Content models of Telegram news channels: topics, sources and formats

Section: New Media

The article presents the results of the news segment of Telegram channels’ analysis. In the context of the increasing role of this service as a media and the identical perception of its audience, it seems important to explore thematic and format approaches to covering the information field and news agenda on the platform. Understanding the content models of the top 5 news channels in Telegram will allow us to extrapolate this knowledge to the entire extensive news segment of channels with this orientation. The even thematic distribution within the main news channels has been revealed. Despite the fact that most channels focus on the topic of “Incidents” (among them – RIA Novosti, Readovka, Mash, and Live Broadcast), other topics are emphasized differently. Thus, political news is more common on the RIA Novosti, Readovka, and Mash channels. Government agencies and other media reports have become the main sources of information for the studied Telegram channels; insider exclusive information is also often involved. The authors have described a universal content model of the news channel in Telegram.

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To cite this article: Kadochnikova S. A., Koroleva M. N., Kruichkova E. M., Iutkina I. E. (2025) Soderzhatel’nye modeli novostnykh Telegram-kanalov: tematika, istochniki i formaty [Content models of Telegram news channels: topics, sources and formats]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 4: 50–77. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.4.2025.5077