What Drives Demand for Government-Controlled News? Evidence from Russia

News consumers in many authoritarian countries read government-controlled sources even when independent sources are available. We test whether these choices reflect a preference for pro-government coverage versus persistent tastes for specific websites. We exploit textual data from news publications to detect government-sensitive topics and describe outlets' reporting, and detailed browsing data to trace individual-level consumption. Consumer tastes are identified from changes in consumption in response to exogenous shifts in the volume of sensitive news. Structural estimates of demand reveal that the average consumer has a distaste for pro-government ideology but strong persistent tastes for the state-owned outlets, with the latter primarily driven by third-party referrals and coverage about celebrities and sports