The influence of the media factor on the transformation of political elites since the
independence of Ukraine was investigated. It is proposed to consider the media factor in
a passive (instrumental) and active aspect. In the passive sense, its influence depends on
the development of information and communication technologies, the emergence of new
ways of influencing the audience and the formation of public opinion. In the active
dimension, it is the role of the media elite, which goes beyond its designated role as the
"fourth estate" and actually determines the course of political processes in the country.
The media elite is defined as all individuals involved in: 1) managing influential
publications, 2) producing political content (journalists, commentators, observers) and 3)
running companies that produce entertainment content that helps shape consumer
attitudes towards the political elite and political processes.
Four models of elite change have been identified and analysed: 1) changing
streams, where transformation acts as a successive change of several waves within the
ruling elite. At each stage of the transformation, the previous wave "carries up" a new
one, which, in turn, "covers" those who have put it forward; 2) the model of "political
capitalism", according to which, in transition societies, the ruling Soviet elite is
transformed into a modern political-economic layer, a "power class" that has converted
political capital into economic capital; 3) the model of the revolt of economic elites, or
the revival of regional elites that has emerged in response to a new political reality: the
wave of democratization has spilled over political surface the fragments of the old
economic elite – the owners, who were deprived during the distribution of a large "state
pie". The starting point of the model: The post-Soviet party-economic nomenclature
consisted of two large groups – party workers and economic managers who, although
not structurally separate (constituted a monolith of power), had contradictions and
"friction" over management and disposal of property, especially in the regions; 4) the
counter-elite model, when the managerial and economic elite used the so-called
"counter-elites" – the cultural and scientific and technical intelligentsia and marginal
layers in the struggle against "partocrats" for power.
The following manifestations of the media factor on socio-political processes
have been identified and investigated: 1) Commercialization of media and political
space. With the dominance of commercial forms of activity, instead of their main roles
and functions (communicative, organizational-mobilizing, ideological-educational,
cultural-educational, socialization), the media strive for maximum profits. The
informative and educational functions recede into the background. The media are
becoming businesses whose main objective is to raise funds and their effectiveness is
measured not by the quality of the information they provide but by the revenue they
generate. In the post-Soviet transition society, the trend towards commercialisation has
led to the phenomenon of media oligarchisation and the media industry as a whole. As a
result, the gained profit is measured not so much in financial indicators as in units of
political capital – electoral victories, ratings of political parties and their leaders,
political decisions (including legal acts); 2) popularization and manipulation of
consciousness, which means substitution of serious analytical issues with products
(goods) which are easy to understand for consumers and have social and sometimes
entertainment themes; 3) convergence, which means convergence and mutual In the
media sphere, this means the convergence of different types of information transmission
within a single media holding, different communication platforms: print media, radio,
television, the Internet, etc. This significantly changes the idea of communication
It has been proven that democracy, which allows for the participation of the
masses in decision-making, and the development of information and communications
technologies, which facilitate and simplify the interaction between the representatives of
the elected authorities and the electorate, strengthen the role of the media factor in the
formation of the political elite. The period of formation of Ukraine's political elite is
closely linked to electoral cycles, because even with the strengthening of authoritarian
tendencies, to a certain extent the opposition forces were able to communicate with the
voters, including through the mastery of new information technologies, which
guaranteed their presence in the legislature.
