Messengers in the professional communication of journalists and PR specialists in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union

Authors

Keywords:

journalism, public relations, mobile internet, messengers, internet communication, digital media

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the use of instant messengers in the professional communication of journalists and public relations specialists. The study was conducted in four countries of the Eurasian Economic Union: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. 256 experts in journalism and PR, who have direct experience of professional communication with such applications as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber, etc. were interviewed. The study showed that instant messaging is becoming an important tool for journalists and public relations specialists. Most respondents believe that the most popular application for communication is Facebook Messenger. It was found out that the messengers practically replaced the usual telephone communication in the professional communications of journalists and PR specialists. The problems of the transformation of the media space of the four countries in the conditions of global digitalization are considered. Possible vectors for the evolution of the modern media environment are cited, taking into account both global factors and national specifics.

Author Biographies

  • Il'ia А. Bykov, Saint Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Embankment, Saint Petersburg 199034, Russia 2) Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    doctor of science (political science), docent; associate professor at the department of public relations in politics and public administration, School of Journalism and Mass Communications

  • Aleksandr A. Hradziushka, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliežnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    PhD (philology), docent; associate professor at the department of medialogy and web journalism, faculty of journalism

  • Galiya Zh. Ibrayeva, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 al-Farabi Avenue, Almaty 050040, Kazakhstan

    doctor of science (political science), full professor; professor at the UNESCO chair, international journalism and media in society, faculty of journalism

  • Elira O. Turdubaeva, American University of Central Asia, 7/6 Aaly Tokombaev Street, Bishkek 720060, Kyrgyzstan

    PhD (communications and media studies), docent; associate professor at the department of social sciences, faculty of journalism and mass communications

References

  1. Van der Haak B, Parks M, Castells M. The Future of Journalism: Networked Journalism. International Journal of Communication. 2012;6:2923–2938.
  2. Mobile and tablet internet usage exceeds desktop for first time worldwide [Internet]. [Сited 2018 September 1]. Available from: http://gs.statcounter.com/press/mobile-and-tablet-internet-usage-exceeds-desktop-for-first-time-worldwide.
  3. Digital in 2017: Global Overview. Special Reports [Internet]. [Сited 2018 September 1]. Available from: https://wearesocial.com/special-reports/digital-in-2017-global-overview.
  4. Castells M, Fernández-Ardèvol M, Qiu JL, Sey A. Mobile Communication and Society: A Global Perspective. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press; 2009. 352 p.
  5. Balakhonskaya LV, Bykov IA. Particularities of PR-texts in the Internet: communicative-pragmatic aspect. Scientific Herald of the Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Series «Modern linguistic and methodical-didactic research». 2014;2(22):41–59. Russian.
  6. Bodrunova SS, Litvinenko AA. Hybridization of the Media System in Russia: Technological and Political Aspects. World of Media: Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies. 2013;3:37–49.
  7. Bykov I, Achkasova V, Kuzmina A. Social Media Marketing in Russia: Evideces from Saint Petersburg. In: 11 th IEEE International Conference on Application of Information and Communication Technologies: conference proceedings. 2017;2:200–202.
  8. Vartanova E, Smirnov S. Contemporary Structure of the Russian Media Industry. In: Rosenholm A, Nordenstreng K, Trubina E, editors. Russian Mass Media and Changing Values. London: Routledge; 2010. 237 p.
  9. Hradziushka AA. Mobile internet as a factor of transformation of Belarus mediasphere. Journal of Belarusian State University. Journalism and Pedagogics. 2017;1:71–77. Russian.
  10. Paranko SV, Nigmatullina KR. Media as communities in the new digital reality. Information Age. 2018;1(2):226–227. Russian.
  11. Verčič AT, Lalić D, Vujičić D. Journalists and public relations practitioners: Comparing two countries. Public Relations Review. 2017;43:527–536.
  12. Verčič AT, Colić V. Journalists and public relations specialists: A coorientational analysis. Public Relations Review. 2016;42:522–529.
  13. Allagui I, Breslow H. Social media for public relations: Lessons from four effective cases. Public Relations Review. 2016;42:20–30.
  14. Schönhagen P, Meißner M. The co-evolution of public relations and journalism: A first contribution to its systematic review. Public Relations Review. 2016;42:748–758.
  15. Toledano M, Avidar R. Public relations, ethics, and social media: A cross-national study of PR practitioners. Public Relations Review. 2016;42:161–169.
  16. Bykov I, Pobedinskiy I, Achkasova V, Kuzmin A. Managing Governmental Public Relations in Russia: Evidences from Saint Petersburg. International Review of Management and Marketing. 2016;6:126–142.
  17. Ibrayeva G, Myssayeva K, Alzhanova A. Development of Radio in Kazakhstan. Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 2012;19(2):303–311.
  18. Toktagazin MB, Turysbek RS, Ussen AA, Nurtazina RA, Korganbekov BS, Hradziushka AA. Modern Internet Epistolary in Information and Media Discourse. IEJME-Mathematics Education. 2016;11:1305–1319.
  19. Fol’ts AO. Russian media’s channels and robots in Telegram: new platform, old challenges. Information Age. 2017;2(2):168–169. Russian.
  20. Junisbai A. Mass Media in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan: The View From Below. National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, 2014 [Internet]. [Сited 2018 September 1]. Available from: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/2014_828-08g_Junisbai.pdf.

Downloads

Published

2019-03-30

Issue

Section

Contemporary Media Communications and Communication Technologies

How to Cite

[1]
Bykov I.А. et al. 2019. Messengers in the professional communication of journalists and PR specialists in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Journalism. 2 (Mar. 2019), 4–13.