Representation of the archaeological phenomenon in the media: A comparison of professional and amateur content on different platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2025-56-2-157-163Keywords:
Mass media, user content, social networks, Arkaim, public archeology, sociological survey, photographyAbstract
In this study, using the example of a specific historical site Arkaim (Late Bronze Age of the Eurasian steppes), located in the Chelyabinsk region, we compare user and journalistic content and their fundamental differences in approaches to forming a media image of an archaeological phenomenon. The concept of "user content" and its key features are described, the degree of study of the media image of Arkaim in the context of research into journalistic and user content is indicated. The main objective of the work is to identify the specific features of user and journalistic content about the archaeological phenomenon and analyze their potential impact on the audience. For this purpose, an empirical base was analyzed in detail, selected through a single resource "Zen" (dzen.ru) and represented by 151 journalistic publications and 40 user entries published in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024 and telling about Arkaim. By means of discourse analysis, media aesthetic and formal-content analysis, the materials were analyzed according to the following criteria: reliability of facts, completeness of information, presence of a subjective beginning, stylistic features, thematic affiliation and semantic dominants in the representation of an archaeological phenomenon, genre features, media aesthetic properties, multimedia accompaniment, audience reaction to publications. The conducted work allowed us to come to the following conclusions: user and journalistic content about Arkaim differ in the context of thematic dominants in the representation of the location; the choice of genre and stylistic features of the text; the quality of elaboration of topics and the choice of multimedia elements. User posts evoke a greater reaction from the audience and are focused on describing the mystical context of Arkaim. Journalistic publications are focused on the cultural and scientific potential of the place, are distinguished by their brevity and reliance on verifiable data sources.
Acknowledgments: The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (in cooperation with the authorities of the Chelyabinsk region) № 23-18-20098, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-18-20098/, project «Materialized identity: construction of memory in a socio-economic perspective (on the example of the archaeological site Arkaim)».
References
Zdanovich, D. G., Kogan, E. I. & Orlova, N. N. (1999). Arkaim. 1987–1997 Bibliograficheski yukazatel’ [Arkaim. 1987–1997 Bibliographic Index]. Chelyabinsk. 120 p. (in Russ.).
Afanasyeva, E. A. (2014). Sozdanie i rasprostranenie kontenta: jeticheskie reguljatory v cifrovom mediaprostranstve [Creation and distribution of content: ethical regulators in the digital media space]. Zhurnalistskij ezhegodnik, 3. 89–91. (In Russ.).
Dzyaloshinsky, I. M. (2006). Zhurnalistika souchastija. Kak sdelat' SMI poleznymi ljudjam [Journalism of participation. How to make the media useful to people]. Moscow: Prestige. 102 p. (in Russ.).
Zagidullina, M. V. (2017). Kak izmerit’ populyarnost’ Arkaima? golosa vstroennykh metrik vkontekste teorii panmediatizatsii [How to measure the popularity of Arkaim? voices of embedded metrics in the context of the theory of panmediatization]. Gorizonty сivilizaсii, 8. 38–67. (in Russ.).
Zdanovich, G. B., Malyutina, T. S. & Zdanovich, D. G. (2020). Arkaim. Arheologiya ukreplyonnyh poselenij [Arkaim. Archaeology of fortified settlements]. Chelyabinsk: Chelyabinsk State University Publ. 449 p. https://doi.org/10.47475/9785727116999 (In Russ.).
Zubanova, L. B. (2023). Jezotericheskij i medijnyj shlejf memorial'nogo landshafta: teoreticheskie aspekty i arhitekturnye konturypolevogo issledovanija [The esoteric and media trail of the memorial landscape: theoretical aspects and architectural contours of field research]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija, 4 (50). 79–84. https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2023-50-4-79-84 (In Russ.).
Konoplev, D. E. (2021). UGC protiv Internet-SMI: konkurentnye strategii pol'zovatel'skogo kontenta [UGC vs. Internet Media: Competitive Strategies of User Content]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija, 3 (41). 112–117. https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2021-10313 (In Russ.).
Kochanova, L. A., Alekseeva, T. S., Chereshnevaya Yu. E., Gubanova M. I. (2021). Pol'zovatel'skij kontent pokolenija Z VS mediatekst professionalov [User content of generation Z VS media text of professionals]. Chelovek v informacionnom obshhestve. Samara: Samara University Publishing House. 495–499. (In Russ.).
Kunitsyna, N. V. (2021). Rechevye zhanry v setevom prostranstve YouTube [Speech genres in the YouTube network space]. Nauchno-obrazovatel'nyj potencial kak faktor nacional'noj bezopasnosti. Belgorod: Limited Liability Company "Agency for Advanced Scientific Research". 60–64. (In Russ.).
Lyubanovskaya, Yu. O. (2014). Zhurnalistika VS pol'zovatel'skij kontent [Journalism vs. user content]. Mezhdunarodnyj nauchno-issledovatel'skij zhurnal. 99–102. (In Russ.).
Medvedeva, A. R. (2023). Mediashlejf solncestojanija v sopostavlenii s mediainformirovannost'ju posetitelej Arkaima [The Solstice media trail in comparison with the media awareness of Arkaim visitors]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija, 4 (50). 89–95. https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2023-50-4-89-95 (In Rus).
Paniukova, S. A. (2024). Arheologicheskij pamjatnik v prizme pol'zovatel'skogo kontenta: issledovanie zaprosov avtorov i auditorii [Archaeological Site in the Prism of User Content: A Study of Authors’ and Audience’s Requests]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija, 4 (54). 6–12. https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2024-54-4-6-12 (In Russ.).
Safonov, A. V., Topchii, I. V. (2023). The system of images of the memorial landscape of the archaeological site Arkaim as a factor in its popularization [Sistema obrazov memorativnogo landshafta arheologicheskogo pamjatnika Arkaim kak faktor ego populjarizacii]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovanija, 4 (50). 102–111. https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2023-50-4-102-111 (In Russ.).
Sleptsov, N. A., Kharchenko, A. V. (2021). Professional'nyj i ljubitel'skij kontent na strimingovyh platformah [Professional and amateur content on streaming platforms]. Sredstva massovoj kommunikacii v mnogopoljarnom mire: problemy i perspektivy. Moscow: Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN). 402–404. (In Russ.).
McGimsey, C. R. (1972). Public archaeology. N. Y. 265 p.
Sacco, V., Bossio, D. (2015). Using Social Media in the News Reportage of War & Conflict: Opportunities and Challenges. The Journal of Media Innovations, 2. 59–76. https://doi.org/10.5617/jmi.v2i1.898.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Светлана Панюкова
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
