Beyond Political Constraint?

The question of journalists’ political engagement, by definition, seems to be specific to democratic societies. Yet it is also relevant to restricted political contexts, as the example of contemporary Russia shows. Since the arrival in power of V. Poutine in 2000, studies in the sociology of media generally show a polarization of the media space between, on the one hand, dominant titles loyal to the interpretive line of the powers-that-be, and on the other, marginalized critical and alternative editorial positions. This split suggests that journalists have strong political stands in the media space. Yet, paradoxically, a survey on the ground shows the instability of their careers and the possibility for some of them to switch from one side to the other. These enigmatic trajectories reflect a distance that many journalists take from politics, in favour of other considerations (economic, technical, friendship, etc.) to justify professional bifurcations in the Russian media space. Beyond this case study, they beg reflection on the weakening of political assignments in contemporary media.