Abstract
The phenomenon of constructing social problems by the mass media is a very significant and symbolic feature of contemporary society. The article systematizes the basic characteristics of the so called constructivist approach to the analysis of the functioning of the mass media that was developed in the 1970s as an alternative interpretation of 'public institutions', primarily, of the mass media, their role in the actualization of social problems and assigning this status to the events in the world around. On the basis of a bright example of the approach under consideration - the agenda-setting theory - the authors make an assessment of the constructivist potential of the print mass media in contemporary Russian society.
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