Digital Journalism: The State of Play in Russia and in Global Academia

The rise of networks, de-institutionalization and de-professionalization, increased participation and personal agency, the growth of platform power and platform convergence has led to re-conceptualization of journalism as a professional field and as a social domain. Digital journalism has been in this vein in the spotlight of academic attention in recent years, with scholars suggesting definitions for the term ‘digital journalism’, problematizing research developments and discussing implications for future research. However, while digital journalism studies have been increasingly explored in regard to its premises, principles, actors, methods, technologies and platforms, there are quite different approaches to understanding what digital journalism and digital journalism studies mean, and how they can be defined. In this chapter, we cover a previously underexplored topic, that is digital journalism in Russia. By analysing titles, keywords and citations across leading academic journals in media and communication fields published in Russia, we will identify the main themes, degrees of diversity and interdisciplinary, as well as biases and blind spots. The chapter contributes to broad academic discussion about digital journalism and digital journalism studies, and explores the concept in regard to Russian academic and professional context.