THE PLACE OF PRINTED MASS MEDIA AT THE
STAGE OF TRANSITION TO THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
УДК
655.41(477) [1991/2022]
Shpak, Viktor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Borys Grinchenko University of
Kyiv (Ukraine, Kyiv), Institute of Journalism, Department of Media
Production and Publishing, Professor, victorshpak@ukr.net
SUMMARY
The information space
in Ukraine began to develop intensively after the declaration of independence
in 1991. Among its main components: television, radio, news agencies, the
Internet, print media, book publishing, and publishing, in general, occupy a
worthy place. Print mass media developed especially actively.
The main trends in
mass media development have been clarified. For more than 30 years of
independence, the number of newspapers in Ukraine has increased, but the total
circulation has decreased. More than a third of them and the lion's share of
the circulation were published in Russian. In 1991, all newspapers were
state-owned to one degree or another. Later, many of them ceased to exist; some
newspapers declared themselves independent, and their founders became labor
collectives. A separate group was made up of publications of state and communal
forms of ownership that survived until denationalization in 2016.
It was concluded
that, starting in the mid-90s of the last century, a clan-oligarchic mass media
system was formed in Ukraine. The leading role in it was played by the
association of print and electronic mass media with a single center of
political influence on them—the so-called holdings: corporate, party and local.
The causes of troubles in the industry are not only ill-conceived management or
insufficient professionalism among employees. Most of the problems lie in the
financial and economic conditions in which publishers have to work.
Keywords:
information space, mass media, newspaper, magazine, Internet, reader.
МІСЦЕ ДРУКОВАНИХ ЗАСОБІВ МАСОВОЇ
ІНФОРМАЦІЇ НА ЕТАПІ ПЕРЕХОДУ ДО ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА
Шпак, Віктор, доктор історичних наук, професор, Київський університет імені Бориса Грінченка
(Україна, Київ), кафедра медіапродюсування та видавничої справи, професор, victorshpak@ukr.net
АНОТАЦІЯ
Інформаційний
простір України почав інтенсивно розбудовуватися після проголошення
незалежності 1991 р. Серед його основних складових: телебачення, радіо,
інформаційних агенцій, Інтернету – гідне місце посідають друковані засоби
масової інформації, книговидання, загалом, видавнича справа. Особливо активно
розвивалися друковані ЗМІ.
З’ясовано
основні тенденції розвитку ЗМІ. За понад
30 років незалежності в Україні збільшувалася кількість, але зменшився сумарний
наклад газет. Більш ніж третина з них та левова частка накладу видавалася
російською мовою. 1991 р. всі газети тою чи іншою мірою були
державно-партійними. Згодом, чимало з них припинило існування, окремі газети
проголосили себе незалежними і їх засновниками стали трудові колективи. Окрему
групу склали видання державної і комунальної форм власності, які дожили до
роздержавлення 2016 року.
Зроблено
висновок, що, починаючи з середини 90-х років минулого століття в Україні була
сформована кланово-олігархічна система ЗМІ. Провідну роль у ній стали
відігравати об'єднання друкованих та електронних мас-медіа з єдиним центром
політичного впливу на них – так звані холдинги: корпоративні, партійні та
локальні. Причини негараздів у галузі полягають не тільки в непродуманому
менеджменті або недостатньому професіоналізмі співробітників. Здебільшого
проблеми криються в тих фінансово-економічних умовах, у яких видавцям
доводиться працювати.
Ключові слова:
інформаційний простір, засоби масової інформації, газета, журнал, Інтернет,
читач.
It is important for our research to
understand the problem of the information society and its formation. The
Ukrainian press, one of the most important components of our culture, is still
the least studied.The researches of domestic scientists Yu. Alekseev, V. Bebyk,
Yu. Bondary, A. Moskalenko, V. Lizanchuk, M. Nagornyak, F. Rudych and others
are devoted to individual problems of information and communication systems in
the national information space.
The author made an attempt to
generalize the development of printed media in the context of the formation of
the national information space
According to the Book Chamber of
Ukraine, if in 1991 1,909 newspaper titles were published, then in 2002 –
3,045. The total circulation increased by almost 1 billion copies. There were
1,803 newspapers per 1,000 people (529 in 1991) [1]. It was a kind of peak,
since the number of titles and the circulation, which were fluctuating, began
to decrease in the future. After the euphoria of 1990–1991, the number of
publications was quite stable, and until 1996, it fluctuated within the initial
period.
The following period, 1996–2002, can be
called a time of steady growth, when more than 100 newspapers were created
annually to meet the needs of society. In 2002, quantitative saturation of the
market occurred, and growth stopped. And after 2006, the reverse process began:
a period of gradual decrease in the number of newspapers, caused not so much by
a decrease in public interest, but by economic problems. Visually, the
indicated conclusions can be followed in Fig. 1 and 2 [1].
The structure of publications is dominated by local newspapers. In 2009,
1,318 titles were published, with an annual circulation of 819,535.5 thousand
copies, which is 51.6% of the total number of titles and 23.8% of the total
circulation. But here, too, the general trend of decreasing all indicators is
observed. Compared to 2008, the number of titles decreased by 29 (2.2%), and
circulations decreased by 101,342.9 thousand copies (11.0%). In 2021, the
number of publication titles decreased to 752, and the annual circulation to
197,348.9 thousand copies [2; 3].
The situation with regional newspapers is not much
better. In 2009, 474 titles were printed, with an annual circulation of
533,871.9 thousand copies, or 19.0% of the total number of titles and 15.5% of
the total circulation. When compared with 2008, the number of publications
decreased by 36 printed units (7.1%) and circulation by 12,056.9 thousand copies
(2.2%). In 2021, the number of publication titles decreased to 214, and the
annual circulation to 302,795.8 thousand copies [2; 3].
The situation
is not simple in district newspapers, which in 2009 made up 15.9% of the total
number of titles (398 printed units), and had a circulation of only 83,260.0
thousand copies (2.4% of the total circulation). Trying to fight for their
survival, they once again significantly reduced their expenses. In just one
year, circulations decreased by 36,957.5 thousand copies (30.8%). In 2021, the
number of publication titles decreased to 360, and the annual circulation to
59,734.0 thousand copies [2; 3].
There have also been changes in the segment of national publications. In
2009, 333 titles were published with an annual circulation of 1,728,521.7
thousand copies. In 2021, the number of publication titles increased to 367,
and the annual circulation fell to 614,386.4 thousand copies [2; 3].
Most newspapers were published once a week. In 2021, there were 822 such
newspapers; 326 were published five times a month, and only one edition was
published six times a week [2; 3].
In contrast to the rather problematic newspaper
segment of mass media, the situation with magazine products is more stable.
Since 1991, in fact, from a meager mark of 161 editions, the number of
magazines in Ukraine has steadily grown, reaching the limit of 2,415 titles,
and since 2014, it has been practically constant with a decreasing trend. In
2020, there were 1,856 titles. The dynamics of magazine production is
illustrated in Fig. 3. [1].
A positive trend in this segment was the constant growth of the number
of publications, whose total circulation in 2014 exceeded 400 million copies.
However, later the situation changed to a sharp drop, up to 47,255.8 thousand
copies. 2020, which is almost half less than the indicators of 1991 (Fig. 4)
[1].
The topic of
denationalization of the press arose immediately after the country gained
independence, but in the early 1990s, the state did not even want to hear about
such things. Only in 1999 was the resolution "On the activities of the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and other authorities on ensuring freedom of
speech, meeting the information needs of society, and the development of the
information sphere in Ukraine" passed, which emphasized the need to speed
up the development of projects for the denationalization of mass media.
All the given data are sufficient for the analysis of trends, but are
approximate, since there is no national circulation service in Ukraine.
Free and independent
mass media that serve public needs and publicize public opinion are one of the
most important institutions of civil society and a sign of the democratic state
that Ukraine is currently striving to build. In order to effectively perform
this complex social task, the mass media must be free and independent, but at
the same time provide true information with a neutral interpretation and not be
tainted by subjective assessments and biased comments. However, the situation
in the media space in Ukraine does not yet meet democratic standards. There are
many reasons for this.
Currently, it can be
stated that periodical print mass media are in a difficult situation. The
general crisis only intensified the negative phenomena in the newspaper sphere.
Interest in newspapers is decreasing year by year. There are also problems with
distribution, the low solvency of the population, and the wide spread of
Internet technologies. The fact that many publications could not survive and
exist only nominally is alarming.
Pessimists predict
the same fate for the rest of the newspapers due to the presence of electronic
media in the market and the spread of Internet editions. It is clear that
newspapers will never compete with the speed of information provided by
electronic competitors. According to experts, the way out for printed
publications could be: in-depth analysis of news or events; availability of
various opinions and assessments; extensive coverage of local material;
attraction of a young readership; creation of an attractive product, etc. The ability
of publications to respond to the requests of their readers is becoming more
critical than ever before. Newspapers will be read if they produce content that
can't be found anywhere else. We should bet on the advantages of the newspaper
compared to other mass media, such as its closeness to the audience and
analyticalness.
The Internet should
be transformed from a competitor to an ally. Leading publications are already
trying to make up for lost time by introducing online businesses. The newspaper
website has many advantages over the printed version, in particular, a high
degree of interactivity, greater multimedia capabilities and, most importantly,
accessibility from anywhere on the planet. In addition, this is an additional
source of income, not only from advertising, but also from subscriptions, and
the opportunity to earn from the same content many times. The newspaper, on the
other hand, gives the website the capital of the reader's trust.
All these measures
may not bring additional profits to newspapers, But they will help prevent the
outflow of income and audience.
It should be noted
that recently the emphasis of advertisers, on which the well-being of
publications largely depends, has been increasingly shifting. Currently, in
global practice, the budget of print media consists of one-third of the funds
received for distribution, and two-thirds for advertising. Advertisers are
clearly targeting their target audience and no longer want to pay for ads to be
seen by people who are unlikely to become their consumers. So, the
tried-and-tested business model of "large audience, lots of
advertising" is failing.
According to expert
assessments, the best prospects are for publications that meet the following
requirements: promptness, efficiency, affordability, exclusivity, and clear
targeting. Expensive, image-based, standard advertising offers will take a back
seat [4, 31].
The easiest way to
overcome crisis phenomena is to concentrate efforts. The world's practice is
the merger of publishing houses or the acquisition of publications by more
competitive ones. The crisis acts as a catalyst here. It is clear that it is
easier for media holdings to survive than "districts" or even
once-powerful regional publications.
It is time to create
regional media centers with an extensive regional structure and their own
printing press and distribution network.
The causes of
troubles in the industry are not only ill-conceived management or insufficient
professionalism among employees. Most of the problems lie in the financial and
economic conditions in which publishers have to work.
The topic of denationalization of the press arose
immediately after the country gained independence, but in the early 90s, the
state did not even want to hear about such things. Only in 1999 was the
resolution "On the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and
other authorities on ensuring freedom of speech, meeting the information needs
of society and the development of the information sphere in Ukraine", which
emphasized the need to speed up the development of projects for the
denationalization of mass media.
However, only in
November 2010, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine finally registered a corresponding
draft law introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as a compromise
option between the views of the NSJU and the Ministry of Justice. However, the
political forces did not find a consensus on this issue, and it was not
included in the agenda. Several draft laws were prepared in 2013, but they met
the same fate. And only after the Revolution of Dignity, on November 24, 2015,
the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Reforming State and
Communal Print Mass Media", which came into force on January 1, 2016. Its
adoption was a significant step in the direction of denationalization, and
therefore privatization of state and communal mass media.
State support of the mass media should primarily be carried
out in the field of economy, should concern all subjects of the information
space, and should consist of promoting the creation of a worthy XXI century
printing bases, solving newsprint problems, provision of moderate tariffs for
media delivery, etc. Currently, the cost of Ukrainian printed products is 10
times higher when compared with Poland and the USA. It is also timely to
stimulate the consumer market for publishing products - from libraries to
ordinary citizens.
Newsmans also need to reorganize, forget the happy times,
and get used to modern realities. Now the leader is the one who was able to
adapt to market conditions, took care of his own material and technical base in
a timely manner, and looked to the future. The publications that survive are
those that are needed by consumers, take into account their interests, write
about what they are most concerned about, and provide the most up-to-date
information needed at a particular time. The organizers of this case must have
considerable professional skill and talent, the freedom to speak and write, the
ability to defend their position, and the ability to work in difficult
conditions.
The development of related areas of activity, in particular
publishing and commercial, is becoming common. It consists of issuing
supplements to a newspaper or magazine, which makes it possible to increase the
audience of one's publication, provide additional space for advertising, or
organize the release of books. The commercial activity of many editorial
offices in various fields of business also contributes to the strengthening of
the financial base. The main thing is that these auxiliary means do not
interfere with the implementation of the main task, which is the preparation
and release of periodicals. Publications that live by old standards, hoping for
someone, not for themselves, lose credibility with the reader, which leads to a
decrease in already small profits and influence in the information space.
REFERENCES:
1. Book Chamber of Ukraine. URL: http://www.ukrbook.net/ (19.06.2022)
2. State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting
of Ukraine. URL: http://comin.kmu.gov.ua/ (18.02.2022).
3. State Statistics Service of Ukraine. URL: http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/ (19.12.2022).
4. Shpak, V. I. (2022). Vydavnychyy biznes: knyha redaktora
[Publishing business: editor's book] (292 p.) K. : DP «Ekspres-obʺyava».
5. O'Reilly H. (2009). Trends of the world press. URL: http://media.parlament.org.ua/d_tg/action/article_detail/article_id/2736/ (04.01.2019).
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий