Issue

Content:

• New Media

  «The Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Russian Media and Journalism»

  An active penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in industry, finance, medicine, retail, telecommunications and other technologically intensive spheres gradually makes AI an indispensable part of the media industry. This article deals with the analysis of actual state and potential of AI as the object of innovations in Russian media and journalism. The main conclusions were made on the basis of empirical and theoretical results, obtained from the qualitative research. Within the frames of the diffusion of innovation theory, several approaches to the analysis of AI trends were studied. As a source of the primary data, the authors used scientific reviews of academic research centers, industrial reports of leading international consulting companies and summaries of structured experts` opinion. The panel of experts was represented by three groups of reputable participants having knowledge of AI technologies from the academic, engineering and media industry areas. As AI technologies penetrate heavily into industrial practices, experts` community estimates the potential of this innovation as rather promising. A number of Russian media companies apply artificial neural networks and machine learning, deep learning, text generation and the like. Along with the drivers of AI implementation, in the course of research some associated risks were highlighted related to the abuse and absence of control, transparency of technological solutions and ethical regulation.
  Keywords: artificial intelligence, innovations, Russian media and journalism, neural networks, symbolic artificial intelligence
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.321
  Sergey G. Davydov, Andrei V. Zamkov, Maria A. Krasheninnikova, Maria M. Lukina 3

• «Structural Elements of Posts in Telegram and VK News Channels»

  The article deals with the characteristics of news posts construction in highly rated Telegram channels and VK communities. During the analysis of 1133 posts in three Telegram channels and three VK communities, a certain scheme of constructing news publications consisting, as a rule, of a headline, a subheading, and the main text was revealed. The evaluation of the event can be contained in the headline complex or in the body of the news story itself. At the same time, messages can be endowed with a certain tone (positive or negative) due to additional multimedia elements accompanying the post (illustrations, photos, video, audio, memes, stickers, emoji), text highlights, lexical and graphic features.
  Keywords: social media, Telegram, VK, digital youth, agenda
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik. journ.5.2023.2239
  Daria M. Vyugina, Elena A. Salikhova, Gelia S. Filatkina 22
• Sociology of Journalism

  «Economic Aspects of Media Freelancing in the Digital Age»

  With the development of digitalization and especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work and freelancing are confidently being introduced into our lives. Notably, journalism is one of the most popular areas for freelancing. Freelance journalists balance between instability and autonomy, highlighting both the advantages and disadvantages of this way of earning money. The author of this article analyzed 200 materials from open sources (essays, blog entries, posts on social networks and interviews) covering the problem of professional rise and development of an individual media freelancer plus the results of the conducted expert surveys. The purpose of the study was to find out how successful freelance journalists really are in modern Russia, how stable and high their income is, what methods they use to find new contracts, what their attitude is to income diversification and the need to keep accounting, and, ultimately, who they feel like: employees or entrepreneurs. The results of the study demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with freelancing, despite the presence of financial difficulties and the need to take on entrepreneurial risks.
  Keywords: media freelance, freelance journalist, freelance journalism, digitalization, remote work, freelancing
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.4060
  Olga S. Mukhina 41
• Foreign Journalism

  «The State Biopolitical Program in the German Media Discourse During the Pandemic»

  The study is aimed at revealing the stance of three German media outlets on biopolitical tools employed by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of restrictive measures as well as the vaccination campaign were scrutinized. It was hypothesized that the media taking into account their own goals and owners’ interests might not support state biopolitics in this way acting as a subject. Methodologically, the research relies on Foucault’s notion of “biopolitics” (2010), the propaganda model proposed by Herman and Chomsky (2002), as well as the evaluation theory by Martin and White (2005). The data scrutinized amounted to 16.83 mln words published on the websites of S ddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit and Die Tageszeitung during the period between January 2020 and October 2021. The results reveal overall negative evaluation of restrictive measures, while vaccination as a biopolitical tool received media support. Factors such as the representation of certain groups’ positions on the agenda, the possibilities of exerting influence and manipulation, social tension, the political views of the publication and some others influenced the choice of certain strategies in presenting the state biopolitical program, as well as its evaluations. As a result, the media outlets under study managed to maintain a certain balance between the interests of the publication, the needs of civil society and the government’s biopolitical program.
  Keywords: media, pandemic, biopolitics, propaganda, evaluation, Germany
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.6183
  Julia V. Balakina 61

• «Women’s Magazines in the Republic of Belarus: Current Development Trends»

  This article examines the factors and trends in the development of publications for women in the Republic of Belarus. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to assess the impact of modern social processes on this segment of media, the specifics of their adaptation in the conditions of digitalization, and the transformation of their functions at the present stage. The study considers the actual characteristics of publications, features of their functioning, approaches to editorial policy and audience interaction. The results showed that, on the one hand, women’s magazines in Belarus are developing in line with global trends, on the other hand, their typological characteristics are largely indicative of national qualities associated with the historical and socio-cultural features of the country’s media system. Thus, the results of semi-formal interviews with the editors-in-chief of the magazines included in the sample show that their publications are developing in line with digitalization, are actively integrated into the Internet space, use modern formats and multimedia, but at the same time they are primarily focused on national interests and the topics and forms of content presentation inherent to the Republic of Belarus.
  Keywords: women’s magazines, Republic of Belarus, national media system
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.84102
  Vera N. Boyko 84
• History of Journalism

  «Functional Characteristics of Notes by Authors, Editors and Publishers in Sentimentalist Magazines in Russia at the End of the 18th Century»

  Sentimentalism, which reached Russia at the end of the 18th century, determined the evolution of the literary process in the country and set the vector for the development of Russian journalism. In search of a platform for expressing their views and creative fulfilment, sentimentalist writers and other aspiring authors began to actively publish magazines of the new, sentimentalist direction. This article examines seven large Russian publications, which can be fully considered sentimentalist: Moskovskiy Zhurnal (1791–1792), Chtenie dlya Vkusa, Razuma i Chuvstvovaniy (1791–1793), Delo ot Bezdel’ya (1792), Ezhenedel’nik (1792), Priyatnoe i Poleznoe Preprovozhdenie Vremeni (1794–1798), Muza (1796), Ippokrena, ili Utekhi Lyubosloviya (1799– 1801). The results of this research include the analysis of the functions that notes performed in sentimentalist journalism at the end of the 18th century.
  Keywords: subscriber, reader, notes, sentimentalism, literary journal, 18th century, N.M. Karamzin, Moskovskiy Zhurnal
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.103121
  Alexandra R. Akchurina 103
• Media Language

  «The Functioning of Metaphors in Texts of Contemporary Popular Science Publications (Based on the Online Version of the Schrodinger’s Cat Journal)»

  The article presents the results of analyzing the functioning of metaphors used in the texts of the popular science journal Schrodinger’s Cat. Using cognitive and structural-semantic methods based on the publications in 2023, the authors identified the anthropomorphic, naturomorphic, sociomorphic and artifact metaphorical models associated with the description of the nature and results of scientific activity. It is shown that the popular science text retains an important stylistic feature of the scientific style – objectivity. In other words, it demonstrates an adequate reflection of reality.The specificity of the popular science substyle is manifested, first of all, in its clarity and particularity, which finds expression in a widespread use of explanatory metaphors that translate the abstract language of scientific knowledge into concrete associations. Thus, in the popular science substyle, the main mechanism of cognizing reality is activated through the assimilation of the unknown and abstract to the known and concrete.
  Keywords: metaphor, popular science substyle, popularization principles, functions of metaphor, metaphorical model
  DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.5.2023.122143
  Inna V. Shchurova, Natalia A. Kataytseva 122