Issue

Content:

• Sociology of Journalism

  «A Journalist's Work in a Modern Regional Newspaper: Creative Aspects »

  The article explores a journalist’s creative work as a basic journalistic activity. The authors analyzed the results of a sociological study in which 93 journalists from 26 Russian regional newspapers were interviewed on a wide range of topics. The analysis showed that a journalist’s creative authorial activity is constant enough. Although its structure, tasks, motivation, stages, methods of work and genre structure evolve, they retain the main features of this kind of text activity as a professional skill of working with words. However, the transformations of the media sphere and the introduction of online technologies into work with information significantly influenced creative activity and changed working tools. They expanded the functions of a journalist in creating multiplatform convergent content.
  Keywords: creative work of a journalist, regional newspapers, Russian journalists
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.324
  Sergei A. Vartanov, Alexander V. Kolesnichenko, Olga V. Smirnova, Luiza G. Svitich, Mikhail V. Shkondin , Tatyana V. Yakovleva 3
• History of Journalism

  «Towards the Forms of Ownership of the Periodical Press in the Ussr in the 1920s»

  This paper analyzes the forms of ownership of the periodical press enterprises and organizations that existed in the USSR in the 1920s. Drawing on archive sources, the author attempts to briefly describe the policy of the Soviet power in this field, trace the ratio of the forms of ownership of print media during the larger part of the period in question and evaluate the importance of the ownership factor for the actual operation of enterprises under a strict state control. In the paper, the author points to the diversity of ownership existing in the USSR at the time of NEP in three major forms: state, public and private. This diversity survived up until the early 1930s, although archive data indicate that it was common only for large political and social centers of the USSR.
  Keywords: the periodical press, ownership, media economics, the USSR, NEP
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.2551
  Maksim I. Babyuk 25

• «Advertisements in the Trade Press about Nature and Hunting of the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries»

  This article reveals the features of advertising in specialized magazines about nature and hunting such as: “Nature and Hunting”, “Hunter”, “Russian Hunter” and “Hunting Herald”. The formal and content analysis of the advertising texts as well as the design techniques showed their dependence on the editorial policy of the publication in the context of increasing competition for the reader and highlighted a wide range of Russian people’s interests. In the process of analyzing the advertising texts, the following major strands were identified: offers for the purchase or sale of purebred hunting dogs and sale of weapons; announcements of sporting events and exhibitions; advertising clothes and shoes and other essential goods; invitations for subscription to the periodicals; the bibliography section. The author outlines the mandatory components of any advertisement (the subject of sale, the place of sale) and optional ones (the cost of goods or services, the number of goods sold, the animal’s age, the animal’s color, temporal indication, and the reason for the sale). Important communication techniques are considered: giving names of well-known specialists, names of owners of weapon shops, brands of well-known weapon manufacturers and mentioning high-ranking officials for the purpose of a successful sale of goods.
  Keywords: advertisement, hunting press, hunting subculture, magazines “Nature and Hunting”, “Russian Hunter”, “Hunter”, “Hunting Herald”
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.5273
  Alina V. Lyapina 52

• «Transformation of the North Caucasian Press System within the Context of Censorship Reform under the Influence of the First Russian Revolution»

  The article for the first time attempts to characterize the general laws and special features of the press in the ethnic regions of the North Caucasus under the 1905– 1907 revolution. Despite the prohibitive measures of tsarist authorities and obstacles imposed by censorship, during this period the region developed a system of private printing in Russian and local languages. The author refutes the well-established opinion in Soviet historical science about the leading role of Bolshevik propaganda in mobilizing the region’s population for anti-government protests. Through critical analysis of scientific literature and the study of new materials revealing the features of the tsarist government’s censorship policy during the first Russian revolution, the author identifies the main trends in the formation of national journalism in the North Caucasus and shows its influence on the socio-political, economic and socio-cultural processes that occurred in the region in the early 20th century.
  Keywords: history and functioning of regional journalism, policy of tsarist Russia in the field of the press
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.7493
  Lema A. Turpalov 74
• Foreign Journalism

  «National Media as a Promotional Tool of China's Soft Power»

  This paper analyzes the use of Chinese national media as one of the tools for promoting soft power. The author examines the origin of soft power theory, its Chinese interpretation and emphasizes the differences from Anglo-Saxon and American understanding of this term. The author argues that this theory has become especially popular in the country because it matches the world outlook of the Chinese nation. Modern Chinese media prove to be a key tool in this policy’s implementation. Drawing on new technologies, they are quite successful in performing the tasks at hand. In particular, many large Chinese media produce content in English and increase their web presence, thus expanding the scale of distribution. Another powerful tool is Chinese cinema, which progressively focuses on promoting its own content in Western markets. The author comes to the conclusion that Chinese media effectively pursue soft power policy advancing and disseminating Chinese values and culture throughout the world, thereby shaping the positive image of the country.
  Keywords: soft power, China, Chinese media, Chinese cinema
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.94128
  Natalia V. Tkacheva 94
• New Media

  «Content of Russian Online Television Channels: Distribution and Monetization Technologies»

  Nowadays, the online video market is the fastest growing segment of the Russian media market, which results in the audience loss by traditional media like television, radio and the press. Seeking to retain audiences, Russian broadcasters are going digital. The aim of this research is to study the digital distribution by Russian broadcasters. Therefore, the author sets the following sub-aims: to find out what goals are pursued by broadcasters when distributing online; discover if the type of content influences the choice of the distribution channels; verify if Russian broadcasters develop the program brands online separately from the channel brands. The author studied two groups of Russian television channels and found out that broadcasters’ most frequent goal is to monetize content online; various types of content have different target audiences and, consequently, different distribution techniques. The results also showed that broadcasters divide the audience of their programs in social media and mobile applications, so that they could develop program brands separately.
  Keywords: distribution, content distribution, online platforms, online video
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.129154
  Alexandra D. Shatskaya 129
• Advertising and Public Relations

  «Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising: Distinction vs Interaction»

  This paper makes a timely contribution to modern scientific knowledge because despite significant interactions between journalism, public relations and advertising there has been little research on the subject with no correlation among individual studies. The goal of the paper is to analyze published research on one or another aspect of the interactions between the above-mentioned sub-systems as well as to identify the main approaches to the problem and categorize them. Research studies need to be identified, analyzed and categorized in order to outline the contours of future research into the problem of modernization of information space. The paper examines scientific research (full texts and abstracts of dissertations defended in 2010– 2017 as well as research papers and reports presented at conferences) that analyzed one or another aspect of interactions between journalism, public relations and advertising. The main research methods used in the paper are analysis; synthesis; deduction; comparative, logical and historical approaches; and scientific modeling. The conclusion of the paper is as follows: if in the early 2000s research focused on identifying the various distinctions between journalism, public relations and advertising, today there is a growing number of research studies looking at the interactions per se and the effects and consequences of such interactions. The paper identifies four main directions of research on the subject, categorized according to different criteria, which testifies to a wide range of research intentions. At the same time, the complex systemic approach requires taking into account the whole diversity of the phenomenon under study.
  Keywords: journalism, public relations, advertising, information space, interaction, approaches
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.155175
  Irina V. Sidorskaya 155
• Media Language

  «Speech Characteristics of the Comment in the Internet Media News Texts»

  The article aims to study format and language markers of the news text comment on social networks. Social networks have long been the platform for mass media content, but in the last few years information from user pages on social networks has been included in news texts of online media. To identify the specific markers with the use of lexical analysis, the author compares this type of comment with the traditional comment on news texts. Taking into account the bidirectionality of the communication process of the internet discourse on social networks, the author notes the unpreparedness and spontaneity of such messages. The article focuses on the language of the internet discourse on social networks, wherein colloquial language prevails. In addition to colloquial vocabulary, expressive syntax and the unconventional use of graphic and punctuation marks such as smileys, duplication of punctuation marks and capitalization are examined. It is evident that the dividing line between different styles of language is blurred and there is general deterioration of speech quality. It is also evident that the inclusion of elements of other semiotic systems in news texts leads to a creation of a polycode and creolized media text.
  Keywords: news text, internet communication, mass media, colloquial speech, social networks, syngraphs, smileys
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.176194
  Lada V. Kudrina 176
• Criticism and Bibliography

  «Between Standards and the Need to Survive: the Journalist as a Cornerstone of Public Discussion in a Polarized Country»

  Book review: Dobek-Ostrowska B. (2019) Polish Media System in a Comparative Perspective. Media in Politics, Politics in Media. Peter Lang. 288 p.
  Keywords: Polish media system
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.6.2019.195207
  Anatoliy S. Puyu 195