Issue

Content:

• Modern Journalism: Subjects and Issues

  «Computer Algorithms Used in Russian News Agencies (a Case Study of Interfax and TASS)»

  This article presents the results of a case study into the way two leading Russian news agencies use algorithms in the process of news writing. Both Interfax and TASS agencies are pioneers in implementing robotic technologies in daily journalistic practice. These media outlets use algorithms for creating short news items and categorizing news stories according to their subject. Through the methods of in-depth interview among editors of both news agencies, the authors of the article find which topics are covered using algorithms and what the specifics of creating news stories with the aid of computer programs is. Besides, the main challenges and problems involved in algorithm implementation are highlighted. The second part of the study is devoted to a textual analysis of 20 news items created by means of computer programs. An attempt is made to distinguish their stylistic and structural features. In conclusion, the authors point out that, according to the interviewed editors, algorithms will not replace journalists as computer programs cannot write complex analytical texts.
  Keywords: automated texts, algorithms in journalism, robotic journalism, working with big data, news agencies
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.319
  Diana Yu. Kulchitskaya, Tatiana I. Frolova 3

• «Communication Tools in Texts on Cultural Topics by Crimean Journalists»

  The paper presents the results of a study which examines communication tools applied to texts by Crimean journalists covering cultural topics. These results were received through content analysis of the total of 3 478 media texts presented by 11 Crimean media outlets during 2015–2017. In the course of this work, the following communication tools were studied: authorship, experts expressing their opinions in the texts, information sources, actual location of the covered events, the text-forming elements (the headline, the genre) and the visual elements (the type of illustration, the object of description) of the journalistic text. On the basis of this study, the author made a conclusion that Crimean journalists’ work requires a number of improvements such as author de-anonymization, paying more attention to the culture of other Russian regions or other countries, enrichment of the genre palette and an increase in the diversity of illustrations.
  Keywords: journalistic text, mass communication, communication tools, culture, Crimea, content anlysis
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.2041
  Egor R. Zharovskiy 20

• «Reading Preferences of the Audience of Business Media (the Case of the Vedomosti Newspaper Website)»

  The paper presents the result of an analysis of web metrics of the Vedomosti newspaper website. Its purpose is to identify the main reading preferences of the business media audience. The main issue of the article is readers’ thematic preferences: which topics and why the audience for a business publication tends to choose. The study was conducted by the method of quantitative and qualitative analysis of the most popular texts of Vedomosti in 2017. The main conclusion is that business and economics become less and less interesting for business media readers, which makes these media universal rather than thematic. However, despite the fact that in the first place a business media reader chooses articles drawing on his personal life, in such media he is attracted by a historically established high-quality brand. This is the main reason for readers’ loyalty to Russian business media. In addition, the author of the paper discovered and formulated that there are three main reasons why the reader prefers this or that article in business publications: it concerns him personally, or it concerns his work, or it concerns famous people.
  Keywords: the Internet, media, audience, business publications, audience preferences
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.4258
  Emma B. Terchenko 42
• Television and Radio

  «Interactive Elements in the Program "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" (2001-2018)»

  “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” is a unique format of Russian socio-political broadcasting provoking a steady interest of the television audience. At the same time, it causes a discussion about authenticity and interactivity of communication between people and authorities in a live phone-in. The purpose of this article was to study the interactive elements used to generate communication between the President and people in the programme, ways to combine them and the degree of interactivity of these elements. As interactive elements, we understand any question from viewers put in different forms and the President’s answers. The article proposes the criteria of interactivity of these elements. During the first stage of the study, the interactive elements were identified, in the second stage, according to the selected criteria, the degree of their interactivity was determined. As expected by the authors, all the installments of the program are based on a combination of elements with high and low degree of interactivity, which allows the founders of the program to realize a range of socially important tasks. It was found that during the first three installments the share of the elements with high degree of interactivity was slightly higher than that of the elements with low degree of interactivity. The study also showed that the increase in the number of interactive elements does not indicate an increase in the level of interactivity of the “Direct Line”.
  Keywords: political journalism, socio-political broadcasting, interactivity, media interactivity, “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin”, political activism
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.5978
  Yulia I. Dolgova , Marina V. Pimenova 59
• New Media

  «Narrative in Multimedia Journalism: an Analysis of Russian and Foreign Media Projects»

  The article presents the results of an analysis of narrative techniques in multimedia journalistic projects. The study concerns the way various multimedia elements serve narrative issues in journalism. It focuses on the results of the narrative analysis and content analysis of 30 multimedia journalistic projects published on the websites of various media outlets during the period from 2014 to 2019. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods makes it possible to collect two types of data and compare them for a deep understanding of the subject under consideration. The study attempts to identify some general mechanisms of the narrative technique in multimedia journalistic projects. In the article, the author analyzes the presence of such elements as texts, photos, videos, animations, illustrations, audios, infographics, maps, timelines, quotes, design and navigation in multimedia projects and the way they function within the narrative. Seven narrative categories are used to examine the projects: narrator, subject (theme), plot, time, space, characters and conflict. The use of narrative techniques in the digital is related to the combination of different sign systems, the multimedia allows for detailed and visual storytelling. Audio-visual elements affect various perception channels and can transmit some aspects more correctly than verbal means. Authors in digital storytelling can transmit information in more detail and more visibly, it focuses on effective communication. Audio-visual elements help in creating images of the story, revealing the idea of the material and involve user in storytelling Narrative analysis has shown that photos and videos are the most important tools for describing characters and settings; maps and timelines contribute to the author’s zero focalization, also they visualize the space and time of the story; a cumulative plot is typical for the web-documentary format, and a chronicle plot for long read. Content analysis has shown that text is the main element and on average occupies half of the space in multimedia projects. At the same time, English-language materials have more visual elements than Russian-language ones, and they are more diverse in terms of design and navigation.
  Keywords: multimedia project, multimedia journalism, narrative, narration, multimedia, narrative analysis, content analysis
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.79101
  Denis G. Kachanov 79
• Foreign Journalism

  «The Effect of Using the Terms "Refugee" and "Migrant" as Synonyms in the Online Versions of Le Monde and Le Temps Newspapers in 2015–2016»

  Because of the uncertainty and confusion of terminology in different countries, the concepts of refugee and migrant are mixed in one associative array. Today, this problem is becoming more acute because of the frequent cultural conflicts and the “refugee crisis,” which in modern literature is increasingly referred to as the “migration crisis”. The lack of emphasis on the differences between these two categories of visitors leaves particular traces on the attitude of the majority of the population towards ethnic minorities, many of whom were born in migrant families, but live full lives in the countries and feel part of the nation. Mass media in France and Switzerland raise the problem of confusing the concepts of refugee and migrant, but in fact they use these terms as synonyms. The theme of the “refugee crisis” became central throughout 2015–2016, when a number of terrorist acts occurred in Europe, simultaneously with the highest influx of refugees. Refugees and migrants, verbally connected by journalists from European mass media, were presented in their articles as victims of circumstances or as criminals who had nothing to lose. In the texts, refugees and migrants were rarely given the chance to tell the stories of their lives.
  Keywords: migrants, refugees, media effects, representation of minorities, mediatization
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.102128
  Polina E. Shevchenko 102
• Periodical Press

  «Evaluation Technique of in-House Press Efficiency in Increasing Staff Loyalty»

  This article suggests the evaluation technique and ways to improve the efficiency of the in-house press in increasing staff loyalty. In the introduction, the author states the relevance of the topic conditioned by a search for immaterial resources needed to improve corporate loyalty. The important role of the in-house press in this matter is substantiated. Further, the author explores the studies into the evaluation technique of in-house media efficiency carried out by a number of modern scholars and formulates her own methods of evaluating the corporate potential of in-house print publications in terms of building staff loyalty. The corporate potential includes all the communication opportunities of a particular publication of a given company in current conditions. To measure in-house press efficiency in increasing corporate loyalty, five criteria are used: visual, compositional, genre, ideological and educational one, each of which contains 3 elements. The arithmetic mean of evaluations obtained through the analysis of a publication for compliance with the criteria is a numeric expression of the efficiency of a publication’s corporate potential. The reported technique of evaluating the corporate potential makes it possible to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of b2p media in the matter of increasing staff loyalty. Besides, it is a good way to encourage the publisher to improve the in-house media. In conclusion, the author would like to stress that the systematic rotation of materials on the mission and values of the organization, compliance with the corporate identity of the publication, increasing the congruence of illustrations with the theme of the material can increase the level of staff loyalty. In contrast, the obvious bias of the discursiveness of the text towards the impeccability of the company’s image and leadership, the lack of polemic materials, interactive feedback services can have negative effects on the performance of the in- house press. The advantage of this technique, in comparison with sociological studies, is its quickness and cost-effectiveness.
  Keywords: staff loyalty, in-house communications, corporate press, efficiency measurement of an in-house publication, corporate potential of a publication
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.1.2020.129151
  Anna A. Volkova 129