Means of mass communication as a factor for forming the image of the country in mass consciousness

The article is devoted to the problem of forming the image of the country in the mass political consciousness and the role of the media in this process. Since the process of political perception is mediated by channels for obtaining information and communication, traditional and non-traditional Media largely determine both the communicative image and the image, which is then formed in the mass consciousness. That is why, in the context of informatization and globalization of the world geopolitical space, psychological and communicative aspects must be taken into account when the state develops strategies for its behavior. The article considers the political-psychological and politico-communicative approaches to this issue. The author analyzes various views on the structural components of the image of the country. In particular: the image of the people, the image of power, national heroes, "friends", "enemies", political leader, as well as the image-knowledge, image-value and image of the future. All these elements of the image are considered from the point of view of the possibility of their formation with the help of the media. The main theories of political communication analyzed in the work allow us to consider the media as a factor in the formation of cognitive, emotional and behavioral components of the image of the country. The information, educational, propaganda functions of the QMS, as well as the function of forming public opinion, can significantly influence the process of political perception. This is due to the popularization of certain knowledge and facts about the object of perception, as well as the formation of stereotypes, social attitudes, values and needs. Media form the context of the perception of the country through the creation and popularization of information causes and the formation of the agenda, and also affect the objective and subjective factors of political perception. In other words, mass media can simultaneously be communicators and channels of information transfer, agents and institutions of education and socialization, as well as creators of a certain kind of stereotypes. The aspects of media activity described in the article can help the state in the formation of an information and image strategy.

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