Sense-making of conflicting political news among Baltic Russian-speaking audiences

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7499376
AutoresTriin Vihalemm (0000-0001-6773-1332, University of Tartu, autor de correspondencia), Jānis Juzefovičs (0000-0001-7285-1806, University of Tartu)
Año2020
Volumen23
Número3
Páginas253-275
Fecha de publicación2020-02-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaNational Identities (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1460-8944 • E-ISSN: 1469-9907
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14608944.2020.1723512
OpenAlexW3005585115
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas44

This article offers a theoretically explained model for analysing the strategies of vernacular sense-making used by transnational audiences in times of political disagreement. The analysis proceeds from the findings of earlier studies that reveal that audience members interpret news in a geopolitically indoctrinated manner despite their exposure to alternative information from geopolitically opposing sources and their general critical stance towards the objectivity of the media in political conflicts. The authors of this qualitative study among Latvian and Estonian Russian-speaking audiences explain how geopolitical convictions are (re)established through interpretations of news reports about politically conflicting events involving Russia vs. Western states. The results reveal that despite of the widespread scepticism and mistrust towards media organizations, the members of audiences strive for independence in their sense-making. In general, there are no signs of a degradation of deliberation as an ideal among the audiences. Nevertheless, the use of moral-cultural heuristics and the search for ‘authentic’ information from personal networks contributes to the enduring hegemony of Russian geopolitical narratives

Deliberation · Epistemology · Geopolitics · Hegemony · Latvian · Media studies · Narrative · News media · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Skepticism · Sociology · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Media and Politics