Local newspapers in social networks as information and communication resources (a case study of the media in Perm krai)

The paper deals with the peculiarities in functioning of local newspapers on the Internet. Based on the materials of the Perm Krai media, the author studies how newspapers perform the function of disseminating information and providing communication in social networking services and on their official websites. Less than half of the local newspapers have an official website of their own. The Internet platform they prefer to use is the social networking site “VKontakte”. The functioning of local newspapers in social networks lacks any rational ground. Initially, journalists considered official websites of newspapers to be a means of providing both information and communication, while social networks were only regarded as a way to communicate with readers. The media consumption entails the necessity to share content in social networks. Content sharing in social networking services was studied in 2016 based on a complete sample of websites and other e-resources of local newspapers. Surveys conducted among journalists and editors-in-chief revealed the opinion of the professional community about the objectives of official websites and discussions in social networks. Analysis of the surveys allows us to see a diversity of the ways to represent a local newspaper on the Internet: from avoiding such representation (The North Star) to developing a system of digital representation (The Parma News). The strategy ‘print first’ dominated in the local media of Perm Krai. The discrepancy between the technological standards for the publication and the media consumption formats causes difficulties in content sharing and distribution on the Internet. Official websites do not provide services for social communication. Thus, the communication function is not represented on the websites, notwithstanding the fact that journalists mentioned the function as the basic one. A unique example of permanent communication in a newspaper account in the social media is Herald of Tchernushka.