The Globalization of Stubbornly National Media: The How and Why of Online News Translation Anna Meshcherova A Thesis In The Department Of Journalism Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For the Degree of Master of Arts (Journalism) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada September 2012 © Anna Meshcherova, 2012 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Anna Meshcherova Entitled: The Globalization of Stubbornly National Media: the How and Why of Online News Translation And submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Journalism) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Dr. James McLean Chair Dr. Elena Razlogova Examiner Dr. Andrea Hunter Examiner Dr. Greg M. Nielsen Examiner Dr. Lisa Lynch Supervisor Approved by ________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director __________ 2012 ________________________________________________ Dean of Faculty iii ABSTRACT The Globalization of Stubbornly National Media: The How and Why of Online News Translation Anna Meshcherova The purpose of this study is to investigate the role online news translation plays in the context of media globalization. This aim was achieved through the overlapping examination of three fields of research: journalism, translation, and the Internet. Another objective was to demonstrate how the mediator between the global and the local—online news translation—fulfills its role as knowledge disseminator. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to examine Russian media outlets. A total of 310 news items and editorials were analyzed and coded revealing the linguistic, thematic, and geographical preferences of the studied media outlets. The examination of readers’ feedback demonstrated how local receivers interpret foreign cultural products. The results of the research reveal that the subjects of translated news are chosen in accordance with local readers’ interests, though the message of the original text is preserved. It was found that the majority of news comes from English language sources, and the translated foreign news hardly enhances Russian coverage due to the fact that they have the same or similar international sources of information. The results show that the process of knowledge dissemination through international media is challenged by preconceived nationalistic expectations of local audiences. The principal conclusion is that translated news, homogeneous at the stage of production, receives heterogeneous interpretations at the level of consumption. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance of several individuals who in one way or another contributed their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of my research. First and foremost, my utmost gratitude goes to my principal supervisor, Professor Lisa Lynch. This thesis would not have been possible without her help, support, and patience, not to mention her advice and unsurpassed knowledge of new media, the Internet, and globalization studies. Her guidance helped me during the research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my graduate program of study. I would also like to thank my committee members. My deepest gratitude goes to Professor Greg Nielsen for helping guide my research over the past several months and helping me develop a deeper understanding of sociology, media, and globalization. I also would like to thank Professor Elena Razlogova for the insights she shared with me and her kind concern and consideration regarding my academic requirements. I am indebted to many of my colleagues who supported me, especially Andreea Mandache, Shirley Tran, Paul Fontain, and James Gibbons for sharing literature and invaluable assistance. My gratitude goes to all who contributed in one way or another over the course of this thesis. I am very grateful to my husband for his unconditional love and words of encouragement in every one of my endeavours. And I owe my deepest gratitude to my parents, Irina and Andrey Meshcherov, who have been a constant source of support— emotional, moral, and financial—during my graduate years, and this thesis would certainly not have existed without them. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Context and hypothesis ...................................................................................... 3 1.2. Operational definitions ....................................................................................... 5 1.3. Structure of the thesis ......................................................................................... 7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW: What is globalization? .................................................... 9 2.1. Journalism and its role in globalization ............................................................ 16 2.2. Translation and its role in globalization ........................................................... 21 2.3. The Internet and its role in globalization .......................................................... 27 2.4. The Russian media context ............................................................................... 31 3. METHODOLOGY: The conduct of multidisciplinary inquiry ............................. 42 3.1. The quantitative analysis .................................................................................. 43 3.2. The textual analysis .......................................................................................... 44 3.3. The interview process ....................................................................................... 47 4. FINDINGS: The nature of translated online news .................................................. 49 4.1. Sources and content of translated news ............................................................ 51 4.1.1. The structure and functioning of Inosmi .............................................. 51 4.1.2. The structure and functioning of Perevodika ....................................... 56 4.1.3. The foreign sources of translated news ............................................... 58 4.1.4. The languages chosen to be translated ................................................ 60 4.1.5. The subjects chosen to be translated and their geography .................. 62 4.2. The reasons for translating the news on the Internet ........................................ 66 4.2.1. Editors and translators’ representation of news translation ............... 67 vi 4.2.2. The synergy of foreign and Russian news ............................................ 71 4.2.3. The sources behind the sources ........................................................... 74 4.2.4. Answering the “why” of news translation ........................................... 79 4.3. The audience role in the translation of online news ......................................... 81 4.3.1. Defining the audience .......................................................................... 81 4.3.2. The audience’s interpretation of translated news ................................ 87 4.3.3. Criticism towards the West and the idea of democracy ....................... 88 4.3.4. The role of Russia in translated news coverage .................................. 93 4.3.5. Readers’ preconceived expectations .................................................... 97 5. DISCUSSION: Understanding globalization through news translation ............. 100 5.1. Situating the discussion in relation to the research aims ................................ 100 5.1.1. The integration of online translation in journalism ........................... 102 5.1.2. Cultural imperialism .......................................................................... 105 5.1.3. National identity ................................................................................. 107 5.1.4. Testing the hypothesis: The homogeneity and heterogeneity of news 111 5.2. Limitations of the research ............................................................................. 116 5.3. Suggestions for future research ...................................................................... 119 5.4. Conclusions .................................................................................................... 120 6. WORKS CITED ....................................................................................................... 126 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The percentage of the most translated foreign media. ....................................... 59 Figure 2. The percentage of the most translated languages. ............................................. 61 Figure 3. The percentage of the most translated news subjects. ....................................... 63 Figure 4. The percentage of the countries that appear in translated news. ....................... 64 Figure 5. The number of articles published in five categories for each country. ............. 65 Figure 6. The number of Inosmi.ru visitors by country. ................................................... 82 Figure 7. Audience demographics for Inosmi.ru. ............................................................. 83 Figure 8. The number of Perevodika.ru visitors by country. ...........................................