Abstract
Nowadays, there is a modification of the genres of political discourse and communication channels which help politicians to influence on society. Some genres of political discourse are used to form, preserve and transform the image of a politician, so they should be considered as special "image" genres.
The traditional image genres include television interviews, when a journalist seeks to support the image of a politician or to reveal it from an unexpected angle. Television interviews can be a part of various hybrid genres ("Direct Line with Vladimir Putin", "Conversation with Dmitry Medvedev").
The most relevant image genre of political discourse is a blog of politicians in social networks, which allows the addressee to influence on the audience in real time.