Network information resources as a tool for mediatization of the Arctic

The article presents the results of a study of online information resources that form the modern media image of the Arctic. Using a random sample, 25 online media were selected for analysis, of which five groups of information resources were identified. According to the keywords “Arctic”, “Northern Territories”, “Arctic Zone of Russia”, a database has been formed that includes 500 media texts. Based on their analysis, we tried to answer the questions about what is becoming the dominant media image of the Arctic formed by means of Arctic journalism at the present time, how balanced it is and how it meets the challenges of the time and state interests. The territorial features of the distribution of media texts in the regions of the Arctic zone of Russia are revealed. In terms of their absolute number, the Murmansk Region and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District are the leaders, and in terms of the number of publications per 10,000 people of the population—the Republic of Komi, or rather, the Vorkuta city district, the only one in this subject of the Russian Federation that is part of the Arctic zone of Russia. The most and least frequently encountered topics of media texts are identified. Among the first are publications on the topic of the Arctic raw material potential (32 %), among the second—publications on social topics (6 %). Despite the diversity of media content and the availability of publications on such topics as housing and social security, quality of life, tourism, education, culture and traditions of the peoples of the North, the frequency of publications on social topics in the general flow is extremely low. It is concluded that the potential of this topic is currently not sufficiently disclosed in modern Arctic journalism.</jats:p