“Den stimulates thinking”

For the past few years the faculty of philology and journalism of Kherson State University, in particular, the department of social communications, has been supporting Den’s initiatives in Kherson. In spring 2013 within the walls of the department we held a roundtable dedicated to the topic “How to preserve the unique past and shape the future image of Kherson.” The local human rights activists, artists, architects, clergy, and city authorities were speaking about the ways of waking up the civil society and the need for a quality rebranding of the city.

The students of the department of philology and journalism have shown interest to modern quality press. At the beginning of 2014 Den’s journalist discussed how one newspaper manages to realize so many projects – be a convergent mass medium, and also presented for the youth the regular projects of the team: Den’s Library, Summer School of Journalism, glossy supplement Route No. 1, the international photo competition, etc.

There is a demand to continue the dialog. And a good opportunity to discuss our new publications,            Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25 and photo album People of the Maidan. A Chronicle emerged. We had a 1.5-hour-long discussion of the content and importance of the new books with the students of three years and teachers of the department of social communications. The most attention was paid to James Mace’s works, which were included in the book Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25, and his research on the Holodomor in Ukraine. Apart from that, the journalists-to-be took a special interest in the content of the new photo album. Positive, dramatic, but encouraging shots of photo journalists of the newspaper gave a reason to recall last winter’s revolutionary events, speak about the danger faced by journalists, when they work at mass protests.

The students of the journalism department took interest in the format of the newspaper, the terms of enrollment in the Summer School of Journalism, and submission of works to the photo competition. Some of them discovered the glossy supplement Route No. 1, and others for the first time saw our English-language version. At the end of the meeting we presented the department of social communications with several copies of Ukraine Incognita. TOP 25, and a new photo album. The main conclusion made by the students was, “Come again.” Below we give the word to the participants of the meeting.

“DEN’S BOOKS ALLOW US TO GET A DEEPER KNOWLEDGE OF OUR PAST”

Vasyl ZAHORODNIUK, Ph.D. in Philology, associate professor, teacher of the department of social communications of the Kherson State University:

“We are thankful to Den for the presents. They are very appropriate. It is important that your newspaper organizes such meetings with students and offers many opportunities for the youth. I’ve read books from your Library series, The Power of the Soft Sign and books from the ‘Subversive Literature’ series. Den takes an intellectual and patriotic approach to highlighting of our reality and historical aspects. Namely these books allow us to get a deeper knowledge of our past, which, unfortunately, was often stolen and there are attempts to steal it now. Today we have spoken about the Holodomor. This is a topic to which your newspaper pays special attention, which is well-deserved, because this is a topic which needs to be deeper explored.

“I very much liked the photos from Maidan. Every photo made me excited as if I was experiencing these events again. The album has a high aesthetic level, and the most important thing is that this is indeed a chronicle, the unconcealed truth, which is still painful for many people. This new publication of Den convinced us again that you are writing the history of modern Ukraine, where people must honor our many-century past.”

“YOUR NEWSPAPER PROMOTES REAL UKRAINIANNESS”

Oleksandr HLAZUNOV, 3rd year student:

“Before the 2000s, in spite of announced course for democratization, the topic of the Holodomor was  not much popular in Ukraine. I  think the memory of those events must be properly honored in our country, because that was a huge tragedy, which is hard to imagine. But I think that we shouldn’t blame the entire nation for what happened then. We were terrorized by concrete people, the perpetrators of that regime. While researching this and other topics, the newspaper Den promotes real Ukrainianness. Today it is very hard to find a really patriotic paper. It is interesting for all intelligent people to read Den, in particular the youth. I would like to assay strength in the Summer School of Journalism. I have read the comments of the students who have trained there, and there have been many positive responses. This is a wonderful chance, because I know that many graduates of the school have stayed to work in Den. It is good that the newspaper is making a stake on the youth and teaches practical journalism, because it is no secret that journalistic education given by most of our higher educational institutions is of low quality.”

“MANY CHARACTER PORTRAITS, IMAGES, AND LIVE STORIES”

Yulia RUDENKO, 3rd year student:

“I like that Den is published in three languages. This is convenient and right. I didn’t know before about the glossy supplement Route No. 1. I think that this is a very successful project of your publication. The glossy supplement is nice-looking and has a nice format. This is something new and fresh, it is an easier reading than serious analytics. People of different ages and social statuses have demand for such information product. Every issue of the glossy supplement is dedicated to a separate topic, the journalists highlight it skillfully and involve well-known people. I would like to work in such a publication. I would also like to mention the new photo album People of the Maidan. A Chronicle. It is interesting to look at the people who took part in the shaping of a new political nation, in my opinion, and influenced the revolutionary events. There were many character portraits, images, and live stories. Thank you for presenting our department with this wonderful book.”