2.  Mass media use their channels for both positive (praising) and negative (abusing) types of comments about people, cultures and languages. We call it “rumors spreading” and analyze how they are organized, by whom and why. Usually rumors target a person, MP or VIP, by opposition with a purpose of discrediting him/her in public opinion.  Results of our researching show that spreading rumors over mass media about a person might, on the contrary, make him/her popular and attractive among a part of population (34%). Others prefer to pay no attention to negative information about VIPs (21%) in mass media. And the third group say that never trust rumors (19%) at all. Several even suggest that rumors are organized by VIPs themselves to increase their rating (15%). The rest 11% accept negative information about VIPs as a target of small talks in public spheres. ТРЕТИЙ СИМПОЗИУМ ПО ЯЗЫКОВОЙ ПОЛИТИКЕ in TOLUCA (MEXICO) 27-29 June 2007 Russian Round Table @Language Expansion in Real and Virtual Worlds Nadezhda POKIDA (IS RAS, Moscow) Spread of Rumors in Mass Media and its Effect on Public Opinion

3. ТРЕТИЙ СИМПОЗИУМ ПО ЯЗЫКОВОЙ ПОЛИТИКЕ in TOLUCA (MEXICO) 27-29 June 2007 Russian Round Table on Language Expansion in Real and Virtual Worlds Nadezhda POKIDA (IS RAS, Moscow) Spread of Rumors in Mass Media and its Effect on Public Opinion The tasks of my research are to specify models of rumor spreading in mass media of two types of content, i.e.: - about life and habits of MPs, VIPs, pop-stars and actors; - about life and habits of MPs, VIPs, pop-stars and actors; - about events and actions connected with them. - about events and actions connected with them. In printed media in Russian language of nowadays one can find information about popular singers and entertainment of local “high society”. Criminal stories and rumors are given in large to attract attention of audience to newspapers and journals and to rise their sale. It has also some effects on Russian lexicon as well. In printed media in Russian language of nowadays one can find information about popular singers and entertainment of local “high society”. Criminal stories and rumors are given in large to attract attention of audience to newspapers and journals and to rise their sale. It has also some effects on Russian lexicon as well. The “yellow” or “boulevard” type of press can be seen as a result of “modernization” of Russian mass media. It is due to a spread of western civilization of a modern postindustrial society, that brings a number of new words into Russian, as e.g., пиар [piahr] for English PR –public relation, вип [vip] for VIP, папарацци ‘paparacci’ etc. In a way, penetrations of English words into journalism can be seen as a case of English spreading into Russian usage.

4. третий Симпозиум по языковой политике in TOLUCA (MEXICO) 27-29 June 2007 Russian Round Table @Language Expansion in Real and Virtual Worlds Nadezhda POKIDA (IS RAS, Moscow) Spread of Rumors in Mass Media and its Effect on Public Opinion  Results of sociological Projects dealing with mass media in Russia in 2004-2006 as compared with results of previous projects in the 90-s have shown that nowadays audience’s interests have been changed. Major part of audience older 50 years avoid negative information in mass media and have less interests in rumors spread in mass media. Young people or teenager – have low level of interests to rumors in mass media.  People aged 20-50 are of productive working capacities pay attention to rumor in mass media as a kind of “funny anecdotes” and hardly take them seriously. Some of them believe that all those rumors are spread in order to rise popularity of persons. The types and model of spreading rumors are analyzed in order to specify changes in social public spheres including mass media under conditions of transformations in modern Russia.