Tendencies of the Development and Functioning of Travel Journalism in the Information Field of Russian Media

Abstract

The articles analyses the specifics of travel journalism as a multi-layered phenomenon in the modern media space. The authors pay special attention to the current issues of travel journalism development that have public value. The article defines and describes communicative strategies of travel journalism formation in the internet as exemplified by web portals and blogs. The articles defines how exactly this media segment functions in the context of printed periodicals. The methodology of the research is based on understanding the mission of the travel media as one of the basic means of promoting information on countries and peoples. The role of travel journalism is revealed: travel journalism provides the audience with information about travels related to history, geography, culture, arts, tourism, ethics, philosophy and others. Despite both the consumer’s and the media’s as well as the researchers’ light attitude to travel journalism people’s national self-identification depends on it. Travel journalism transforms information from one context into another, and it is responsible for the fact that an audience starts to have a particular image of a particular culture. The authors start from the fact that travel journalism is now most noticeably developing in the Internet. The genre variety of travel texts is developing here to a full extent as well as travel journalists creativity. The blogosphere has created a wide range of opportunities for new forms of travel journalism emerging. Modern travel blogging comfortably combines different content: from traditional travel essays to tourism marketing materials. The article describes the important role of travel publications on the pages of the regional media in the development of the tourist recreational potential of the Lipetsk Region as a mechanism of promoting inner tourism with the help of mass media and an opportunity to create a favourable image of the region in current information flows. The article proves the necessity to change and develop the tourist content of the regional printed media in order to create a positive image of the region as a tourist product both in Russia and abroad.