The Influence of Economic Information in Mass Media on Consumer Sentiment of the Population of Russia (2010-2014)

The paper presents the topic of determining the main factors of influence on consumer sentiment in Russia. It is emphasized that consumer sentiment plays an important role in the formation of the correct political and economic policy of the country. A Specialized consumer Sentiment Index is used to assess these sentiments. Despite the regression efficiency of the Index, the question of the factors influencing the formation of consumer sentiment remains open. The work focuses on the analysis of the impact of the so-called economic information published in the media. In this regard, much attention is paid to the mechanisms and conditions of the formation of the "correct" perception of the economic situation by the inhabitants of the country (the so-called priming effect, the theory of the agenda). The regression method used in the analysis allowed to confirm the thesis that in the presence of a significant effect of economic information from the media on consumer sentiment, the strength of this effect is low. Additional qualitative analysis of the structure of" typical " news articles indicates the existence of the problem of shifting the focus of the news. Such a discovery will allow in the future to highlight the degree of influence of the social environment and the reference groups of the individual on his consumer sentiment.