Conceptualizing the media communication strategy of the contemporary Russian university

Section: Advertising and Public Relations

The mediatization of higher education and the digital transformation of communication environments have significantly increased the strategic importance of university media communications. Contemporary universities operate as complex media actors interacting with multiple internal and external stakeholders in a highly competitive communicative environment. Despite the growing international interest in strategic communication in higher education, the university media communication strategy remains insufficiently conceptualized, particularly in Russian academic discourse. The aim of the study is to develop a preliminary conceptual model of the media communication strategy of a contemporary Russian university, drawing on theoretical analysis and empirical research. The empirical basis includes 15 expert interviews conducted in 2024–2025 with representatives of Russian universities responsible for strategic planning, information policy and media communications, and an analysis of two formalized communication documents. The sample was formed on the basis of the universities’ positions in the Media Activity Rating (M-rating) of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, geographic diversity and institutional status. The methodological framework combines strategic communication studies, mediatization theory and organizational communication; thematic analysis, comparative analysis and conceptual modeling were employed. The study proposes a preliminary conceptual model of the university media communication strategy, including conceptual, procedural, organizational, contextual and audience dimensions. Key factors influencing the effectiveness of university media communications are identified, and the specific features of strategic communication institutionalization in the Russian higher education environment are revealed. The scientific novelty lies in the conceptualization of the media communication strategy as an independent level of university strategic management and in the development of a model that systematizes the main elements of the contemporary university’s media communication activities.

DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.4.2026.79102

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