Impact of public discourse and information flows on the formation of public opinion (on the example of the countries of the former Yugoslavia)

DOI: 10.22394/2071-2367-2023-18-1-109-124 EDN: ZMPHUL

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to show the influence of public discourse on the formation of public opinion based on the analysis of the media content of Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro about the special military operation of Russia in Ukraine. The article examines the information policy of the state media of the countries of the former Yugoslavia and attempts to analyze the author's commentary activity of the media audience in order to identify the public position on relevant issues of the subject field of the study. The author's analysis of the relevant commentary activity of the media audience of the states - objects of research is presented. The specificity of the formation of an opinion about the Russian foreign policy in the traditional and new media of Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro is shown.

The result is the methods and techniques used by the media to form public opinion, the specifics of the information policy, which is interconnected with the foreign policy of the state. The differences in the perception of events in Ukraine by Croatian and Serbian citizens, as well as the confrontation of public positions in Montenegro, are shown. Data are presented on the correlation of internal and external (geopolitical) factors in the formation of public opinion in the Montenegrin society. Particular attention is paid to the possibilities of expanding the Russian presence in the media segments of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. The materials of the article can become the basis for developing a strategy for Russia's information presence in the European segments of the media space.