‘Insider news’ on Russian Telegram: Resembling truth, proximity and objectivity

Abstract

This article explores a new style of journalism identified in the contents of 21 public Telegram channels from the second half of 2020. The case follows the poisoning of the Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny as part of a broader research programme on the Russian public sphere. The qualitative analysis of the data provides insight into the use of Telegram as a source for ‘insider news’. This article distinguishes the linguistic peculiarities of the texts, such as markers of orality, and contrasts them with various modes of virtual journalism. The article proposes a model of a three-way proximity-building as a feature of a new journalism style. The article contributes to understanding the dynamics of the Russian public sphere and its overspill beyond the Russian territory and the institutional media outlets.