Independent Media in Electoral Autocracies

• In Event: Media & Autocracy

Abstract

Dictators dislike critical media. Yet many of them allow independent outlets. While a large literature recognizes threats to press freedom, we know very little about whether, or how, independent media respond to state sanctions. Do outlets respond to pressure by aligning their coverage with the regime? Or, do restrictions backfire, encouraging more critical coverage instead? We propose that the choice to pursue one strategy or the other evolves endogenously based on an outlet’s revenue mix and incentives to pander. We test our argument on evidence from contemporary Russia. Using a corpus of approximately 85,000 daily news reports, we investigate how the abrupt removal of a prominent independent television outlet, TV Rain, from cable and satellite providers influenced its coverage and similarity with state outlet Channel 1. Our findings add to recent studies of media manipulation and speak to the broader literature on authoritarian endurance.

Authors

• Tom Paskhalis, New York University

• Bryn Rosenfeld, Cornell University

• Katerina Tertytchnaya, University College London