eprintid: 10147711 rev_number: 9 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/14/77/11 datestamp: 2022-05-04 14:44:41 lastmod: 2022-05-04 14:44:41 status_changed: 2022-05-04 14:44:41 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Paskhalis, Tom creators_name: Rosenfeld, Bryn creators_name: Tertytchnaya, Katerina title: Independent media under pressure: evidence from Russia ispublished: inpress divisions: C03 divisions: F30 divisions: B03 divisions: UCL keywords: Independent media; electoral autocracies; text analysis; Russia note: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). abstract: Existing literature recognizes growing threats to press freedom around the world and documents changes in the tools used to stifle the independent press. However, few studies investigate how independent media respond to state pressure in an autocracy, documenting the impact of tactics that stop short of shuttering alternatives to state media. Do independent outlets re-orient coverage to favor regime interests? Or does repression encourage more negative coverage of the regime instead? To shed light on these questions, we investigate how the abrupt removal of independent outlet TV Rain from Russian television providers influenced its coverage. We find that shortly after providers dropped TV Rain, the tone of its political coverage became more positive and its similarity with state-controlled Channel 1 increased. However, these effects were short-lived. Additional evidence suggests that subscription revenue contributed to the station’s resilience. These findings add to our understanding of media manipulation and authoritarian endurance. date: 2022-05-02 date_type: published publisher: Informa UK Limited official_url: https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586X.2022.2065840 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1952498 doi: 10.1080/1060586x.2022.2065840 lyricists_name: Tertytchnaya, Katerina lyricists_id: KTERT61 actors_name: Tertytchnaya, Katerina actors_id: KTERT61 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Post-Soviet Affairs pagerange: 1-20 citation: Paskhalis, Tom; Rosenfeld, Bryn; Tertytchnaya, Katerina; (2022) Independent media under pressure: evidence from Russia. Post-Soviet Affairs pp. 1-20. 10.1080/1060586x.2022.2065840 <https://doi.org/10.1080/1060586x.2022.2065840>. (In press). Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10147711/2/Tertytchnaya_Independent%20media%20under%20pressure%20evidence%20from%20Russia.pdf