The Stereotypical Media Image of the Siberian Region (Based on the Materials of the Russian Media of the 21st Century)

Linguistic studies of images of regions presented in different types of discourse become particularly relevant, which is determined by the fact that, first, images of regions have not been studied sufficiently and, second, cognitive mechanisms of the formation of images of regions (through direct personal experience or indirectly, e.g., from materials of the mass media, the Internet, eyewitnesses' stories, etc.) also require description. The basic source of the formation of a stereotypical image of a region is the mass media that determine the frequency of mentions of the region in the periodicals, select newsworthy events place accents when delivering information, choose language means of the strongest influence on the addressee, shape a certain emotional attitude to the region. The result of such mass media's activities is the formation of a stereotypical media image of the region that addressees (readers, spectators, listeners) perceive as a certain dogma, fix in their consciousness and relay in further business and everyday communication. One of the most interesting images in this respect is that of Siberia. A lot of stereotypes are connected with the image of Siberia, and the mass media played an important role in shaping them. This study aims to analyze stereotypical ideas about Siberia occurring in Russian media discourse and to identify the language means the mass media use for the formation of the stereotypes. The material for the study is texts of the Russian mass media of the 21st century taken from the Russian National Corpus. During the study, the frame-and-slot structure of the stereotypical media image of Siberia was described. A conclusion is made that mass-media actively use frames “Nature and Geography of Siberia”, “History of Siberia”, “Social and Economic Sphere of Siberia”. The analysis has shown that the mass media reflect ideas, existing in the consciousness of a significant number of people (residents of other regions of Russia and foreigners), about Siberia as about a distant and huge region with severe climatic conditions, a raw material adjunct of Russia which is also a place of exile and hard labor of forced migrants. At the same time the Russian mass media start to shape a new stereotypical image of Siberia. It is an image of a region rich with natural and human resources, actively developing, being both the guarantee of Russia's development and the object of claims of the unfriendly countries. Thus, the mass media are capable of both supporting and strengthening the existing stereotypes and creating new ones.

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