The article reconstructs the concept of pre-truth and semiological guerrilla warfare 2.0, as presented within the frame work of the European research project Fakespotting by one of the last disciples of U. Eco, the Italian semiotician and professor at the University of Bologna, C. Paolucci. Drawing on the theoretical foundations laid by M. Foucault and B. Latour, Paolucci argues that social representations of truth and falsehood should be understood as derivatives of the relationship between knowledge and power, which, in turn, are contingent upon communication technologies actively engaged in the reconfiguration of the network of social actors. The contemporary technological revolution in the sphere of communications has engendered a new iteration of semiological guerrilla warfare 2.0, which diverges significantly from the model proposed by U. Eco in the latter half of the 1960s. This revised framework posits that the generation of messages that serve as alternatives to the dominant informational mainstream is no longer confined to the output stage of the communicative chain; rather, it is localized at the point of entry, as consumers increasingly assume the role of content producers. Digital communication, predicated upon the algorithmic production of documents, has fostered conditions conducive to the resurgence of the medieval conception of truth as trust – a paradigm rooted in personal experience and manifested in the form of anecdotal facts disseminated by online users. The semiotic structure of such anecdotal facts privileges experience over knowledge. Consequently, it is more precise to refer not to post truth but to pre-truth, wherein the articulation of truth becomes the digital counterpart of the medieval notion of “doing truth” (“facere veritatem”).

The article highlights the importance of fostering a constructive dialogue between media audiences and creators. To achieve this, it advocates for educational and outreach initiatives aimed at enhancing understanding of how media, particularly television, operates. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need to improve the technologies used for critical media analysis. The authors propose a range of methodologies to analyze the practices of contemporary Russian television broadcasting, suggesting that traditional qualitative observations should be complemented by systematic, quantitative analyses of television activities. In their research, they examined 1,387 articles to evaluate television content. The key findings of the study are as follows. Firstly, the qualitative and quantitative approaches proposed can significantly enhance the work of media critics and encourage genuine mutual understanding among participants in the ommunication process, particularly in today’s context. Secondly, media criticism should extend beyond merely assessing media content and exchanging impressions about media texts and personalities. It should also involve situating these elements within the socio-political context of daily life, while recognizing their alignment with current trends in the media landscape.

The digitization process is transforming communication strategies in media and journalism. Freelancing has gained increasing popularity, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. In late 2022, the media sphere faced a new challenge – the rapid development and popularization of artificial intelligence. The article examines the use of neural net- works for text generation by both staff journalists and freelancers, proposing the hypothesis that freelancers are more proactive and quicker to adopt new technologies for streamlining routine tasks, especially in the area of rewriting. To test the hypothesis, the authors conducted multiple surveys, expert interviews, and an analysis of job postings. The findings support the hypothesis: freelance journalists are significantly more likely than their staff counterparts to leverage artificial intelligence. Moreover, employers/clients are increasingly inclined to expect these skills from remote workers rather than those based in offices. The authors suggest that this trend reflects a growing propensity to delegate routine tasks to artificial intelligence, a shift that is likely to encompass most media professionals over time.

Historically, there have been two main transnational models of the medieval almanacs-calendars universal type measuring time periods and possessing prognostic. The first one is represented initially by Franco-German almanacs and later in the most consistent realization – by the Russian literary “pocket books” explicating calendar connection poetically. The second model, of Anglo-Saxon origin, inherited more pronounced functional approach by implementing the calendar prototype in a practical, religious, and moral terms. In the context of almanacs that align with the European model – such as those from Russia and America – the classification of these almanacs coincides with the Romantic era. By examining the primarily serial American almanacs from this period, the almanacs type is considered as a communicative channel for dissemination of the Protestant ethics values. The article examines how prognostic almanacs-calendars become promoting the Protestant ethical canon. Since colonial times, almanacs have been widely utilized in America and served as a daily reading resource for settlers, akin to a “common Bible”. American almanacs of the first half of the 19^th century continued to function as practical guides, consistently including the calendar tables with the weather forecasts and astrological symbols, along with agricultural, commercial, and other socially significant information, as well as “poetry and anecdotes”. In this regard, the medieval almanacs calendar model has remained remarkably consistent. American almanacs, as a part of the popular culture, regulate everyday behavior and the decent life norms.

The article delves into the evolution of tobacco advertising in Armenian newspapers published in Tiflis, identifies the main stages in the development of advertising communication related to tobacco products and examines the changes in the content and form of tobacco advertising. An analysis of 150 advertising publications shows that advertisers were primarily based in cities across the Caucasian Viceroyalty, as well as Rostov and St. Petersburg, the capital of the empire. These advertisers included private individuals and shopkeepers. However, as the tobacco market expanded and competition grew, the predominant advertisers in the Armenian press remained primarily Armenian factory owners in Tiflis and Baku. The transformations in the content and form of advertising copy were influenced by various socio-economic and technological factors. On the one hand, the ethnicity of the entrepreneurs has become the most important factor in the design and promotion of tobacco advertising in Armenia. On the other hand, the stratification of the society, as well as the external and internal political situation, had a negative impact on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the advertisements. In summary, the form and content of advertising texts evolved in response to trade relations and market competition. In the years of regional and global upheavals, tobacco advertising also acquired a social function.

Special publications for journalists played a crucial role during the early development of professional journalistic education in the regions. The bulletins and magazines from the 1930s helped editors and correspondents in choosing priority topics for publications, exploring methods for sourcing information, structuring texts within certain genres, and choosing language styles that aligned with journalistic standards. Bulletins aimed at district newspaper correspondents, published in Novosibirsk in 1932 and in 1935–1936, shared common objectives: they informed workers about important documents in the field of Soviet journalism, outlined goals and tasks of the Soviet press, and detailed the requirements for newspapers and magazines. An analysis of these bulletins reveals that the publication “To Help the District and Grassroots Press”, in contrast to its predecessor “To Work in a New Way”, can be classified as a magazine due to its inclusion of not only ideological articles but also materials serving educational, upbringing and recreational purposes. The bulletin provided practical guidance on planning periodical releases, selecting content, and employing compositional-graphic models for newspapers, as well as stylistic considerations for publications. It featured analyses of materials containing errors from district newspapers, with experienced journalists offering critical evaluations of these articles. Additionally, well-designed newspaper pages were presented as positive examples, and successful practices of newspaper editors collaborating with rural correspondents – such as fostering robust feedback and organizing workshops for new correspondents – were shared. The bulletins of the 1930s can thus be regarded as a vital component in the training of correspondents for local periodicals.

The article addresses how representatives of the Tomsk media community evaluate the development of Tomsk online news journalism, reflecting on their professional biographies and routine practices. The study is based on a fragment of the professional worldview. Through 14 semi-structured interviews, four groups of the online news journalism segment in the Tomsk media system were identified. The first two groups are the newspapers websites and news feeds on the websites of TV and radio companies. These media are assessed by the respondents as less competitive players on the Tomsk online news journalism market. The other two groups are the news agencies, and the online news portals and the urban online media. These media are the leaders of the segment, according to the experts interviewed. The findings reveal that over 30 years, there has been a qualitative shift from the first experiments with news items to professional news journalism in the sphere of online news media in Tomsk. In addition, during this period, many newsroom staff members have reconsidered their practices for handling news; and some media have shifted toward “big stories”.

The article explores the legal framework regulating the information and media landscape in the Republic of Armenia (RA). It analyzes the current state of Armenian legislation concerning media activities and identifies significant problems and challenges in safeguarding the country’s information security. The article emphasizes the necessity of implementing legal reforms that prioritize the protection of freedom of speech and information, uphold the media’s role as the fourth estate, and respect national security interests. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, the study incorporates a sociological survey, analyses of relevant literature, and expert insights. This comprehensive examination not only identifies key risks but also presents professional recommendations for addressing these challenges.

The article explores the essence of media law literacy. Drawing on the findings from survey of local media workers and of student journalists, the author substantiates the importance of developing media law literacy among journalists. The article considers various tools for fostering this literacy and emphasizes the significance of employing effective educational technologies to enhance the discipline of “Legal Regulation of Media”. As a core professional competency, media literacy reflects a journalist’s overall professional standing. The study results indicate that a significant number of the journalists surveyed in the course of their professional activities regularly face legal issues that require knowledge in the field of media law. The insights gained from the survey of professional journalists not only provided valuable empirical data that warrants further research but also revealed the effectiveness of some educational technologies. Communication between students and experienced journalists proves to be a mutually beneficial process. It allows journalists to share their experiences while gaining new perspectives on their work. Meanwhile, students benefit from understanding these experiences, which they can apply in both their educational pursuits and future professional endeavors.

The article explains the phenomenon of expertness in the regional TV news and news-analytic (so called “the final”) programs as a principal characteristic of the media text. The expertness is analized through the plots of the regional news and news-analytic TV regional programs of South Russia. This phenomenon identified by various criteria. One of the essential indicators of expertness is the information density of the text. Other ones are: existence of the new knowledge, maximized neutrality, presence of the discussion’s elements, elaborated exposure of the problem or events. The authors define expertness as a rather complicated phenomenon, a balance between expertise and the back ground level of the problem, facts, phenomenon and project presentation. This category is characterized also by the novelty of the facts and arguments, engagement of experts, idiostyle of the journalist, as far as detuning from the institutional communication (the agenda of the authorities and business doesn’t affect the journalist's agenda). The authors consider the journalism of the expert level like the capacity of the journalist himself to give meaning to society's challenges.

The article focuses on the content strategies used by media football league (MFL) clubs in Russia and Spain on the YouTube platform. The primary research method used was content analysis, allowing us to characterize the key features of video content. The material for the study consisted of 116 videos ranging from 1 minute to 7 hours in length, representing various content formats during different competitive periods in 2023. The findings reveal both general trends and specific variations in the content strategies of MFL clubs in the two countries. Notably, video content produced by Russian MLF clubs demonstrates greater diversity in genres compared to that of Spanish clubs. In addition to common genres such as broadcasts, press conferences, and match reviews, Russian clubs also produce content in genres such as story, challenge, and vlog. The main actors in the video content from both countries are soccer players (96.2% in Russia and 86.8% in Spain), MFL management representatives, competition hosts, and fans. There are also similarities in terms of views, but the number of reactions (likes, dislikes, and comments) from Russian users is higher than that from Spanish users.

The study examines the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) in the media from 2020 to 2024. Research on the presence of Siberian scientific organizations in media coverage has been limited, with existing data on Russian scientific organizations primarily covering the period from 2014 to 2016, as found in academic publications and industry analyses. The findings reveal an increase in the number of publications, aligning with broader trends in the development of science communications. Over 30% of publications concerning SB RAS were featured in national media, underscoring the growing interest in regional scientific endeavors. The topics that received the greatest coverage primarily pertain to research outcomes and science policy; thus, scientific organizations are depicted in the media not only as generators of new knowledge and technologies but also as vital contributors to state policy initiatives.

The study reveals the potential of intergenerational transfer of communicative-cultural memory through the engagement of non-professional and semi-professional actors in the Russian province. Utilizing a sociocultural framework, the research identifies resources that facilitate the transfer of communicative and cultural memory across different media generations via amateur journalism. To fulfill the study’s objectives, a combination of empirical research methods was employed, including quantitative and qualitative analysis of 1281 media texts using the Popsters service, alongside content analysis. The study of the content of VKontakte social network’s publics aimed at local audiences helped to identify communicative practices (strategies, tactics, meanings-symbols), to specify the tools that ensure the transfer of communicative-cultural memory in the conditions of limited media infrastructure and, consequently, media offers in the Russian media-peripheral territory.