Reevaluation Of The Soviet Mass Media In The Glasnost

The paper takes mass media in the"Glasnost"(openness in English) advocated by Gorbachev as an independent object for research, attempting to do an in-depth study on the relevancy between the functions of mass media and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.By referring to the newspapers and periodicals collected by Ms Song Lifang, a researcher at the Institute of Journalism of Xinhua News Agency as well as biographies of former political figures and studies of famous scholars from China and abroad, the paper reevaluates the relevancy between the mass media's function and the breakup of the Soviet Union. It also attempts to describe the role of mass media in the disintegration of the Soviet Union from the perspective of mass communication and sociology by employing the"pseudo-environment"theory, the"agenda setting"theory, the"social conflict theory"and the"social safety valve"theory.In the conclusion, the paper acknowledges the rationality and necessity of the"Glasnost"reform and the transform of mass media, but it also admits that Gorbachev's false understanding of reform and the deviation in policy implementation have resulted in the qualitative change of the original policy. In addition, after Gorbachev's letting go of the pace of the reform, the reform ultimately exceeded his rational expectation and created a spillover effect. Finally, by analyzing the gain and loss of the"Glasnost"reform, the paper suggests that China should take advantages of the experiences of Soviet Union's reform in the process of its own media reform.