In a study focused on Kyrgyzstan, Aizhan Umarova, Venera Sabirova, Mahabbat Mamyrova, and Chinara Abdieva from Osh State University, and Jyrgal Sakybaeva from J. Balasagyn National University determined the role of independent means of transmitting, storing, and reproducing information in the media industry. To do this, they examined the various locally popular resources such as 24.kg, Kaktus.media, Factcheck.kg, International Budget Partnership, and April.
The rapid development of digital technologies, and the birth of numerous new media platforms prompted the study, as they have fundamentally changed how journalistic content is created, distributed, and consumed. O. Harmatiy and S. Onufriv (2021) found out that social networks are nowadays sources for journalists about events, opinions, and government activities.
Interactive journalism has then become possible through the development of social media and other necessary affordances that allow journalists and content consumers to communicate with each other (Papadopoulou 2021). This is particularly true of interactive platforms like Twitter (nowadays X).
When discussing the Kyrgyz context, comments, polls, and complaints to professional media are classified as audience participation, and public interest reports by bloggers and activists are citizen journalism. Interactivity in journalism then is now a key element for engaging and retaining audiences and for journalists to master new tools, and for readers to develop media literacy.
Kyrgyzstan has issues such as state control, hostility toward and victimization of journalists, and changing dynamics of the journalistic audience when it comes to interactive journalism, but it nevertheless plays a role democratization and it is influenced by foreign media.
The time period for analysing the popular platforms (mentioned in the first paragraph) was from 2021 to 2025. Video, interactive maps, infographics, and multimedia storytelling were analyzed.
The main feature of interactive journalism is active engagement with users and the offer of new ways to obtain information. Interactivity, diversity, and the ability to deliver information in real time are typical features. The Kyrgyz platforms were developing through digitalization, migration to online platforms, and wider use of multimedia resources.
Progress was demonstrated by tools such as Shorthand and Figma, through Flourish such as interactive maps based on polls, Instagram stories polls, Facebook live, YouTube live, and YouTube shorts. The platforms’ interactivity levels differed based on the types of audience involvement.
There were several engagement patterns across the platforms. Practical and problem-oriented content such as power-outage maps encouraged engagement, and socially significant topics simulated civic engagement. Third, real-time formats encouraged immediate reactions, while multimedia storytelling supported deeper engagement.
Some media platforms offered fact-checking services to counter fake news, such as Factcheck.kg, Kaktus.media, and 24.kg. Moderation was a challenge, as users generated content. Protecting user privacy and transparency in data collection are also perennial concerns.
In conclusion, the study conceptualized interactivity as a differentiated communicative structure rather than a single technological feature. Every tool had a specific editorial purpose, and the effectiveness was then determined by correspondence between the tool, topic, and the form of audience participation. The findings should be interpreted as reflecting different levels of audience engagement.
The study “The transformation of interactive journalism through new media platforms in Kyrgyzstan” by Aizhan Umarova, Venera Sabirova, Mahabbat Mamyrova, Chinara Abdieva, and Jyrgal Sakybaeva is in Journalism. (Free abstract).
Picture: Square and alley near Bishkek city hall (very left). By Mike Dudin.
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