The Role and Development of Popular Science TV Programs During Times of Military Actions
The Role and Development of Popular Science TV Programs During Times of Military Actions

Summary/Abstract: The article analyzes the number of popular science TV programs on the air of national TV channels in Ukraine. Popular science content is an important aspect of public life, especially as an element of distraction from news about military operations. The goal of this study was to find out whether there are popular science programs on national TV channels, to analyze the competitive features of Ukrainian popular science TV journalism, which combines the broadcasting traditions formed by practice and modern development trends. We used the following methods: content analysis of the broadcast network of 32 national TV channels in Ukraine. We analyzed their TV programs for the presence of popular science content on the air, as well as the thematic content of TV programs in accordance with historical background, and additionally studied the websites and YouTube pages of channels that were disconnected from broadcasting in 2022; literature analysis, which made it possible to identify gaps in the research of functioning of popular science TV programs in the Ukrainian media space. Results: out of 32 TV channels, 5 broadcast popular science programs. Among them, 4 produce their own content, and one broadcasts foreign programs, mostly in the natural sciences. Of the 4 channels that have their own popular science content, 3 broadcast historical programs, and “Піксель TV” produces a project for children about chemical experiments. As of 2023, the share of channels with popular science content is 15.6%. Conclusions: the level of popular science TV journalism in Ukraine is not increasing. At the same time, given the social preferences of the audience, we can say that this niche is not filled. Historical topics of video content are currently the most popular among viewers, which may be reflected in the growth in the number of viewers for channels that offer such content.

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