TV versus Internet: How media consumption affects the approval of the authorities

The article considers the features of the Russians’ media consumption and their attitudes to political institutions (federal and regional). The survey of the population of the Republic of Mordovia aimed at finding correlations between the use of certain information channels, the level of trust in them, and the approval of the authorities. The study showed that the choice of traditional media (television, newspapers, magazines, radio) or new media (social networks, Internet websites, telegram channels) divides people into groups according to their political preferences. Traditional media (conditionally the “TV” party) tend to unite representatives of older cohorts living in rural areas and supporting the government. New media (conditionally the “Internet” party) tend to attract mainly young people living in cities, having a relatively high level of education and being critical of political institutions. The author believes that there is a potential for reconciliation of these two ‘parties’ - in the communicative possibilities of personal connections (friends, relatives, acquaintances), because the close social circle seems to provide grounds for discussing the current situation in the country and the region. The results of the survey show a high level of distrust to all information channels and a low level of approval of the authorities. The situation is aggravated by the coronavirus crisis: skepticism about official information determined a significant number of rumors discrediting political institutions, which in the future may negatively affect election campaigns at all levels.