ABSTRACT
Although the media are understood to be an important part of civil society, there is no broad agreement on the role that the media actually are supposed to play in a democracy. In addition, there are serious tensions among the media, the public, and the political sphere even in relatively stable, established democracies. The role of the media in more trying political times, such as during the stresses and upheavals of war, terrorism and revolution, is perhaps even less understood. Social scientists remain unsure as to whether the media tend to lead political change or— more cynically—if they merely reinforce the consensus of the political victors. It is perhaps for this reason that there is relatively little use of media 'models' in a comparative perspective, to assess whether the normative role of the media could be assessed and measured across a range of polities. There are measurements of media 'freedom' that are compiled and publicised around the world, but these assessments are usually more of a projection of a particular national tradition of the media (typically that of the United States) onto the media system in another country to see how it measures up. 1 As media critics are quick to point out, the heavily commercialised media system in the United States is perhaps not the best template for a broadly democratic media system in other country contexts. This is what makes the incredible experience of the post-Soviet media system, which has faced so many challenges since 1991, particularly useful for evaluating the utility of media 'models'. Does the post-Soviet media model—and notably the Russian case—fit more into the perceived Western notions of the media or does it better reflect an updated version of the Soviet model of the media itself? More critically, what does the development of the post-Soviet media into an institution that has helped to re-consolidate elite power, rather than empower citizens, mean for the role of media in society in general? What can we learn from the Russian case that can help to clarify the general ability of the media to support—or subvert—democratic institutions?
