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○ Miasnikova Marina Aleksandrovna
We can name the main disadvantages of broadcast television of Russia in the eyes of the Russian society.These include：political commitment；inaccuracy in reporting news；catastrophism and mythologization of the presented picture of the world；excessive attention to entertainment；frequent violation of ethical norms and，in general，a commercial spirit.Speaking about functional dominants，then we can state，that Russian television has become the new tool of political propaganda influence；means of pure entertainment；a mechanism for adaptation and modeling of human behavior；and finally a giant commercial enterprise.“There are no …noncommercial television channels in Russia today，except the Channel“Culture”.All of them are commercial and entertaining，the“CTC Media”company president A.Rodnyansky described the situation in 2008，“Everybody fights for the attention of the audience，especially in those areas that have proven their ability to bring the easiest and the fastest result”[3，13-14].
At the same time the chief editor of the magazine“Film Art”D.Dondurey noted that TV bosses“almost do not consider television as a powerful and flexible system that is able to develop the consciousness of the people in one or another direction.They are sure that for the success it is enough to find their own required audience...They believe that there are special consumer technologies，associated with the efficient sales and with their own purchasers”[4，104-105].It is significant that as the owner of a number of the most powerful television channels，a state is also one“of the major players in the advertising market”[8，53].
The point is，unfortunately，that the state also relies more on profits rather than on cultural values.So，we have to admit that today in Russia the production of most TV programs is inspired primarily by commercial interests of both individual media owners and of the state，in general.Though it is important for society that the TV functions are derived not from the TV consumer factors，but from social interests and needs.And TV industry itself has to be an instrument“of creating patterns of people’s behavior，integration of the people living in the same area into a single community”[14，5].Ultimately，we have to consider TV as a cultural institute，as a means of forming human capital，and a positive image of the city and the country.D.Dondurey calls a number of socially significant goals of television opposed to commercial trends.They are“personal and national development，the formation of a tolerant community interaction，civic awareness，dissemination of peoples’ viable representations about reality，maintaining of psychological health，etc”[2，10].
However，despite the growth of the Internet，the impact of television in the world still remains very significant.American researcher writes“TV is switched on in an average American family more than 7 hours a day （over 8 hours in the houses where cable and subscriber’s TV is available），an average adult or a child watching TV 2-3 hours daily；a person spends more time （in his everyday activity） only on work and sleeping time… A child manages to spend over 2 years of his life before a television set up to 18 years of age”[7，25].There is the evidence of Russian TV consumption：“From 90 to 105 million people are watching TV during the day in this country.According to sociologists，people spend more time for television than for the other five hundred kinds of activities，except sleeping.Nine of every ten people older than four years are watching television for nearly four hours at least five days a week”[2，5].
The same Russian researcher emphasizes that the audience of television in Russia is twenty-five times more than the Internet audience.This means that“it is the TV that keeps the whole system of Russian life”[5，129].However，this system is based on reproducible from year to year sometimes doubtful social-cultural matrices，such as distrust to the private business and big property，modernization and certain public institutions.According to opinion polls，“59 percent of the population does not even trust each other”[Ibid，129].Obviously，that television with such a huge impact on Russian society should be interested in changing the trends prevailing in the broadcasting content.TV programs of culturological and educational orientation just contribute to this.
Another thing，can mass Russian audience accustomed to easy，mindless television viewing？ What should be the content and format of these programs，to be effective？ What is the place of these programs in a modern Russian TV space？
Unfortunately，this place is rather small，although the TV is known to be closely related to culture.After all，television is not only the communication subsystem of culture，but also the sphere of independent and unique reproductive and productive cultural creativity.And，historically，Russian television begins with culturological and educational programs.The first products of the regular broadcasting from Moscow were directly related to the culture.There were literary readings，concerts and theatrical performances’ fragments.The specialists，who came to work at Russian TV stations in the 1930s，were active educators.St.Petersburg （Leningrad） TV，as well as Moscow one，too，“from the very beginning was intended to be‘a cultural channel’.The viewers saw thousands of concerts，plays，films...”A journalist and editor of television E.G.Gromova recalls.[1，182].“What other direction could get a studio，which took place in the town museum under the open sky with its glorious history and famous scientific schools？”A researcher O.A.Eremenko asks.[6，14].Thus，the Leningrad Youth TV channel“Horizon”introduced viewers to the cultural phenomena in elegant and easy way，according to the desires and interests，calling into the unknown distance and space of culture，education，science，knowledge，the researchers G.N.PetrovandV.G.Osinsky wrote [Ibid，14].
It is interesting that，along with the Leningrad studio one of the oldest TV stations，founded in our city of Sverdlovsk（Yekaterinburg） as the fifth in the country，had the same cultural view orientation.There were produced movies，plays，concerts，programs on science，culture and art.Live broadcasts and recordings from the theater and concert halls were carried out.In the first years of its existence，“it was firmly believed，by the art programs’ editor A.N.Lapina remembers that the programs devoted to the theater，music，literature，should occupy in the broadcasting schedule more than half of the air time.Everyone understood how it is important to take care not of the stomach and material wealth but of the human soul”[10，34].
The history of regional television in our country spans half a century.This，by definition，a dynamic public institution of the Russian society，passed through two stages in its development.The first one （from the late 1950s till the beginning of the 1990s） was a period when the local studios functioned as branches of the Central Television of Russia.At this time with the support of the state local stations received a powerful impetus to the development，creating their own various programs，including cultural orientation.However，the second phase （1992-1993 to the present），which became the period of formation and development of regional TV stations already as independent subjects of the media market with their own sources of income，own motivations and preferences，for many of them proved to be very difficult.Not all of them survived.And in a certain period the culturological programs began to disappear on the regional TV channels.It happened on Sverdlovsk state studio as well.How and why did this happen？ Someone explains the situation，taking into account the processes of weakening of the regional broadcasting that started in the Soviet era，when the central channels began to replace local television producers who had quite successfully created their own programs before，but then from the beginning of the 1990s they were forced to engage in the production of news and advertising mainly.
By the end of the 1990s this trend has been reinforced，on the one hand，by the formation of the holding“Russian State Television and Radio Company”（RTR），within which the work of many regional offices has been restricted to the news broadcast；and，on the other hand，during the first post-Soviet decade this trend has been added by a processes of regional television privatization.Then，as a researcher N.V.Zvereva remarked，“new commercial television and radio companies in the regions have passed the same way from a huge amount of self-broadcasting，including the showing of pirated clips and films to a sharp reduction of programs’ production and conclusion of agreements with one or another network station”[17，19-20].Commercial channels preferred to show news while the production of major cultural projects meant for them a serious downgrade.Thanks to the one-sided programming connected with the negative and criminal topics on the federal channels，the audience unfortunately accustomed to the entertainment content.Thus，the described situation worsened，retaining relevance in the beginning of a new century.
Today the picture evolved again.The state controls nearly all federal and a variety of regional channels.And everywhere commercial purposes dominate the cultural ones.All regional channels engaged in advertising，business programs，propaganda，PR.Official news necessarily contain extreme and extraordinary facts.Artistic broadcasting consists of purchased TV films，serials，music videos and cartoons.Culturological programs are produced not enough.Instead of the expected diversity one can observe unification and standard.
Russian Channel“Culture”differs from others.Moreover，this channel emerged as Russia’s first national thematic channel，but then became the first universal channel，while the other set the time of its occurrence could be called thematic channels of“hot”incidents and entertainment，as A.E.Litvintsev noted [11，7].Therefore，the Channel“Culture”is more free in its’ programming and content searches due to the fact of getting money from the budget，and consequently lack of advertising and promotion.As a result，it retained neglected by other channels artistic genres，such as dramas，TV museums，TV exhibitions，literary readings，and mastered modern genres，such as intelligent talk shows，documentary，animated serials.
Channel“Culture”produces a large number of culturological and educational programs.There are such rare genres as TV lectures，TV excursions，TV travels，TV lessons，educational TV magazines.Programs“Walking”（representing a series of TV excursions over Moscow）；“Flash，the City of Peter！”（drawing the architectural appearanceof St.Petersburg），“Russia，my love”“The Golden Ring”“Letters from the province”support the image of the two Russian capitals，as well as a variety of cities and regions of Russia.These programs are informative and spectacular.Each of them has its own distinct style and bright TV presenter.In the first one the narrator-guide historian Michael Zhebrak leads the audience through the streets of Moscow，which every time turns to us by its’ newside.So we learn Moscow of merchants，students，embassies，restaurants，theaters，etc.And themes do not run out.In the second program voice over actor Sergey Dreyden acquaints us with unique destinies of great architects，over a period of three centuries building the wonderful northern capital of Russia.In the relatively new television series“Russia，my love！”TV presenter Pierre Christian Brochet，a French native，who has worked for many years in Russia，with a charming accent talks with scientists，writers，film-makers，representatives of different nationalities living on the territory of Russia and tells about“the vast plains of our homeland，the people who inhabit it and preserve folk traditions and customs”[15].A lot of visitors come to this program from different parts of the country to show national costumes，household items and tell about traditions and their people’s life.In one of the episodes of the program there was a man，holding a special technique of sound，which is called the“throat”singing.He demonstrated his skills directly in front of the camera.A short video reportage usually accompanies the fascinating studio interview.In another episode of the program，which was devoted to the spiritual world and the material culture of the Khanty and Mansi，the director and anthropologist Ivan Golovnev illustrated the theme with the fragments of his own documentary film about these people and their customs.The author told about his characters and about the process of creating his film commenting fragments selected by him.Such varied and exotic ethnographic material，presented on the screen，as well as interested gaze of the TV presenter，acting as a person“from outside”，were surprisingly attractive for Russians.Program was noticed and appreciated by the audience.
These cycles are able to help the audience to consider familiar and unfamiliar material with new，fresh eyes，discovering the beauty of its’ native land.Although programs，devoted to the culture of different nations，on the Channel“Culture”are also abound.Not long ago there was shown a forty minute documentary“Celestial architecture”on the art of Chinese urban planners with a very competent TV presenter-director of the Moscow Museum of Architecture Irina Korobyina.Such programs help to tie together the various elements of national and world material and spiritual culture，which should be understood not as works of arts or good manners，but as“systems of values，beliefs，which are required for the person；code of ethics，mentality，customs ...” [9，6].Taken together，these phenomena are influenced by many factors，including geography，climate，history，space，etc.As a result，the holistic and harmonious image ofthe world，country and native city is born in the minds of viewers.They identify themselves with this image.
Regional TV channels have even more opportunities for the formation of the image of the native city.And demand for cultural programs is growing now.The screen image of the region often contains a significant optimistic charge in such programs，while news programs include depressive tints.In other cases，the life of the region is represented less positive，but problematically and deeply constructively.Moreover，it is clear that the regional television journalists，performing almost forgotten social functions and being closest to their own audience，compared to their federal television colleagues，can be more effective in production of culturological and social programs on local topics.So，journalist S.Matyuhin，from 1997 to 2010 within the author’s program“The geography of the spirit”in the broadcast of Channel 4 （Ekaterinburg） created 250 ethnographic television films about the history and culture of the thirty countries of the world.Today he produces a new project“Kulikovo Field”for the Channel ATN-RUSSIA-24 under the support of the Foundation named Dmitry Solunsky，weekly releasing 50-minute TV movies about the history and culture of our country.There already passed the following cycles：“Russia-the land Ocean”about Volga River and the Golden Ring；“Russian North”about the territory between Vologda and Solovki；“In search of a small country”about the Sverdlovsk，Tyumen，Perm regions.Not long ago the new cycle“Geography of Christianity”about the shrines of Israel，Greece，Italy，Turkey，Czech Republic，Austria，Germany was represented.It became the author’s recollection of his former program“Geography of the spirit”.Overseas impressions remain for our viewers at times more attractive than the beauty and meaning of their native land.
Here a serious problem emerges.The author of the Ural cycle of cultural programs，entitled“Bureau of journalistic research”，which he creates in his own agency“Hidden Camera”（by request of the Channel 4），a journalist and cameraman Robert Karapetyan，who has already created films in more than 30 countries around the world，including China，says“The paradox，but it is easier and cheaper to shoot a film abroad than in the Sverdlovsk region，because it is impossible to find a sponsor who would finance films with local content.Local topics for many people seem too mundane and uninteresting ...But there are no problems with local themes- there are plenty of them！ It seems to me：the whole life is not enough to shoot all that is invented”[12].It is important that Robert Karapetyan’s program competes with advertising programs of the Channel 4 and aired in prime time.They appreciated it beginning with the first pilot release in September，2006，and immediately，without any improvements put it into the schedule.At first one program per month was being produced.R.Karapetyan was making his own project，working as a cameraman at the Channel 4.After creating a“Bureau of journalistic research”his program has become a weekly one.The main engine of the project is a personal interest，which eventually becomes a public interest.
Let us name another local television cycle“Our Pyshma”，designed to maintain the image of the region and the country.Its author is a well-known journalist，writer and documentary filmmaker Andrey Titov.Each of editions represented on the Channel 10 and the Channel“ATN-RUSSIA-24”is a kind of article in TV encyclopedia of the Upper Pishma，a small town with a population of just over 65，000 people located near Yekaterinburg.“During the existence of the program every hundredth resident was filmed，15-18 characters took part in each issue”as testified by the author [13].One of the biggest advantages of the cycle was a kind of an ironic tone，which took off excessive pathos of other regional programs.Rating in the Upper Pishma reached 7%-8% periodically.On a creative meeting with the author，on the program’s first anniversary，in the hall of the local House of Culture more than 300 spectators have gathered.The program was nominated for“Taffy-region”and entered the top three among the 50 other programs in the nomination list.
Andrey Titov says“Experience has shown that the positive direction program may be required，although it is necessary to work on it more than on the programs about incidents，such work is harder and more painful，especially at the initial stage”[13].
In the most accessible and easy to read format，in a dynamic pace the author shows the range of possible prospects for the life in the city.“The citizens got a new look at familiar things，Yekaterinburg residents learned about alternatives for living in a big city，viewers in the other provincial cities had an opportunity to compare and bought some recipes addressing the municipal level”[13].Themes of the issues-medicine，youth culture，horticulture，education，food，local history，the improvement of the city，small business，professional sports，work with the elderly，the modernization of production，technology，local culture peculiarities，the degree of social self-organization.The initiator and the customer were the relations department of the main enterprise-Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company （UGKM）.The ultimate goal of the project was to create an image of a new type of a provincial town，which has good nature and friendliness of a small settlement and at the same time has all the benefits and comforts of life in the city.“So，we can be proud of the native land，and then it will get better.We needing to search for points of growth，to support public optimism”[13]，A.Titov says.
Features of the program lie in the effective design and selection of the non-standard TV presenters，and foreigners（Indonesian，American，French，African-American）were among them.So confirmed that a view from outside is always fun because it allows you to look at the things seemed to be familiar by fresh eyes，“contacts of the people of different cultures cause unusual reactions and emotions”[13]，the author says.
Audiences of the program were people who cared of the life of the city.They also watched the program outside of a small town：somebody laughed at a special folk speech，dialect expressions，others were interested，how a foreigner would milked the cow，somebody looked for the good advice of different passionate people.
We hope that there will be new projects ahead.Yet television in its nature is“the main tool of production of national culture”，as Daniel Dondurey observes [14，5].It is important that TV itself doesn’t forget its public purpose.
Thus，the role of culturogical TV programs in shaping the image of the city and the state is difficult to overestimate.We considered those ones that have not to do with the current“cultural events”，specific works of art or artistic techniques and styles than ever engaged in art history and cultural studies.“The focus of journalistic investigation of the cultural life of society…are the models of public consciousness and behavior in the context of the modern era，a man in a certain social space and time with his perception of the world and with the specific methods of socialization”[16，118].All TV programs，that we have considered，certainly contain these characteristics，not only reflecting images of areas，but also influencing them in the process of active cultural creativity.
Moreover，it is interesting，as we noticed，that the culturological programs on Russian TV during the last two decades had broadened horizons of the audience，addressing mostly to the subjects outside of their homeland.The TV shows about traveling around the world had become very popular.But now Russian TV channels both federal and regional are increasingly returning to their viewers’ own geography and history.（Although，as we have seen，this is not a rule，because the inertia of the human mind and psychology is large enough.）Yet，the culturological programs on Russian TV clearly show that at first，in the 1990s，the Russians wanted，above all，to see the big world that opened in front of them to its full width.But，as is always the case after returning home from a long trip，they wanted：
1.to compare their lives with the life abroad；
2.to borrow something useful out of what they saw there and to arrange their homes，cities，country in proper way；
3.to re-evaluate themselves and look at themselves from the outside，through the eyes of the foreigners；
4.at the same time to try to learn more about themselves on the background of the world；
5.and to love not only their own country，but the whole world as well.
As a result all this，on the one side，helps us to promote our own development and formation of our territory’s image，and，on the other side，to establish friendly relations and communications with the other nations.