Authors

Joanna Szostek¹; Dariya Orlova²;  ¹ University of Glasgow, UK;  ² National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Ukraine

Discussion

States rely on domestic mass media to cultivate sentiments of national belonging among citizens. If certain groups engage less with domestic media than with foreign or transnational alternatives, this can prompt concern about societal cohesion and unwarranted foreign influence. Such concern is evident in Ukraine, where Russian influence via the media is regarded as a particularly significant security threat. This paper uses original, regionally representative survey data to explain variation in the level of attention that Ukrainian citizens pay to local, national and cross-border news media. It considers both supply-side factors (such as ease of access) and demand-side factors (including language preferences and political interest) in a comparative study that includes three diverse peripheral locations – Odesa, Sumy and Zakarpattia regions – as well as the political centre, Kyiv. The paper tests the hypothesis that patterns of media use will depend partly on how respondents perceive their role as democratic citizens.