VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF ECONOMIC CRISES IN BUSINESS AND MASS MEDIA PUBLICATIONS: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The article traces main features of representing the topic of economic crises in journalistic publications found in two types of periodicals: mass media and business media. By the methods of graphical analysis, object-oriented analysis and multidimensional scaling models, the author proves that visual language in illustrating economic topics is of an auxiliary nature and serves as a means of neutralizing the negative background that accompanies journalistic materials on crises. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the identity of the most common techniques of visual language in the media within the framework of representing the topics of economic crises in business and mass periodicals. The study sample included 9,360 publications on media websites, accompanied by illustra-tions, in five business and three mass media sources for the period from January 1, 2023 to February 1, 2024. The article substantiates the logic of image language in economic media materials dedicated to crises, and also proposes a classification of visual images present in the relevant materials. The author points that business media used to spread depersonalized illustrations, formalizing visual images in publications. Also typical for business publications is the use of the “locations without details” principle, when formalized images are used in publications, and all specific information is leveled out. This principle is also widely used in mass periodicals, although it is used on a different array of information occasions. In conclusion, the article notes that the difference between business and mass media in the presentation of visual content comes down to greater abstraction of mass publications regarding typical economic issues, while business publications provide similar abstraction in publications of a less problematic nature.