The Formation of the Image of Municipal Authority in the Electronic Media (on the example of the Republic Bashkortostan)

Municipal authorities are a relatively new institution in the Russian system of power relations, separate from traditional government institutions and designed to solve local problems. The significance of the formation of the image of the municipal authority, sufficient in terms of modern legal provisions, is actualized due to the fact that in the minds of citizens, this institution is associated with the state authority. This idea was formed thanks to Soviet organization of the political system and remains strong among both citizens and municipal employees. Today, the image of power is generated by the media and means of mass communication through verbal and visual channels. Another increasingly important medium in shaping the image of power is the Internet, which provides opportunities for interactive intersubjectivity communications. Local Authorities are also included in this process: many municipal administrations have launched official websites, which are designed to inform the public about its activities, to provide certain services and establish two-way communication between the authorities and the population. In order to determine the effectiveness with which official municipal websites in Bashkortostan represented local authorities, in January 2012 the Research Center at the Bashkir Academy of Public Administration and Management under the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan examined the content and navigation of municipal sites. The main parameters of the analysis followed the verbal (i.e. site content) and visual channels for generating the image of power. The study identified and analyzed the two major information and communication technologies used on a site: the "flow" of power (general information on the activities of municipal authorities), and selected "shapes" from the background (information about the municipal manager head of administration). The results of the analysis showed a predominance of the informational component over the communicative, which reduces the level of interest in the site. They also revealed a formal approach to the design of news blocks, such that for most municipalities, site content does not reflect the real needs and expectations of the local population. There was a clear lack of information on the socio-economic decisions of the authorities and the local community. Thus, the channel forming the image of the municipal government fails to satisfy both the demands of the population and those of municipal employees and their managers. The most popular forms of communication between power and citizens remain largely the same, especially in rural areas: personal contacts and on-paper communication. This significantly reduces the opportunities for the authorities to present their image through the Internet. It seems this channel will be needed in the future, when the majority of the population will prefer social networking to "classic media" television, radio, newspaper.

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