Shrinking Niches for Independent Journalism: The Case of Vedomosti

Abstract

In Summer 2020 all leading editorial staff of the business newspaper Vedomosti resigned in protest over theappointment of a new editor-in-chief after the alleged interference of its main creditor, Rosneftbank. In thisarticle, I summarize the chain of events that led to the mass walkout and highlight the context in which ittook place. What happened at Vedomosti is one incident in a line of similar ones in a changing media landscape,in which niches for independent reporting are shrinking and journalists have to compromise, adapt,or find new outlets for their reporting.