Abstract: The subject of this research is the phenomenon of subjectivity in modern mass communication, transformation of its essence, structural-functional certainty, and sociocultural effects of these transformations. During the discussion, the following issues are being addressed: the ethical-verbal aspects of communicative behavior of the representative of authority in modern media environment; the concept of the author's position in journalism and factors that impede its implementation; the question of the "author’s death" in modern journalism. The participants also analyzed the phenomena of "mass intelligence", "communicative reason", "communicative plurality" and "wisdom of crowd"; the inadequacy of the requirements of objectivity and inevitable subjectivity in the journalistic works; attributiveness of the ethnic-psychic peculiarities of an actor of communication. The authors made the following conclusions. Firstly, at the present stage, there are evident trends of violating the standards of communicative behavior in media environment (principle of cooperation and principle of comity); at the same time, it may be noted the adoption of the new norm as a model/example for emulation by the target audience and its transfer (through the media) onto the all communication areas. Secondly, the blurring of categories of authorship is currently associated with a number of factors: tightening of the legal framework of the journalistic profession; trend of commercialization of the media sphere; unjustified approval of "information", pseudo-objective model of journalism, which excludes the author's position. Thirdly, the loss of subjectivity today manifests in the elimination of creative component from the journalism, as well as formation of the final product due to technical and commercial feasibility. Fourthly, it is probably needs  the be said that subjectivity within the modern mass communication is fundamentally changing, thus the notions of "communicative reason" and "communicative plurality" are introduced for the better understanding. Fifthly, giving characteristic to the subjectivity in mass communication necessitates considering the specificity of the ethnic mentality of an actor.

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the correspondence sent by George Grebenstchikoff to the newspaper Zhizn Altaya from the World War I frontline in 1916. The scholars who have been researching George Grebenstchikoff’s heritage have emphasized mostly his fiction while journalistic texts are yet underexplored and his reports for Zhizn Altaya are still rather archive items than challenges for scholars. The subject of the article is the philosophy of war by George Grebenstchikoff represented in the analyzed set of his correspondence. Scientific works on the essence, sense and structure of the philosophy of war shape the methodological background for this research. Scientific originality of the research is achieved both through penetration into a most underexplored side of George Grebenstchikoff’s writing, namely his war correspondence, and through revealing his attitude towards the war, his understanding of its nature and manifestations, the authors prove that in the analyzed set of correspondence the war is represented as the disaster possessing the features peculiar to a mythical creature who is destroying nature with its iron plod, barbed wire, fire spits, nickel flies and metal frogzillas. The unwritten is crucial for the philosophy of war in the correspondence. It is what the journalist regards as insignificant and not deserving to be written out. War reports by George Grebenstchikoff show no battles and attacks, nor the concept of the enemy, nor the purpose of the military actions, nor heroic words, nor descriptions of offensives or retreats, mediocre or gifted commanders, nor victories and defeats as the false values of wartime. Siberia is regarded by George Grebenstchikoff as the antithesis of the war. It is another dimension, remedy and relief, vivifier and soul purifier. Siberia smells and sounds good, is colorful and beautiful all the year round. It is the true and absolute value.

Abstract: The inter-university interdisciplinary round table of the scholars “The Dynamics of Language in Realities of Modernity” united the representative of various higher education facilities of Altai Krai: language experts, literary historians, journalists, and philosophers to explicate and detect the processes taking place in language under the influence of the modern sociocultural situation. During the course of the discussion, the following most significant issues according to the opinion of the participants were determined: the “pressure points” of the dynamics of language in the modern sociocultural reality; postmodernist trends in the language picture of the world; mentality as the inherent property of language; foreign language borrowings and language mixes, and their cultural meaning; dynamics of the conceptual structure of the world in the consciousness of native-speakers; reduction in the informative semantic sphere of texts within the modern mass communication; positive trends in discourse of the modern mass communication, and others. Analyzing the dynamics of language in the current sociocultural realities, the authors determined the factors that explain its changeability and sustainability, positive and negative trends in the development of language as a whole alongside the language of mass communication, changes in the language picture of the world, cultural effects of the foreign language borrowings and unsubstantiated attempts to reform the language, possibilities for overcoming the “clipping” of the modern media text and its understanding, and positive trends in modernization of the media discourse.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the book “A First Look at Communication Theory” by Em Griffin, which is claimed as a scientific overviews and systematization of the communication theories, and aimed at «helping to see the order in the field of communication theory which may seem chaotic». The conducted expertise, however, demonstrated that in the course of rendition the goal of scientific systematization of the theories, according with the suggested by the author foundations, moves to the background, and the main attention becomes focused on the practical recommendations pertaining to the formation of communicative competencies of the students. Familiarization with the text showed that the author supports the pragmatic approach in rendering the material, which signifies not the description of a theory or comprehensive overview, but rather applicability of one or another theory for the formation of communicative competencies among students. The book gains great importance as the theoretically substantiated methodological guidebook on teaching the ways of structuring the efficient communication and attainment of the corresponding skills.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the optimal model of systematization of the theory of mass communication. The authors analyze the existing models of systematization of theories of mass media, particularly presented in the following works from the position of their grounds and didactic optimality: “Mass Communication in Modern World: Methodology of Analysis and Practical Studies” by M. Nazarov, “Communication Theory by G. Pocheptsov, A First Look at Communication Theory” by E. Griffin, “Mass Communication and the Problem of Reality Construction: Overview of the General Theoretical Approaches” by E. Dyakova and A. Trakhtenberg, and “Mass Communication: Western Theories and Concepts” by G. Bakulev. The authors suggest their own model of systematization  of the theories of mass communication, which is based on the most essential characteristics of mass communication as the social system (theory of social essence of mass communication, theory of structure, functions and dysfunctions of mass communications, theory and concept of the effects of mass communication, theory of the normative status of mass communication processes, “new media” as a factors of transformation of the communication system, as well as their characteristics), and grouping of the theories by the principle of examination and understanding of these characteristics from the perspective of most reputable and renowned authors in communication science.