Image of Ukraine on the pages of modern ukrainian english-language periodicals

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Institute of Journalism

Taras Shevchenko National University

UDC 007 : 304 : 070

Image of Ukraine on the pages of modern ukrainian english-language periodicals

Kriukova Viktoria

The article investigates what concrete image of Ukraine English-language periodicals such as: The Day newspaper, Kyiv Post and The Ukrainian Week create through printed and online materials of periodicals. The aim of research is to study the peculiarities of creation an image of Ukraine as a country on the pages of English-language periodicals.

These periodicals play a very important role in forming image of the country in the eyes of foreigners and all those people who read English-language press in Ukraine.

Objective of this investigation is the image of Ukraine on the pages of English-language periodicals. The main methods for making investigation are content and comparative analyses.

The results of investigation are the next. The main for all editions concept in forming image of the country - is that Ukraine is a potentially successful state which needs the long process of developing and modernization based on western examples and with the help of more democratically developed societies to overcome inner problems and become successful.

The country has many problems to be solved. Starting from corruption, the war with aggressor and ending with a weak political class, which cannot help the country in modernization process. At the same time, English-language periodicals also leave the space to decide what image Ukraine represents on their pages to the readers.

Key words: image, Ukraine, English-language periodicals.

У статті розглядається імідж України, що формується через друковані та онлайн матеріали на сторінках таких англомовних видань, як: The Day newspaper, Kyiv Post and The Ukrainian Week. Мета дослідження - вивчити особливості створення іміджу України як держави на сторінках англомовних видань. Ця преса відіграє важливу роль у формуванні іміджу держави в очах іноземців та всіх, хто читає англомовну пресу України.

Об'єкт дослідження - імідж України на сторінках англомовних видань. Основними методами у дослідженні стали контент- та порівняльний аналізи.

Результати дослідження такі. Основний концепт у формуванні іміджу країни на сторінках усіх видань, це те, що Україна, яка є потенційно успішною державою, але яка потребує проходження довгого процесу розросту та модернізації на основі західних моделей держав та за допомогою більш демократично розвинутих суспільств, щоб стати успішною. Країна має чимало проблем, що потребують вирішення. Починаючи від корупції, війни з агресором та закінчуючи слабким політичним класом, який не може модернізувати державу. Видання також залишають вибір за читачами в тому, як вони особисто трактують імідж України.

Ключові слова: імідж, Україна, англомовні видання.

В статье рассматривается имидж Украины, который формируется на страницах таких англоязычных изданий как: The Day newspaper, Kyiv Post and The Ukrainian Week через печатные и онлайн материалы, обозначенных изданий. Цель исследования - изучить особенности создания имиджа Украины как государства на страницах англоязычных изданий. Данные издания играют важную роль в формировании имиджа государства в глазах иностранцев и всех тех, кто читает англоязычную прессу Украины.

Объектом исследования избран имидж Украины на страницах англоязычных изданий. Основными методами при исследовании стали контент-анализ и сравнительный анализ.

Результаты исследования следующие. Основной концепт в формировании имиджа страны на страницах изданий заключается в том, что Украина - это потенциально успешное государство, которое нуждается в прохождении длительного процесса развития и модернизации на основе западных моделей государств и при помощи более демократически развитых обществ для того, чтобы полностью стать успешной на мировой арене. У страны много внутренних проблем, которые необходимо решать. Начиная от коррупции, войны с агрессором и заканчивая слабым политическим классом, который не способен модернизировать страну. В то же время, издания оставляют выбор за читателями в том, как они лично воспринимают имидж Украины.

Ключевые слова: имидж, Украина, англоязычные издания.

Introduction. Needless to say that after 1990s when English-language periodicals in Ukraine started to appear in mass amounts, the investigation of such press became one of the important task for media scientific society.

Actuality of this article is based on fact that the topic of article: «Image of Ukraine on the pages of modern Ukrainian English-language periodicals» was not discovered almost by anyone in Ukraine before on the base of English-language periodicals and versions. At the same time, almost no one in Ukraine analyzed such phenomena as English-language periodicals either. That is why, one of the base for my investigation will be the works of Ukrainian media researchers who analyzed image of Ukraine on the pages of Ukrainian press and used adequate research methods of social communications in their investigations. Among them were Chekalyuk [1], V. Ivanov [2 ; 3 ; 4], V. Kulyk [5], O. Kholod [6], V. Korneyev [7], V. Rizun [8].

Methods of scientific investigation the media content like content analyze by researchers [9] from other post-Soviet countries are also very important in making my investigation.

Foreign language (not Ukrainian or Russian) average points [10] according to «Book of Chamber of Ukraine» in magazines and other periodicals: 2014 - 4,5 %, 2015 - 8,7%, 2016 - 13 %.

According to the research by S. Svidlov [11], in 2016 the level of foreign language (other from Ukrainian and Russian) used in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet is: 22.2 % - top 1000 Ukrainian websites, 5,2 % - top 400 Ukrainian users of Facebook.

The rise of foreign language in the Ukrainian printed and online sectors has started a long ago and taking into account the globalization trends in the world, definitely will continue. So, the analyze of these Ukrainian foreign-language press is quite necessary.

The aim of the research is to study the peculiarities of creation an image of Ukraine as a country on the pages of English-language periodicals through understanding the structure, the principles of these periodicals work and as a result its influence on their target audience in Ukraine.

The aim of any analyze is formalization of the content and the means of it is expression. Adequate tools of such description will be needed for that.

Objective of the investigation is the image of Ukraine on the pages of English- language periodicals.

Research methods. The main research methods in this investigation are qualitative methods [12], because qualitative methods are concerned with a quality of information.

One of the method is a comparative analyze, when a scientist can reveal general and special features in historical events and the reasons of these similarities and differences.

Such analyze also helps to see the changes that happened in society and by this way to determine the main tendencies of development.

During the preparation, for such analyze my task was to understand how to use the content and comparative analyzes in my research. At the same time, it was important to get the factual, live information from all those people who create English-language periodicals in Ukraine. Researchers used content analyze for that.

It is a method of gathering information from the event or process of research which is documented. Document is everything what has been written or spoken, everything, which became communication.

Using the observation method and method of fact finder interview, it was necessary to visit editorial offices of these English-language periodicals and to communicate with people who know why they create such English-language media product in our country, for what purpose and what is even more important - for what audience.

Personal experience of working and creating English-language content in some of these editorials also helped in my investigation.

Another useful for my research method was typological analyze of media resources. It is a method of scientific understanding, systematization, classification of some specific editions, newspapers, magazines, TV/ broadcasting programs on the base of typical for them features and properties.

For example, any type of edition is a general image that has been reproduced in different versions in existing mass media resources.

So, the key point of typological method is that type is a model which reflects the important features of some events. My task is to investigate what concrete image of Ukraine English-language periodicals create. Now researchers even add an advertisement to this list.

According to the aims of investigation there are several classifications of mass media: administrative and territorial (Ukrainian, regional), target line (social and political, entertaining editions), according to age of the target audience (for young people, pensioners etc.).

Type of edition depends from social factors. To be specific, from different public events and processes (political, economic, cultural). Because, these events and processes can be changed in every minute, the type of edition is also not very stable category.

So, this concrete article presents all these facts and information which was gathered during several months of studying. Article also will be only the first step in studying Ukrainian English-language periodicals as a part of preparation before the writing of my diploma work about the same with this article topic.

Results and discussions. English-language version of the Ukrainian newspaper День / The Day (English-language version's name) has been published since May 27, 1998. The original Ukrainian version was created in September, 1996. The readers can see on the pages of the English-language version the selected translations from Ukrainian version into English.

The main difference between The Day, The Ukrainian Week and Kyiv Post is that the last newspaper creates original English-language content from the beginning while The Day and The Ukrainian Week present the translations of materials from their Ukrainian versions. So, for understanding formation of Ukrainian image on the pages of The Day and The Ukrainian Week, it would be also useful to read their Ukrainian versions and then to see how the selection process of materials for translations has been done.

The Day newspaper comes out 2 times in a week -every Tuesday and Thursday. The price of newspaper in English is 4 UAH. Press run: 7.025 in comparison with 62.000 thousand printed copies of Ukrainian version. The size of printed English-language version is 8 pages.

Informational and editorial policy of the edition is based on producing the materials which are interesting for English speaking readers in the world. The target audience is the readers around the world who are interested in Ukrainian news.

The Day is a purely informational, socio-political and not analytical edition that works almost by the same rules as any news agency.

As a result, they react faster on some Ukrainian news, events in comparison with Kyiv Post and The Ukrainian Week.

There are 7 translators who are working on forming English-language version of the newspaper.

Founder and publisher is Ukrainian Press Group Limited Liability Company.

The structure of the newspaper consists of six headings: 1) front page; 2) day after day; 3) topic of the day; 4) close up; 5) culture; 6) time out.

The newspaper does not want to be oriented on some popular, modern, western editions. In their turn, edition wants to create original and specific content. In this case, the content of English-language Day version directly depends on original Ukrainian one.

Some texts in the newspaper are not full and the readers are proposed to read the full version of the material on the web-site, where the readers also can find the whole archives of newspaper.

It is quite clear that every media and print edition promotes its own vision, philosophy and creates some specific media brand. The Day newspaper does it too. Newspaper promotes not only some specific ideology of Ukrainian intellectual press but also some specific people who are connected with newspaper and as a result their initiatives in the spheres where they work.

One of the bright examples is MP of Ukrainian parliament Anna Hopko who is constantly gives comments to newspaper and edition leads the policy of supporting her proposals in the parliament like the boycott of Ukrainian oligarch V. Pinchuk.

The chief-editor of the newspaper Larysa Ivshyna and her opinion is present in the newspaper very often. Article in The Day newspaper «Marigolds from Nahuievychi to bloom in Lokachi» (2017. - 25 May) [13] tells a story about the best school in Ukraine in 2017. The school where the chief-editor of newspaper have studied. E. Marchuk is another very popular in newspaper's issues person. This information I got from my personal experience of working in this newspaper and studying their editorial police.

The Day newspaper positions itself as a modest, liberal-centrist, socio-political, informational, newspaper for intellectuals. Because of the fact that newspaper is only an informational edition, the reader just sees the news without proper analyze but with some expert or not directly written journalistic opinions through the news article.

The Day pays attention in the materials and in the choice of expert opinions - to Ukrainian-Western, liberal world relationship.

Image of Ukraine in this newspaper, the reader can't fully see because the events are not completely analyzed and just represented.

Although, the image of the same developing country is still represented. Because, the edition promotes except the newspaper The Day a lot of other connected with the creators of newspaper chief's events («The Day's summer school», «International photo exhibition») or special books («The Crown». etc.) for understanding the whole image of Ukraine, the reader has to follow everything The Day's newspaper brand produces.

As it was mentioned before, Kyiv Post differs from all the others English-language periodicals in Ukraine by the fact that it is the only one Ukrainian English-language newspaper which presents to the reader original English materials and not the translations as in the case of The Day newspaper and The Ukrainian Week.

The newspaper Kyiv Post existes from 1995 and in the year 2017, the edition celebrates its 22^nd anniversary. The newspaper comes every week in Kyiv. The price in press shops can be different: from 10 to 15 UAH. At the same time, the creators of the newspaper spread it for free in some special places like: embassies, hotels, business and media events in Kyiv. This fact tells a lot about newspaper's audience orientation.

Press run: 9.500 thousand copies. The size can be different and depends from the week: from 16 pages to 23 pages as in most cases.

The structure of the newspaper consists from 7 headings (it depends on the issue): 1) front page; 2) national; 3) opinion; 4) business focus; 5) lifestyle; 6) entertainment guide; 7) employment.

Kyiv Post has a very hard line and focuses on business topics and less on social and political in comparison with The Day newspaper and The Ukrainian Week.

The newspaper promotes specific business events, forums and special companies (employment and lifestyle headings). The headings are divided and not structured (national and opinion headings may be repeated several times in newspaper on different pages). The reader can see a lot of advertisement from the companies and events the newspaper is connected with (partners or sponsors of edition).

In most cases, the newspaper publishes material only about Ukrainian issues. International topics are not represented in the newspaper as much as in The Day and The Ukrainian Week editions (only through some headings).

Newspaper has its own creative subheadings like: «Ukrainian's Friend/Foe of the Week» who is honored with order of Yaroslaw the Wise/ Order of Lenin and «Reformer of the Week/Anti-reformer of the Week», and a special editorial note about the given orders. There is also «vox populi» subheading in which different people with different social status give comments upon the most important weekly situations or news.

Kyiv Post tells the stories about business, social situations (about Ukrainian estate sector or rental market like in the issue 21, for May 26, 2017) in Ukraine through the real people's stories [14]. Orientation is on the Kyiv's issues but not in all materials.

Newspaper's founder is a Ukraine-based British businessperson of Pakistani origin - Mohammad Zahoor. The Publisher is his Public Media company.

Reading the materials in Kyiv Post, the reader can form image of Ukraine based on information he got from newspaper about some concrete spheres of state functioning. According to it, Ukraine is a state which has a huge potential in private business sector. As a result of this, there are a big number of young specialists who are trying to do business in Ukraine and what difficulties they face in different markets: rental, land, restaurant business, etc.

In terms of this, Kyiv Post plays an important role in attracting foreign investors into Ukrainian market by publishing such materials and telling about such people. On the other hand, image of Ukraine is spoiled by overgrowing corruption almost in all areas and sectors. Not only state sectors.

Newspaper plays another important role as a watchdog of democracy (the position of newspaper) and covers all the issues when something is wrong in the process of corruption fighting. One of the examples is newspaper heading «Reformer of the Week / Antireformer of the Week». In newspaper's materials, Kyiv Post pays attention to reform process in Ukraine. Monitoring of these processes is an important task for all Ukrainian media resources, in general. Kyiv Post covers the situation on the east region of our country in every issue.

English-language version of the magazine Український тиждень or The Ukrainian Week is a monthly edition which is distributed in special places for free. The magazine covers only the most important articles about Ukraine from different four (one issue in a week) Ukrainian versions. The magazine also has the selected content from the partner of edition - The Economist.

The target audience is the foreigners who live in Ukraine. Print run: 15.000 copies. The size of magazine is 50 pages. The structure of newspaper consists from 8 to 9 headings and has different subheadings (it depends from the issue): 1) contents; 2) briefing; 3) focus; 4) politics (opinion and article); 5) economics (trade); 6) society (opinions, article and report); 7) neighbors (article from The Economist and interview); 8) culture/ arts (opinion and article) or sometimes history heading; 9) culture/arts - the calendar of events

The magazine is oriented on foreigners in Ukraine who want to know more about the country they live in and who are connected with English-language countries. The edition covers only the most important topics about Ukrainian politics, society, economy, history, culture. The translators are people from abroad who understand both: the situation in Ukraine and the situation in the world.

There are some peculiarities in the style between Ukrainian and English- language versions. Orientation among western media is on the British magazine - The Economist.

Internet version has only magazine publications but it still has some fast news translations on the website too.

This is also a minus in comparison with The Day as a news edition that produces fast news both in print and on the website.

The magazine has mostly its own authors and in English version, there are translations of their material from Ukrainian version which according to the editorial policy are the most important for foreign readers in understanding Ukrainian news and events. At the same time magazine publishes the materials of some individual authors who are specialists in their spheres (Y. Tereshenko in history, Zahaikevych in music, etc.). The motto of The Ukrainian Week is to show Ukraine to the world. Founder and the publisher is Austrian company ECEM Media GmbH.

The Ukrainian Week as an edition which goal is to show Ukraine to the world forms an image of Ukraine as a country with a very dirty and complicated political processes [15], dependent economy sectors (trade with Russian companies during the war), polarized society [16] (in language issues, opinions) and a rich culture and historical grounds.

The magazine pays attention to issues connected with Ukrainian's continued relationships in different sectors with Russia. Edition publishes materials of professionals from different areas - history/arts. Showing this way, the great cultural potential of the country.

The Ukrainian Week has one common with The Day newspaper line in covering international events (and also how we are connected and dependent or not from foreign affairs issues in modern global world) and publishing interviews with western opinion makers.

The edition tries to show to Ukrainian audience how everything is going on in developed western societies (talking with them about Ukrainian issues) for implementing their recipes in Ukraine.

Conclusions and perspectives. There is one common for all Ukrainian English-language periodicals concept in forming the image of the country is that Ukraine is a potentially successful state which needs the long process of developing and modernization based on western examples and with the help of developed societies to overcome inner problems and become successful.

The country has many problems to be solved. Starting from corruption, war with aggressor and ending with a weak political class that can't help the country in modernization process.

However, these English-language periodicals present idea that such image could be changed by Ukraine as a state itself. If the country chooses the way of developing itself in all problem areas, especially from the point of view of creating positive image of Ukraine on international arena.

Newspapers even propose the concrete steps and ways how to improve this negative image not only through publishing materials about problematic issues in the country but by organizing special events and discussions concerning improving Ukrainian image before the eyes of foreigners. Article in Kyiv Post, «How Ukraine can boost its international image» (2016. -Dec. 1) proposes different variants how to improve image of Ukraine on international arena [17].

Ukrainian opinion makers from different areas (culture, economy, journalism) express their opinions how to do it and describe the situation in general. According to them Ukraine's national identity remains weak in the outside world, more than 25 years after national independence.

Even as Ukraine reaches out to Europe, the Western world remains ignorant and disinterested. In addition, the country's image on the international arena has been overshadowed by the war and corruption narratives prevailing in foreign media. This harms the business climate and hinders further economic development of Ukraine. The basic lack of understanding about Ukraine in the West is rooted in three key issues that have yet to be overcome.

First, the West lacks trust in Ukrainian leaders. Second, the tradition of communicating as an independent state is still absent in Ukraine, resulting in a lack of self-confidence in the nation.

Third, Ukraine's image has been damaged by Russian propaganda on the internet and in the media. If Ukraine goes in the right modernization direction and start producing positive messages from inside, then the whole picture and image of Ukraine on international arena may be changed.

In general, Ukrainian English-language periodicals leave the space to decide what image Ukraine represents to the readers. Because the perception of one and the same material is always different and depends only from the reader.

periodical еnglish ukraine image

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