The place of military media among the sources of information for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Abstract

Introduction. In the conditions of external aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the source of official information for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the state media which were founded by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In the period since 2014, the system of military media has undergone significant changes, as well as the transformation of the public relations and strategic communicatios in the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine has continued. At the present stage, it remains significant to clarify the current position of the military media as a source of information. Relevance of the study. The purpose of the article is to determine the place of military media among the sources of official information for servicemen, as well as the degree of need in specialized media of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Methodology, results, conclusions. According to a questionnaire survey of servicemen of one of the units of the Marine Corps of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was found that at the level of this separate military unit the leading role in informing personnel is played by internal communications. About 40% of servicemen use military media as source of information. The Internet is the most common source of information for military personnel. The military often uses several types of media, but if they use only one source to receive news, it is usually social networks. All military media from which respondents receive information are presented on the Internet. This may indicate the impact of the development of the Internet and information and communication technologies on the functioning of traditional media of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The results of the questionnaire indicate the need for structural and functional transformation of the existing system of military media. To confirm this, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study on the scale of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the future, this will provide an opportunity to develop proposals for improving the processes of socio-communication interaction of the army with society and information and media support of troops (forces).