Specificity of Coverage of Scientific and Popular Thematics on the Example of “Science and Technology” (BBC Ukraine) and “Techno” (New Time)

The article deals with the specifics of the coverage of popular science materials on the site of the BBC Ukraine and Novoe Vremya in the sections “Science and Technology” and “Techno”. Content of headings, frequency of output of materials, genres, specificity is analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the special role of popular science journalism in educating a new generation of scientists.

The scientific topics that are most often covered by these media, the quantity and quality of content are analyzed. Also described are similar and different approaches to science coverage, the most popular topics, digest, blogs. We made comparisons of the Ukrainian popularization of science with the Western ones, described their differences and similar features because the BBC Ukraine operates according to the Western model of media.

We also emphasized the importance of promoting science, covering more topics, engaging scientists, and highlighting science, not in terms of entertainment content (digests, tops, gadget recommendations, and more), but rather as popular science. So that readers can not only learn about an invention or a phenomenon but also understand how it works, it is happening. Popular science journalism is one of the stages of critical thinking in society, as it encourages the audience to check the information.

We also noted the definitions of “popular science publication” and “scientific journalism”, noted the structure of writing popular science texts, which proposed by researcher E. Lazarkevich.