Regional News Agencies in the New Communications Environment
The article discusses various regional news agencies functioning aspects. Local web news services form a poorly studied cluster of the Russian media system. These new independent media structures, that formed in tracks of previous unified informational system, now play an increasingly prominent role in the life of local communities, as well as have an impact on the information and communication processes throughout the country, promoting the integrity of the media field. In turn, as a distributor of information from the federal government and other regions, they help to strengthen national bonds, which is particularly important in the face of increasing centrifugal processes. The author considers the formation factors of the new regional media system, where the crucial role is played by news agencies' web debut and direct access to the audience; the regional news agencies functioning features (a special circulation area, singularity of content and genre models, broad involvement of the audience as authors, close relationship with the consumer market, and so on.); and refers to the description and analysis of examples that reveal the diversity of news models in the regions. The purpose of this review is a primary systematization of data on the regional web news market, as well as revealing its structural and thematic features and fixing of profile-typological diversity, which marks this market.