Features and levels of formation of the information agenda on ecology by Internet media and social media of the industrial region

Abstract

This study examines the features and levels of forming an environmental information agen da. The paper demonstrates that the information agenda functions not simply as a tool for dissem inating information, but as a hierarchical system of environmental issues, where the prioritization of some topics over others is the result of targeted attention management. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is based on key tenets of agenda-setting theory. General scientific methods – analysis and synthesis – were used for the research, while cognitive matrix analysis and content analysis were employed in the empirical phase. The empirical base consists of media texts from 29 online media outlets and 14 social media outlets in industrial centers – cit ies in the Chelyabinsk region and Yekaterinburg – for 2024. The research’s novelty lies in its comprehensive description of the relationship between the levels of environmental agenda formation and the specifics of its content in the media envi ronment of an industrial region. For the first time, empirical data (2,663 media texts) demon strates how global environmental narratives are transformed by the local environmental situation in industrial territories. The analysis provides a foundation for studying the environmental information agenda in the modern media space from the perspective of its content, thematic aspects, and attributes. The research results are of practical value to a wide range of media communications specialists: journalists, content managers, editors, media analysts, and researchers involved in the formation and analysis of the environmental agenda.