This essay focuses on studying how Russian news media portrayed the two candidates Vladimir Putin and Ksenia Sobchak in relation to the Russian presidential election 2018. The analysis is based on a hermeneutical approach where the source texts are interpreted in order to identify what ideas are being expressed in news texts about either of the two candidates.The analysis also focuses on testing two theories. One is based on the ideas presented in Niccolò Machiavellis text The Prince. The other is based on Max Webers rational-legal authority, presented in his book Economy and Society. The goal is to determine whether the Russian news media portrays the candidates in ways that can be related to either of these theories.The final results shows that the candidates are mainly depicted through ideas that supports Webers theory. The Machiavellian theory is supported when Sobchak and Putin are discussed in news texts relating to ideas regarding authority or exercise of power.
2018-06-07.