The point of no return: Belarusian audience refusal to use western broadcast media after exposure to their content

Abstract

Audiences in Belarus, an authoritarian country, are facing the situation of limited media choices when it comes to socio-economic and political information, which can slow down the process of democratic transformation. With electronic media (radio and television) in the country controlled by the state and independent print media facing numerous impediments from the state, Western media broadcasting in Russian and Belarusian languages (the native languages for the most of the country’s population) can potentially become a valuable source of socio-economic and political news. However, these media do not enjoy high popularity. The purpose of this research is to explore the nature of relationships between Western broadcast media and Belarusian audiences. Using the method of long interview, the study looks at reasons for Belarusian audiences not to return to using Western media once exposed to their news content. Although the participants were mostly talking about their criteria for news content, they also mentioned the associations they had with the outlets themselves. That and the context of Belarusian media market made it possible to infer that issues with the Western media go far beyond their news content.