Representation of a laborer in the media of the Russian South

For citation: Gromova E., Ershov Yu. Representation of a laborer in the media of the Russian South // Mediascope. 2024. 1. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2844

© Ekaterina B. Gromova

PhD in Philolgy, Senior lecturer at the Chair of Journalism, Branch of Moscow State University in Sevastopol (Sevastopol, Russia), katya-64@inbox.ru

© Yury M. Ershov

Doctor of Philology, Professor at the Chair of Journalism, Branch of Moscow State University in Sevastopol (Sevastopol, Russia), ershovym@my.msu.ru

Abstract

The topic of labor has undergone great changes since the times of the Soviet press, where it was one of the main ones. In the new era, journalists are more interested in status consumption and entertainment. Following journalists, media researchers are also losing interest in labor issues, as evidenced by the lack of monographs and dissertations on this topic. However, there are sociological studies of discourses about workers on Russian television channels and the printed press, as well as a large theoretical basis for understanding labor, starting with Adam Smith. In our study, we set the task of identifying the most frequent topics and problems, genre solutions and the author’s evaluative context in publications on the topic of labor in the media of the South of Russia (Volgograd region, Krasnodar region, Crimean Republic, Rostov region and Sevastopol). For this purpose, a content analysis of the eight most cited web resources of the listed regions and territories was carried out for 12 weeks (June - September 2023). The unit of research was a media text (a message in an online media news feed). The following categories of content analysis were included in the research codifier: subject/topic of publication; the author's position in relation to the subject of description; genre/format of information presentation. The study did not reveal much regional specificity in the representation of the working person, but did reveal the coexistence of two contradictory discourses: glorifying work and criticizing working conditions. In mass media, the most common problems are labor shortages and uncompetitive low wages. The most common genre solutions to the topic were market reviews and comments from experts. In features and other portrait formats, journalists talk about heroes who quit their previous jobs, change their place of residence and start doing what they love, finding happiness. But the heroes of publications can also be losers who haven’t found their dream job. Journalists in the regions record problems more than analyze the causes of their occurrence and options for solving them.

Key words: labor theme, discourse, media, image, content analysis

Notes

“Provansal'nyy chelovek”: kak russkiy frantsuz v Krymu rastit vinograd [‘Province person’: how a Russian French plants grapes in the Crimea]. RIA Krym: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://crimea.ria.ru/20230824/provansalnyy-chelovek-kak-russkiy-frantsuz-v-krymu-rastit-vinograd-1130855324.html (accessed: 25.09.2023).

“Rabstvo vezde sploshnoye” [«Ubiquitous slavery»]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/job/2023/05/26/72337943/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Donskiye khleboroby b'yut vse rekordy [Don bakery breaks all records]. Rostovskaya gazeta: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://rostovgazeta.ru/news/2023-08-23/donskie-hleboroby-byut-vse-rekordy-sbor-rannih-zernovyh-sostavil-15-4-mln-tonn-3019631 (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Iz Ameriki v dvorniki. Byvshaya tennisistka metet rossiyskiy asfal't s amerikanskim diplomom [From America to street cleaner. Former tennis player sweeps Russian asphalt with an American diploma]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/world/2023/07/16/72497828/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Kitay peremanivayet volgogradskikh uchenykh [China entices Volgograd scientists]. Novosti Volgograda: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://novostivolgograda.ru/news/2023-06-21/kitay-peremanivaet-volgogradskih-uchenyh-2962003 (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Kur'yer rasskazal, chto yego besit v professii [A currier told what he can’t bear in his profession (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/job/2023/07/09/72476081/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Na odnu stavku yest' nechego, a na dve – nekogda. Uchitel' rasskazal, pochemu uvolilsya iz shkoly [Nothing to eat when working full-time and no time to eat when double working. A teacher told about the reasons he left school]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/job/2023/07/21/72515798/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Nuzhen otdel'nyy “muzhskoy” tarif [A separate ‘male’ tariff is needed]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/job/2023/08/13/72591296/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Obrydlo vso, osobenno Kanary [Sick and tired of everything, especially the Canaries]. V1: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://v1.ru/text/entertainment/2023/08/26/72489596/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Ot nemetskogo biznesa v selo: zachem yakhtsmen poselilsya v glubinke Kryma [From German business to a village: why a yachtsman inhabited in the outback of the Crimea]. RIA Krym: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://crimea.ria.ru/20230822/ot-nemetskogo-biznesa-v-selo-zachem-yakhtsmen-poselilsya-v-glubinke-kryma-1130753782.html?in=t (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Paseka kak filosofiya [Apiary as Philosophy]. ForPost: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://sevastopol.su/news/paseka-kak-filosofiya-krymchanka-promenyala-sevastopol-na-dushistyy-biznes-v-sele (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Pochemu obraz dal'noboyshchika s mizernoy zarplatoy i rukami v masle ustarel [Why the image of an underpaid truck driver with oiled hands is obsolete]. RIA Krym: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://crimea.ria.ru/20230826/pochemu-obraz-dalnoboyschika-s-mizernoy-zarplatoy-i-rukami-v-masle-ustarel-1130936336.html (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Rabochiy vodokanala svernul sheyu v transheye [Vodokanal worker breaks his neck in a trench]. Novosti Volgograda: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://novostivolgograda.ru/news/2023-08-22/rabochiy-vodokanala-svernul-sheyu-v-transhee-3019298 (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Shkaplerov rasskazal, kogo otberut v kosmonavty. [Shkaplerov told who would be selected for austronaut]. RIA Krym: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://crimea.ria.ru/20230712/shkaplerov-rasskazal-kogo-otberut-v-kosmonavty-1129984279.html (accessed: 25.09.2023).

V Alushte politseyskiye zabrali dikikh ptits u fotografa-zhivodera [Alushta: police officers took away wild birds from a slaughter photographer]. RIA Krym: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://crimea.ria.ru/20230720/v-alushte-politseyskie-zabrali-dikikh-ptits-u-fotografa-zhivodera-1130197926.html (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Vishnevskaya N.T. (ed.) (2017) Professii na rossiyskom rynke truda. Analiticheskiy doklad [Professions in the Russian labor market]. Moscow: HSE University Publ. (In Russian). Available at: https://publications.hse.ru/mirror/pubs/share/folder/kd714ks118/direct/205016549

YA za den' nesla deneg bol'she, chem za god zarabatyvayu. Byvshiy pochtal'on chestno rasskazala, pochemu uvolilas' posle trekh let raboty [Within a day, I carried more money than I earned annually. Former post officer told honestly about the reasons she left the job after 3 years]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/job/2023/07/19/72508865/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

YevroKhim-VolgaKaliy blagodarit luchshikh sotrudnikov [Euro-Khim-VolgaKaly is grateful to the best employees]. Novosti Volgograda: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://novostivolgograda.ru/news/2023-08-25/evrohim-volgakaliy-blagodarit-luchshih-sotrudnikov-3022681 (accessed: 25.09.2023).

Zhivu v dolg, na kreditke tozhe dolgi [I live on credit, there is a credit card debt]. 93: site. (In Russian). Available at: https://93.ru/text/world/2023/08/13/72591947/ (accessed: 25.09.2023).

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