2026, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 - go to content...

Permanent address of this page - https://politicjournal.ru/en/03pk226.html

Метаданные этой статьи так же доступны на русском языке

Full article in PDF format (file size: 502.2 KB)

For citation:

Poltavsky‑Ugolnikov A.A. [The formation of the media agenda on television and in Telegram: a comparative analysis of thematic priorities] Political Science and Technology, 2026, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 Available at: https://politicjournal.ru/PDF/03PK226.pdf (in Russian).

The formation of the media agenda on television and in Telegram: a comparative analysis of thematic priorities

Poltavsky‑Ugolnikov Andrey Alexandrovich
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
National Research University «Higher School of Economics», Moscow, Russia
E-mail: poltavskiy1ugolnikov@mail.ru

Abstract. The article examines media agenda formation on television and Telegram in the context of the coexistence of traditional and digital news environments. The study aims to identify differences in the thematic priorities of the federal news programs Vesti on the Russia 1 television channel and the Telegram channel Pryamoy Efir. Novosti. The empirical corpus consists of 1330 units collected in March — April 2026: 978 television news stories and 352 Telegram posts. Using comparative content analysis, all materials were coded according to a unified system of thematic categories; their connection with the special military operation and the Middle East crisis was also recorded. The findings show that television is more strongly focused on military issues, international events and the economy, while Telegram devotes a larger share of content to society and everyday life and to incidents. The two crisis processes accounted for 51,0 % of the television corpus and 27,0 % of Telegram posts. Their thematic presentation also differed. Telegram covered the special military operation primarily through military actions and related incidents, whereas television more often placed it in a broader political and international context. By contrast, the thematic structure of coverage of the Middle East crisis was almost identical in the two media environments. The results show that differences between television and Telegram concern both the overall distribution of attention and the representation of individual major information processes.

Keywords: media agenda; television; Telegram; agenda-setting theory; content analysis; thematic priorities; digital media

Download article in PDF format