Television Space of the Crimea and Sevastopol in the Context of the New State

Abstract

The article deals with the influence of the landmark event - the Crimea and Sevastopols reunification with Russia - on the peninsulas information space, whose functional importance is crucial for interaction with the audience. The object of the research is television as part of the information space that has always had the biggest effect on the population as compared to the other mass media, regardless of the statesmanship (Soviet, Ukrainian, or Russian). The authors do a detailed study of the current period of television development. They point out that, in order to draw a coherent picture of the Crimeas television broadcasting system, it is necessary to analyze its multiple aspects, namely, finance, content, organizational and legal sphere, technologies and audience. However, the authors focus on the structural transformation of television in the Crimea and Sevastopol. The aim is to determine the place of the peninsulas current television broadcasting system in Russian media environment, and to outline its problem spots. The empirical base of the research, which provides for better understanding of the current state of the television industry in the Crimea, is a historical retrospective review of its establishment based on public information sources and expert evidence. The key research method is insider view. The theoretical base includes approaches to studying media systems, as well as the concept of the frontier.