Charity as a Theme and Function of Don Journalism During the First World War

Abstract

The article analyzed the coverage of the topic of charity as well as the experience of holding charity events by Don Publications during the First World War. The topic is of particular interest to the researchers due to the importance of spiritual tradition of charity ignored altogether by the Soviet media. The legacy of the early 20th century press can easily enrich present day journalism in terms of various means to promote as well as expand the range of methods and forms to cover the topic. The current study for the first time conducted a comprehensive analysis of communicative strategies to promote ideas and charitable events covered by Don Publications during the First World War. Moreover, the research highlighted the peculiar character of media discourse. The authors pointed out that since the start of the war charity stopped to be an activity of churches, state organizations and wealthy entrepreneurs and had become a public activity in the Don region. Journalists played a crucial role in this process providing a wider audience with role models, setting a personal example by taking care of those who fought at the front or found themselves in difficult life situations. Having analyzed the issues of the most influential Rostov newspapers from 1914 to 1918, the authors highlighted the main trends of media coverage of charity in the Don region such as collecting donations for veterans, caring for the wounded and the sick, rehabilitation of the disabled, assistance to refugee, providing support to the families left without breadwinners. The authors focused on the professional skills of the leading Don journalists for example of Viktor Sevskiy’s (V.A. Krasnushkin).