The thesis attempted to determine the peculiarities of the development and functioning of Ukrainian literary criticism in the mass media field from 1995 to 2015. The general analysis and systematization of Ukrainian and foreign scientists' works made it possible to outline the main approaches to defining the concept of literary criticism, its interaction with the mass media, and the peculiarities of functioning in the social communication space. The topic's relevance is determined by the need to investigate the specifics of the mass media factor of literary criticism of Ukraine from 1995 to 2015, which has undergone significant transformations during this time. The source base of the study was the literary and critical materials of periodicals and online literary and art media of Ukraine in 1995–2015: "Kyivska Rus", "Krytyka", "LitAkcent", "Literatura Plius", "Chitomo" and others. The work comprehensively analyzes the main stages and principles of the development of literary criticism as a subject of mass information activity, and the processes of its transformation and adaptation to the conditions of the modern media space are investigated. The main approaches to the definition of the concept are outlined, and the author's definition of literary criticism as a type of communication activity is proposed. The thematic directions of modern media studies of literary criticism of Ukraine are singled out. A list of characteristic features of literary criticism as a subsystem of social communications has been created. The following functions of literary criticism are characterized: evaluative, regulatory, communicative, educational, informative, interpretive, prognostic, marketing, and filtering. A thorough analysis of the mass media factor of literary criticism of Ukraine of the selected historical period was conducted, and a general assessment of Ukraine's modern literary and critical process was presented. The thesis analyzed the historical context of the functioning of literary and critical thought in Ukraine from 1995 to 2015. The chronology of the founding of 123 literary and artistic magazines and online media, which reflected a new type of magazine thinking in Ukraine, was restored. Printed publications' establishment peaked in the 1990s of the 20th century. The author singled out the pain points of these publications, which prevented them from developing and staying on the market for a long time, in particular: problems with financing, an unregulated distribution system, the absence of resources in the online space, or outdated design, poor awareness of the readership about the existence of relevant resources, a low level of influence on the formation and development of the literary process of Ukraine. It was determined that in the period from 2010 to 2015, the fewest journals were founded, while several important publications were closed at the same time. In the new millennium, along with printed newspapers and magazines, specialized online media began to appear, consistently developing literary criticism. Among them are "LitAkcent", "Chitomo", and "Bukovoid". The development of the latest information technologies significantly influenced the classic thick literary and artistic magazines, which in the old format began to exhaust themselves as a phenomenon. This process provoked the emergence of a new type of criticism. The content analysis method was used to determine the typological features of literary and critical publications from 1995 to 2015. For the content analysis were chosen three magazines, that were founded in this period, representing different aspects of literary and critical practice, reflecting different formats of literary and artistic publications, which functioned in the studied period, were popular among the professional community and the readership, and had a powerful critical component. As part of the content analysis, output data was collected, the authorship and rubrication were researched, and the topics, problems, and genre features of the newspaper "Literatura Plius", magazines "Kyivska Rus" and "Krytyka" were analyzed. The author proposed a modern literary and critical material' model that functions in the media space. It is built on five main characteristics: argumentation, emotionality, accessibility, brevity, and structure. Successful visual support and the feedback possibility increase the effect of the text on the audience, which is also reflected in the proposed model. The results of the conducted research can be used by editors of printed literary and artistic magazines to create a new edition of a new type and help editors develop in the online space. Theoretical provisions and content analysis results can be used to ensure the educational process during the creation of training programs for courses on the basics of journalism, art, and literary criticism.
