THE INFLUENCE OF NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ON PUBLIC OPINION: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY

The article discusses current issues of the influence of mass media on the formation of public opinion. The authors turned to such a source of information as newspapers and magazines, which suggested overcoming the difficulties associated with a decrease in people's access to printed news media due to the rapid spread of the Internet and the digitalization of almost all spheres of public life, including in the field of periodicals. The authors conducted a sociological study in the Bryansk region, the results of which are presented in this article. It was important to identify the respondents' opinion on whether print publications are still relevant, or whether the Internet as a source of news materials has replaced all previous mass media, the opinion on whether newspapers and magazines influence the formation of public opinion, and whether information obtained from print media resources is significant for readers, both subscribers and non–subscribers. buyers of newspapers and magazines. During the sociological research, the authors were able to clarify many important points for the media environment. It was concluded that, despite the loss of leading positions in the transmission of news information by periodicals, newspapers and magazines have an impact on the formation of public opinion, since there is a part of the population that still trusts printed products as a reliable source of news.