The First Russian Children’s Magazine “Children’s Reading for the Heart and Mind” and Its Dealing with the Audience

Section: History of Journalism

The article given below contains the results of an analysis of the first Russian literary and popular science children’s magazine “Children’s Reading for the Heart and Mind” (1785–1789). The main focus of the study is on the first 4 issues of the magazine published in 1785. They were chosen because, from the author’s point of view, the starting period laid the foundations for journalists’ work with the new audience and for viewing the children’s magazine as a new type of media. This period witnessed the development of the main techniques and methods of dealing with the target audience. The aim of the study is actually their identification. The problem of the study is in the specifics of dealing with the children’s audience, which had not been reached by the media before “Children’s Reading” appeared. A new view is taken of the images of a child as a character and a child as a reader constructed by the magazine. As far as this article appears to be a historical one, the author uses the narrative and historically-genetic research methods as well as the method of comparative analysis.

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