MAKING OR BREAKING the NEWS? the Influence of Putin and Trump on Journalism
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MAKING OR BREAKING THE NEWS? The influence of Putin and Trump on journalism Final Project (Super-Profielwerkstuk) Sara Haverkamp 8th of January, 2018 Geography – Mrs. Klijmij Scala College Table of contents Preface .................................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Exploration .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.1.1 Trump and the media .............................................................................................................. 5 1.1.2 Relations between Trump and Putin ....................................................................................... 7 1.1.3 Putin and the media ................................................................................................................ 8 1.1.4 Making or breaking the news, that’s my question .................................................................. 9 1.2 Main research question, sub-questions and hypothesis ......................................................... 10 1.2.1 Main research question ......................................................................................................... 10 1.2.2 Hypothesis ............................................................................................................................ 11 1.3 Type of research and research-methods ................................................................................ 11 1.4 Structure of this report ........................................................................................................... 12 2. Research approach ...................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Qualitative explorative research ............................................................................................ 13 2.2 Literature research ................................................................................................................. 13 2.3 Expert-interviews .................................................................................................................. 14 2.3.1 Selection of experts ....................................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 The interviews ............................................................................................................... 15 2.4 Case studies ................................................................................................................................. 15 3. Significant changes in the media landscapes in Russia and the United States since 2000 17 3.1 The Russian media landscape: (in)direct state censorship .......................................................... 17 3.1.1 Developments in the Russian media landscape .................................................................... 17 3.1.2 Media consumption and its range in Russia Internet and television are the most common media in Russia. ............................................................................................................................ 21 3.1.3 Laws and regulations in Russian media ............................................................................... 27 3.2 The United States’ media landscape and its many influences ..................................................... 28 3.2.1 Developments in the media landscape in the United States ................................................. 28 3.2.2 Media consumption and its range in the United States ........................................................ 32 3.2.3 Laws and regulations in the United States’ media ............................................................... 39 3.3 Conclusions regarding developments in media landscapes in Russia and the United States .... 40 4. The way President Putin and President Trump deal with the media in their countries ....... 43 4.1 How President Putin deals with the media.................................................................................. 43 4.1.1 Outcomes of the case study on President Putin’s dealing with the media ............................ 43 4.1.2 A closer look at the way Putin deals with the media ............................................................ 47 2 4.2 How President Trump deals with the media .............................................................................. 49 4.2.1 Outcomes of the analysis of the Trump-tweets .................................................................... 51 4.2.2 A closer look at the way Trump deals with the media ......................................................... 56 4.3 Conclusions with regard to the way Putin and Trump deal with the media in their countries .. 60 5. The practice of basic functions of journalism in Russia and the United States ..................... 63 5.1 The practice of the basic functions of journalism in Russia ...................................................... 64 5.1.1 The information-function ..................................................................................................... 67 5.1.2 The debate-function .............................................................................................................. 68 5.1.3 The watchdog-function ......................................................................................................... 69 5.2 The practice of the basic functions of journalism in the United States ..................................... 70 5.2.1 The information-function ..................................................................................................... 72 5.2.2 The debate-function .............................................................................................................. 74 5.2.3 The watchdog-function ......................................................................................................... 75 5.3 Conclusions regarding the basic functions of journalism in Russia and the United States ....... 77 6. Conclusions and evaluation ........................................................................................................ 81 6.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 81 6.1.1 Summary and conclusions of the sub research questions ..................................................... 81 6.1.2 Conclusion of the main research question ............................................................................ 86 6.1.3 Discussion and suggestions for further research .................................................................. 88 6.1.4 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 89 List of references ................................................................................................................................. 90 Appendix A: Inventory of (in)direct state-influence on Russian media outlets 2011 - 2017 .............. 103 Appendix B: Further analysis of (in)direct state influence on Russian media outlets 2011 – 2017 .... 109 Appendix C: Inventory of tweets sent by president Donald Trump about the media in his first 100 days in office, basis for analysis of the practical research ........................................................................... 112 Appendix D: Basis for analysis of data generated in the Trump tweets directed at the media ........... 126 Appendix E: Records of an interview with Ryan Lizza, political analyst for CNN and Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal, journalist at NOS/NTR Dutch public television ................................................................ 130 Appendix F: Record of a presentation by Chris Hamby, investigative reporter at BuzzFeed News and winner of the Pulitzer Price 2014 ........................................................................................................ 133 Appendix G: Interview by e-mail with Marc Bennetts, a British journalist based in Moscow ........... 136 Appendix H: Skype-interview with Scott Gehlbach, Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, November 18th 2017 ......................................................................................... 138 3 Preface In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction or art. Bill Kovach Finding a focus area of my interest for my Final Project was not at all complicated. It was, literally and figuratively, in front of me all the time. That was the case then, from the very moment that I had to begin choosing a subject. Months later, it still is, on today’s very day. The newspapers were brimmed with it, it was the main topic of many television and radio broadcasts and it frequently made Twitter and other social media platforms explode with incoming messages. Whether you wanted it or not, it was unfeasible to escape or avoid all the reports about the alleged Russian interference in the election, the potential ties between President Trump with Russia and all the discussions about fake news, fact checks, the role of the media and the influence of trolls during the run- up and the aftermath of the United