Issue

Content:

• Theory of Journalism and Media

  «Theoretical Aspects of Russian Youth Media Consumption: to the Revision of Uses and Gratification Theory»

  The purpose of the article is to consider the conceptual foundations of uses and gratification media theory formulated by both foreign and Russian media scholars, as well as to identify common groups of needs of the youth audience in the context of dynamics of theoretical knowledge about digital media. The authors substantiate the thesis that, unlike traditional media, digital media have the qualitative characteristics of social space. As a result, the needs of the media audience are modified, becoming socially determined. Based on the literature studied, the authors propose their own structure of the media needs of “digital” youth in Russia. These are information, educational, entertainment and social needs. None of these groups is represented in its pure form, as their nature is determined by social needs. Nevertheless, social needs are also highlighted in a separate group. As the classification shows, modern youth can use media as a tool to gratify their personal needs, determined by human social nature. Satisfying information needs in its pure form today is not a priority for the media consumption process, but it goes together with social and, more narrowly, communication determinants. Thus, rethinking the uses and gratification theory in media studies takes place in the context of the transformation of media nature, when attributive characteristics of the social space become inherent to the media and media practices of individuals become their social practices.
  Keywords: media consumption, digital youth, uses and gratification theory, media audience, media studies, mediatization, digital media, social networks
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.328
  Denis V. Dunas, Sergei A. Vartanov, Diana Yu. Kulchitskaya, Elena A. Salikhova, Anna V. Tolokonnikova 3

• «Perspectives for Utilization of Newspapers and the Development Media Theory in a Developing Society»

  While developing societies embrace the concept of development communication as a viable way of attracting development to their societies, it has become necessary to ask how newspapers (as part of the mass media) can be utilized in a developing African country such as Nigeria. This use of newspapers is viewed vis-a-vis the tenet of Development media theory. In fact, over the years theory building and application have become part of the press and society. Invariably, when theories are propounded, their use and adaptability become issues for discussion by owners, operators of media institutions, scholars and society. It is for this reason that the utilization of newspapers and Development media theory in Nigeria are examined. The paper therefore contains an overview of the Nigerian mass media landscape and print media in particular; considers development communication; evaluates the important nature of newspapers as a development communication channel; discusses the tenet of Development media theory; examines the use of development journalism as a concept which evolved from Development media theory and is useful for the developing Nigerian society; and investigates the place of two Nigerian national newspapers, Vanguard and Guardian, in development journalism in terms of stories on politics, culture and language as development paradigms within the Nigerian state. One of the conclusions is that the newspapers are not development-oriented in their coverage. The paper recommends that journalists in media institutions should pay more attention in their reports to these development areas in their future published works.
  Keywords: development communication, newspapers, development media theory, development journalism
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.2951 Introduction
  Alex E. Umuerri, Josephine O. Adeyeye 29
• Television and Radio

  «Devaluation of Documentary: the Film and Talk Show in Socio-Political Television Broadcasting»

  The documentary film today is no longer an indispensable component of daily broadcasts of the leading TV channels. The subject matter of the film is limited to the cultural and entertainment segment, and its propaganda potential is not sought after by political broadcasting. The evolution of the talk show, which ousted the film on the Rossiya 1 channel, included attempts to introduce the film into their structure though it was more of an excuse than a topic of discussion. In the talk show, the semantic uncertainty of the documentary shot was revealed, allowing for differences in interpretation, while in the news stream it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate the fiction/ factual cinematic genesis of the shots. The desire for a visual variety complementing the verbal search for meaning in the talk show leads to new forms of exploitation of “life” shots for formal and decorative screen imagery. In the general process of devaluation of the documentary reflection of reality, the films centered on the figure of the President of the Russian Federation retain a special status.
  Keywords: the documentary, Russian television, film, talk show, polemical style, propaganda
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.5273
  Liliana Yu. Malkova 52

• «Radiofilm. The Genesis of the Genre (1920-1940)»

  This paper is devoted to the understudied issue of formation of the semidocumentary genre of radio film. This is the first part of the study, which focuses on the genesis and development of this genre in Russian radio broadcasting in 1920— 1940. The objectives of this work are to identify the genre characteristics of radio film, define its place in the genre structure of radio journalism and trace the evolution of the genre throughout the stated period. Special attention in the paper is given to the way radio film was affected by technological change (in particular, new methods of sound recording) and also by the practices of dramatic theatre and cinema. Methodologically, the paper is based on historical and comparative analysis and archive materials. The need for this study is accounted for by the fact that the topic is understudied and by the authors’ intention to clarify the terminological confusion that exists among theorists and practitioners regarding this genre. The paper analyzes the programs of the 1920s—1930s on Moscow and Leningrad radio. The study showed that radio film emerged in the formative years of radio broadcasting. The first experiments in this genre were in fact radio plays. The next development stage consisted in an opportunity to record sound on a film. The “Radiofilm” factory produced programs using this technology, the programs being referred to as “sounding chronicles”. The genre eventually took shape in the post-war years, when the technological basis of broadcasting drastically changed and most radio programs were recorded on a tape with subsequent editing. An intrinsic quality of radio film is the presence, or rather dominance, of documentary sound records forming a single storyline. Phonodocuments are, on the one hand, the major structural element of radio film; on the other, they are the main expressive means used in this genre.
  Keywords: radio, radio broadcasting, radio journalism, radio film, sound record, genres of radio journalism, editing, cinema
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.7489
  Ekaterina A. Bolotova, Lyudmila D. Bolotova 74

• «The Place of Russia on the Agenda of the Ceska Televize 1 Television Channel»

  The focus of this article is on defining the place of Russia on the agenda of one of the main public media in the Czech Republic — Ceska Televize 1. During the study, this media outlet focused on such events in Russian political life as Crimea joining Russia, relations between Russia and the United States of America, the election of the Russian President in March 2018. All in all, 975 video materials were analyzed. The methods of comparative, systemic and quantitative analysis were used in the study. The results of the content analysis of the popular news program “Udalosti” showed that Russia plays one of the most significant roles on the international agenda of the public media in the Czech Republic. Most of the content about Russia is devoted to politics and history, one in ten materials presents the common communist past of our countries. But for the most part (67% of the analyzed content) Ceska Televize 1 focuses on the developments inside the Czech Republic.
  Keywords: the Czech Republic, Czech television, public media, Russian-Czech relationships, image of Russia
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.90109
  Ekaterina V. Lapuk, Daria V. Sokolova 90
• Education in Journalism

  «"Business Journalism" as a Universal Tool for Training Journalists on How to Improve Financial Literacy of The Population»

  In present-day conditions, when mass media has become one of the most accessible and capacitated tools for the enhancement of financial literacy, ensuring the availability of professional staff ready to solve this problem will significantly increase the efficiency of dissemination of basic financial knowledge among Russians. This is why one of the most important tasks of professional training of journalists is the formation of knowledge, skills, abilities and professionally important qualities that ensure mass media's effective performance of this function. However, the issue of economic and financial education of journalists in Russia is still downplayed. And while the theoretical aspect of the issue has been covered by individual studies of Russian scientists, the practical solutions to the problem are suggested by the author of this article for the first time. In order to assess the opportunities for training our future journalists on how to improve financial literacy of population, the author has conducted an analysis of work programs for the existing or upcoming disciplines that shape in Russian university students of the field of study 42.03.02 “Journalism” the knowledge, skills, abilities and professionally important qualities required for working with financial and economic materials. Based on the results obtained, the article proposes the main solutions to the task of forming in students pursuing a degree in 42.03.02 “Journalism” the general professional competency “Financial Literacy”, which affects the effectiveness of the state policy of disseminating basic financial knowledge among the population through mass media. Based on these results, supplemented by a comparative analysis of educational materials on Business Journalism, currently presented in the Russian educational literature market, it can be concluded that under modern conditions the professional module “Business Journalism” appears to be a tool most fully meeting the goals of training graduates of faculties of journalism on improving financial literacy among Russian citizens. The module is offered to third- and fourth-year students of the Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and based on the textbook of the same name.
  Keywords: business journalism, financial education of journalists, economics for journalists, educational technologies, mass media and financial literacy, education of journalists
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.110131
  Olga Yu. Vikhrova 110
• History of Journalism

  «Theatre Journalism of the 1890s About New Trends on the Dramatic Stage (by the Example of Performances of Konstantin Stanislavsky's Society of Art and Literature)»

  This paper is devoted to several prominent theatre magazines of the 1890s, namely Artist (1889—1895) and Teatral (1895—1898) published by Fyodor Kumanin and Teatr i Iskusstvo (1897—1918) published by Alexander Kugel. They played a significant role in the development of theatre criticism as they were able to detect new phenomena in theatre life. It was at that time that the Moscow Art Theatre emerged on the stage of Konstantin Stanislavsky’s Society of Art and Literature. The magazines analyzed in the paper paid attention to the first productions of this amateur company and pioneered an attempt to explain to readers its innovations to late 19th century Russian art which would underlie the famous Stanislavsky’s system. This short but extremely important episode in the history of journalism has not been studied in its entirety so far. The object of the author’s research was the content of the Artist, Teatral and Teatr i Iskusstvo magazines while the subject was the performances of the Society of Art and Literature as seen in these publications. The work covers the period from 1889 (the year when the first issue of the Artist magazine was published) to 1898 (the year when the Moscow Art Theatre was established). The author of the paper examines the history of the publications, the editorial policies of those in charge, the transformation of article writers’ views on the performances of the Society of Art and Literature. In conclusion, it is argued that there is a connection between the attitude of the magazines to Stanislavsky’s theatre and new art as a whole.
  Keywords: theatre journalism of the 1890s, Fyodor Kumanin, Alexander Kugel, Artist magazine, Teatral magazine, Teatr i Iskusstvo magazine, Moscow Art Theatre, Society of Art and Literature
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.132153
  Irina R. Mustafina 132
• Modern Journalism: Subjects and Issues

  «Public Health in the Russian Media's News Agenda»

  This paper is one of many concerned with making Russian society realize that public health results from the interaction between the state and the citizen, governmental and public organizations, businesses, science and the media. The aim of the author is to inform the scientific community about the results of studying the Russian media’s practice of covering health-related issues. The essence of the hypothesis assumed by the author is that given a lot of materials dealing with health newspapers and magazines are not guided by a systematic approach to the institution of public health and consider it through the prism of individual aspects. The materials for the study were selected with the help of the Medialogy analytical system and then looked through by the author in a manual way. The selected articles were studied by means of professional analysis of journalistic text and comparative analysis. Professional analysis of texts is a scientific method suggesting the use of observation tables, which include the headlines of the articles, their sources, genre and results of examining their basic characteristics: theme, idea, text structure, composition, layout, lexical and stylistic features. Such tables make the texts comparable and enable one to juxtapose them and obtain necessary generalizations. On the basis of observations, a comparative analysis of the texts is conducted. As a result of this two-stage analysis, the researcher finds her hypothesis confirmed and concludes about the factors that prevent journalists from becoming stakeholders of the institution of public health.
  Keywords: public health, human health, media, research, news agenda
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.joum.2.2019.154172
  Varvara V. Kazhberova 154
• Essay

  «Censorship of the Military Press during the War in Afghanistan»

  This paper deals with the issue of the censorship bans operating in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. At that time, a limited contingent of Soviet troops was deployed in Afghanistan, and the ongoing war was covered in mass media in a laconic and biased manner. To a great extent, it was so because of the Soviet censorship system performing a controlling and prohibitive function. The paper considers the hierarchy of censorship levels, characterizes their role in the control over media content and in measured coverage of events related to the deployment of the contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan and its participation in combat action. The author of the paper examines the documentation sources of the censorship bans mass media were obliged to comply with. It is found that under the influence of political changes in the country these bans tended to be relaxed, yet they ensured political and ideological control over media themes and content, which manifested itself in restrictions on distributing full and reliable information about the events in Afghanistan. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the author uses his personal observations as he repeatedly went to Afghanistan as a correspondent of Frunzevets, a newspaper of the Turkestan Military District. This fact makes it possible to demonstrate not only the practice of censoring the military press but also the ways war correspondents got around the censorship bans.
  Keywords: censorship, censorship bans, war in Afghanistan, war correspondents
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.173194
  Vladimir I. Timofeev 173
• Criticism and Bibliography

  «Extremist Discourse as a Threat for Information Security»

  Book review: Bastrykin A. I., Kirilenko V P., Shamakhov V A. (eds.) (2018) Ekstremizm v sovremennom mire: kollektivnaya monografiya [Extremism in the modern world: a collective monograph]. SPb: CPI SZIU RANEPA. 444 pp. (In Russian)
  Keywords: extremist discourse, information security, review
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2019.195199
  Svetlana M. Vinogradova 195