PORTRAIT OF A CONTEMPORARY AS A JOURNALISTIC TASK: A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (based on the article by A. Valeev “Arkaim after Putin”)

The article addresses the issue of implementing journalistic tasks in covering the theme of “portrait of a contemporary.” The author suggests examining the peculiarities of the discursive organization of texts of this nature using the example of an article by the “Golden Pen” 2005 laureate Ayvar Valeev, which relates to the history of the Chelyabinsk State Historical and Archaeological Open-Air Museum “Arkaim” and its then-director Gennady Borisovich Zdanovich. The article, which raises several socially significant issues, is considered from the perspective of discursive practice, which in the context of journalistic texts is understood as the implicit formation of meanings “above” the denotative component and the general “template” of the genre. The author highlights such aspects of the discursive aspect as the overall tonal dominance of the narrative, the meaning-generating potential of the plot, and the affective contradictions of the narrative. The author concludes that the personality of the article’s hero is revealed through the description of the hero’s attitude towards events, rather than their actions, which creates additional dramatic tension in the narrative.