The dissertation presents a comprehensive analysis of the genre-related and thematic characteristics of the news broadcasts aired as part of the national television marathon United News.
The relevance of the study is determined by the need for scholarly understanding of the specific features of the creation and operation of the United News telethon amid the Russian-Ukrainian war and the intensification of threats to information security.
The source base of the study comprises the news broadcasts of the United News telethon. A total of 2500 news items broadcast between 2022 and 2025 were analysed. The empirical basis of the study consists of the results of surveys conducted among the audience (150 respondents) and the professional journalistic community (76 respondents).
The scholarly novelty of the dissertation lies in the fact that, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis has been conducted of the telethon format as a specific broadcasting model; the preconditions for its emergence in international television practice have been identified; and the distinctive features of its implementation in the Ukrainian context under wartime conditions have been determined. Considerable attention has been devoted to the characteristics of the television channels involved in producing content for the telethon and to their joint production activities. The conceptual content of the term “television news” has been clarified. An original definition of the term “telethon” has been proposed.
For the first time, the study analyses the process of constructing the news rundowns of the United News telethon within broadcast slots allocated to different editorial teams. The priority of the hierarchical model of rundown construction is emphasised, and an original thematic model for structuring the telethon’s news broadcasts is developed.
The dissertation establishes that military and war-related topics dominate the telethon’s news broadcasts. The findings indicate that cultural, educational, sports-related, and religious topics receive insufficient coverage in the news broadcasts. The framing of the telethon’s news content is examined. It is established that, through framing, the television channels producing content for the telethon not only structure information but also construct specific narratives, thereby influencing the interpretation of events. An original classification of the frames conveyed in the telethon’s news broadcasts is presented.
The genre range of the content is analysed, and the dominance of the news item and the report in the telethon’s news broadcasts is established. The specific functioning of the televised war report as the semantic core of the structure of the telethon’s news broadcasts is investigated. An original classification of war-reporting subgenres based on content-related and thematic criteria is proposed: reports from the front line, reports from de-occupied territories, reports from strike sites, and reports from farewell and burial ceremonies.
Surveys were conducted among the audience and the professional journalistic community regarding the specific features of their reception of the telethon’s news broadcasts. Recommendations for improving the quality of the telethon’s news content are proposed.
The practical significance of the findings lies in their potential application by television newsrooms, state regulatory authorities, and expert organisations operating in the media sector. The findings may also be used in the educational process at higher education institutions when teaching courses in journalism, media communications, and social communications.
Prospects for further research are associated with examining the transformation of content, developing models for reformatting the telethon, and adapting the Ukrainian experience of operating a telethon as an element of information security during periods of crisis for application in other countries.
Keywords: mass media / media, media discourse, media content, transformation of the media system, Russian aggression against Ukraine, information security, television, news broadcasts, television news, the United News television marathon, thematic content, genres, report, audience.
