Vasily Gatov is a Russian media researcher and author based in Boston. Gatov has over 30 years of professional experience in domestic and international media.
Gatov is currently working on a book about the re-emergence of totalitarian censorship of the Russian media. Based on a series of interviews with politicians, government officials, corporate managers, editors, journalists, lobbyists and political consultants, Gatov’s research will attempt to “define the exact logic of the ‘new censorship’ framework and expose its machinery.”
Gatov’s experience includes reporting on such important events in Russia’s history as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the 1991 failed coup’d’état, Boris Yeltsin’s presidency and the first Chechen war (1994-1997). He later served as an executive and strategist for several Russian media companies, including RenTV network, Media3 (Russia’s largest print conglomerate in 2007-2012), and RIA Novosti, a national multimedia news agency. While working for RIA Novosti (2011-2013), Gatov founded Novosti Media Lab, the research and development company, fostering innovation in communication and the social impact of media.
He is a regular contributor to industrial and general publications, both in Russia and globally. He is also a board member in Russian Publishers Guild (GIPP) and WAN-IFRA (world association of newspapers and news publishers).
Gatov’s academic research interests cover the issues of the technological effect on media development as an institution, the censorship and media effects, and media innovation.
Contact Vasily Gatov at vasily.gatov@usc.edu.