Russian news media as a public service actor: exploring the coverage of nonprofit organizations

ABSTRACT

News media can serve as a public service actor by bringing attention to issues, topics, and areas that are bettering societies, such as providing coverage for a nonprofit sector. Driven by the agenda-setting and framing communication theories, this research project assesses how Russian nonprofits are presented in news media. More broadly, this study adds to the literature on the social role that news media plays in contemporary Russian society. We find that the Russian nonprofit sector is still finding its place within a larger Russian narrative, andRussian news media falls short in aiding its legitimization and unification. Specifically, the media presents nonprofit organizations as detached from their larger societal roles and mostly includes coverage of national organizations, their fundraising work, and activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Nonprofit sector
• Russian news media
• cognitive framing
• affective framing
• agenda-setting theory

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Zach Johnston, a student at Oklahoma State University’s School of Media and Strategic Communications, who contributed to this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Dr. Asya Cooley is an assistant professor of strategic communications at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include nonprofit communications, accountability, and philanthropy.