The Role of “Russia Today” TV Channel in the US Media Space

In the graduation thesis "The Role of Russia Today TV Channel in the US Media Space" the analysis of the Russian channel's influence on the American media sphere was conducted by using the case of the 2016 presidential election. Key issues examined in the work are: what are specifics of the US information space, could the television channel have a significant impact on the American audience, and how did this situation affect the Russian-American relations. According to the results of the study, the US media space is practically not regulated by the state, but its players are actively involved in the political process. Russia Today`s policy correlates significantly with the objectives of the Russian information strategy. Debates over Russia's influence on the election of the American president, though heated, are not justified, since coverage of D. J. Trump by RT was not much more biased than H. Clinton`s. Nevertheless, in the context of close attention to the Russian Federation because of the election results, the interest in RT on the part of both the media and intelligence agencies has also increased, what contributed to the growth of its influence before the eyes of the American public. However, accusations by one state of another of interference in internal affairs strains the relations between them. Information confrontation plays a crucial part in modern relations between Russia and the United States. The scientific methods of case study and content analysis were employed in the thesis work. Some data security, in particular, RT`s KPI and audience analyses, presented a restriction to the study. Therefore, RT`s mention by the US media space actors and by experts and politicians as well was chosen as the main indicator of the channel`s effectiveness. Keywords: Russia Today, information confrontation, Russian Federation, the USA, presidential elections of the 2016.