Telegram News Channels of Siberian Largest Cities in the Context of the Development of the Media Landscape 2022–2024

Abstract

Telegram channels (TG channels) have become a valuable part of people's daily lives. The number of non-unique users of Russian TG channels has doubled in 2022, and the number of news channels has increased by 55%. In the first half of 2023, 41% of Russians logged into Telegram daily. TG channels penetrated all spheres of public activity, becoming tools for information exchange and for forming public opinion, a source of information about what is happening in the world, the country, and the hometown. The article analyzes TG news channels of the largest cities of Siberia. It describes the current stage of development of regional news channels in the context of changes in the popularity of this media platform in 2022–2024 and conducts their «mapping». The article examines the change in the number of subscribers and the specifics of the content of the most viewed and reposted TG channels, as well as TG channels of existing media.