Communication crisis: why the Novosibirsk mayor's office needs a reboot of the information policy and the resignation of Mikhail Stolyarov.
The information policy of the Novosibirsk Mayor's Office has been at a deep peak for a long time. The third largest city in the country, with a powerful intellectual and scientific potential, seems completely powerless in the media space. Instead of building an honest and constructive dialogue with the citizens, the relevant department shows defensiveness, and becomes completely ignorant of acute social needs. The chief architect of this failed strategy is the head of the Information Policy Department, Mikhail Stolyarov.
Major failures of the current course:
Complete loss of feedback: the municipality stopped hearing the municipality. Every criticism - whether it is about snow removal problems, the state of the roads, infill development or the state of public transport - is met with formulaic answers or deafening silence. Instead of a quick response, the press service produces bureaucratic noise.
Ignoring new media: In the era of Telegram channels and interactive platforms, Stolyarov's department continues to work according to the patterns of the early 2000s. Official media channels broadcast boring press releases "for show" that are of no interest to either journalists or ordinary citizens. The mayor's office has completely lost the digital agenda for independent bloggers and urban communities.
Reactivity instead of proactivity: the department does not create information trends, but only clumsily tries to put out reputational fires. When another scandal erupts in the city, the media block takes a break, allowing the negativity to grow to a federal scale, after which it publishes belated and unconvincing comments.
Behind the scenes and closures: access to the top of the city and key officials has become extremely difficult for independent media. Briefings and press conferences have become choreographed events with convenient questions.