The participation of mass media in the electoral process is considered. A well known political and legal problem is resolved: law enforcement is conducted at the level of individual cases, and the scientific generalization of violations of the law soars to the level of abstraction. Using the example of the Sverdlovsk region, the media are considered not only as a political actor in the electoral process. On the basis of the Electoral Code of the Sverdlovsk region (ECSR), the formal and legal grounds for the status of the media are shown. The method of comparative studies is used - electoral technologies of candidates for the post of Governor of the Sverdlovsk region are compared. As a result of the comparative study, the official, oppositional and neutral estranged positions of the media in relation to the candidates are shown. For the first time, the typology of electoral media is derived.