Natalia Roudakova: Losing Pravda
Anthropologist Natalia Roudakova will discuss her new book Losing Pravda: Ethics and The Press in Post-Truth Russia.
What happens when journalism is made superfluous? Combining ethnography, media analysis, moral, and political theory, this book examines the unravelling of professional journalism in Russia over the past 25 years and its effects on society. It argues that, contrary to widespread assumption, late Soviet-era journalists shared a cultural contract with their audiences, which ensured that their work was guided by a truth-telling ethic. Post-communist economic and political upheaval led not so much to greater press freedom as to the de-professionalization of journalism, as journalists found themselves having to monetize their truth-seeking skills.