mail.ru Group] (2017) Available at: https://www.cossa.ru/upload/medialibrary/Mediator_How_People_Read.pdf (accessed: 21.01.2024). (In Russian)

Podturova A.A. (2023) Modeli povedeniya inflyuyenserov v usloviyakh ogranicheniy na ispol'zovaniye sotsial'nykh setey v Rossii [Models of Influencer Behavior Under Restrictions on the Use of Social Networks in Russia]. Reklama. Teoriya i praktika 1: 17. (In Russian)

 

References

Beynenson V.A. (2016) Prodvizhenie SMI v sotsial'nykh setyakh: vozmozhnosti i problemy [Promotion of the Media on Social Networks: Opportunities and Challenges]. Vestnik NNGU 5: 239–244. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/prodvizhenie-smi-v-sotsialnyh-setyah-vozmozhnosti-i-problemy (accessed: 21.12.2023). (In Russian)

Brown G. (2022) The Future of Media, Social Media, and Sports Media. Senior project, California Polytechnic State University. Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1183&context=joursp (accessed 19.01.2024).

Danilova M.N.(2018)Vliyaniye tekhnologiy na razvitiye otechestvennykh sportivnykh mediakommunikatsiy [Influence of Technologies on the Development of Domestic Sports Media Communications]. Vest. Mosk. Un-ta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 2: 92–111. (In Russian)

Dunas D.V., Vartanov S.A. (2020) Emerging Digital Media Culture in Russia: Modeling the Media Consumption of Generation Z. Journal of Multicultural Discourses 15 (2): 186–203.

D'yachenko O.V. (2014) Rossiyskie SMI v sotsial'nykh setyakh Facebook i v “VKontakte”: praktiki vzaimodeystviya [Russian Media on the Facebook* and VKontakte Social Networks: the Practices of Interaction]. Mediascope 4. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/1615 (accessed: 20.12.2023). (In Russian)

Evans K. (2022) Social Media in Sport: Theory and Practice. International Journal of Sport Communication 15 (1): 76–77.

Kolesnichenko A.V., Vyrkovsky A.V., Galkina M.Y., Obraztsova et al. (2018) Transformation of newsroom work in the digital era. Russian Journal of Communication 11 (1): 1–16.

Kruglova L.A., Bolotova E.A. (2020) Kontent radiostantsiĭ Business FM, “Vesti FM” i “Kommersant FM” v sotsial'nykh media [Content of Radio Stations Business FM, Vesti FM and Kommersant FM in Social Media]. Vest. Mosk. Un-ta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 3: 56–78. (In Russian)

Loseva N.G. (2011) Internet-SMI i sotsial'nyye seti: opyt integratsii [Online Media and Social Networks: Experience of Integration]. I-COMference. (In Russian)

Nölleke D., Grimmer C.G. & Horky T. (2017) News Sources and Follow-up Communication. Journalism Practice 11 (4): 509–526.

Oelrichs I. (2022) Just Copy and Paste? Usage and Patterns of Social Media Sources in Online Articles on Sport. International Journal of Sport Communication 15 (4): 325–335.

Panchenko E.L. (2011) Integratsiya internet-SMI i sotsial'nykh setey v Runete: Novaya publichnaya sfera ili prostranstvo kontroly [Integration of Online media and Social Networks in Runet: New Public Sphere or Space of Control?]. Digital Icons: Studies in Russian, Eurasian and Central European New Media 5: 87–118. (In Russian)

Pershina E.D. (2022) Podkhod rossiyskikh SMI k rabote so svoim kontentom v sotsial'nykh setyakh [The Approach of Russian Media to Working with Their Content on Social Networks]. Vest. Mosk. Un-ta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 3: 87–105. (In Russian)

Seeger C., Horky T., Jörg-Uwe N. & Peter E. (2023) Social Media Publishing Strategies of German Newspapers: Content Analysis of Sports Reporting on Social Networks by German Newspapers—Results of the 2021 Social Media International Sports Press Survey. Journalism and Media 4 (2): 599–611.

Shatskaya A.D. (2019) Proizvodstvo i “upakovka” kontenta televeshchatelyami obshchego interesa i razvlekatel'noĭ tematiki v Internete [Production and “Packaging” of Content by General Interest and Entertainment Broadcasters on the Internet] Mediascope 3. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2566 (accessed: 01.01.2024). (In Russian)

Shchepilova G. G., Kruglova L. A. (2018) Telekanaly i sotsial'nyye seti: spetsifika vzaimodeystviya [TV Channels and Social Networks: Specifics of Interaction]. Vest. Mosk. Un-ta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 3: 3–16. (In Russian)

Siguenciaa L.O., Hermana D. et al. (2016) The Role of Social Media in Sports Communication Management: an Analysis of Polish Top League Teams’ Strategy. Procedia Computer Science 104: 73–80.

Sokolova D.V. (2017) Distributsiya novostnogo kontenta v messendzhere Telegram [Distribution of News Content in the Telegram Messenger]. Mediascope 4. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2380 (accessed: 11.01.2024). (In Russian)

Van Der Haak B., Parks M., Castells M. (2012) The Future of Journalism: Networked Journalism. International Journal of Communication 6. Available at: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/1750/832 (accessed 19.01.2024).

Vartanova E.L. (2013) Postsovetskiye transformatsii rossiĭskikh SMI i zhurnalistiki [Post-Soviet Transformations of Russian Media and Journalism]. Moscow: MediaMir Publ. (In Russian)

Vartanova E.L., Vyrkovsky A. V., Makeenko M. I., Smirnov S. S. (2017) Industriya rossiyskikh media: tsifrovoye budushcheye [Russian Media Industry: Digital Future]. Moscow: MediaMir. (In Russian)

Yashina A.A. (2017) Vzaimodeystviye SMI i sotsial'nykh setey (na primere proyektov TJournal, TheQuestion i «Lentach») [Interaction Between the Media and Social Networks (Case study of the TJournal, TheQuestion and Lentach Projects)]. Mediasreda 12. Available at: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/vzaimodeystvie-smi-i-sotsialnyh-setey-na-primere-proektov-tjournal-thequestion-i-lentach (accessed: 20.12.2023). (In Russian)

Zhang Z. (2023) Research on the Application of New Media to Sports News. Communication in Humanities Research 8 (1): 31–39.

---

* Owned by Meta, company banned in Russia