Image Representation Structure of the Regional Government in Social Net Narrative based on the Accounts of S. E. Tsivilev, Governor of Kemerovo Region

Abstract

The present research featured the way social net users perceive the image of the head of a region. The study involved comments to posts made by the governor of Kuzbass S. E. Tsivilev in VKontakte, Instagram, and Facebook. The analysis employed the method of narrative semiotics. The feedback between the population and the government appeared to depend on the specifics of the political regime in the region. Social nets became both a form of feedback and an indicator of the perception of the imposed image. Different social networks have different audiences, hence the different perception of the governor. Moreover, each social net has its own functionality, which sets the format of feedback. The initial hypothesis was that different social networks produce different attitudes towards the main figure of local executive power. The research results contradicted with this hypothesis and revealed a difference in the positioning of the executive branch and modeling of the governor’s image perception. Based on the data about different perception models, the local authorities can build new media strategies in order to improve the image of the governor in the eyes of the population.