Origin and development of cynological journalism in Western Europe and America

The relevance of this study is that the matter of cynological journalism in the Russian theory of journalism has almost never been covered. At the same time, dog breeding is a significant ancient layer of human culture, which provokes interest and has been on rise since the nineteenth century. Information product in the sphere of cynology has been created and is developing. However, it remains practically unstudied, though some research in the sphere of specialized journalism has undoubtedly been done. The history of Russian journals on hunting, which are dedicated to M.V. Poddubniy and F.R. Stillmark, are the closest topic to this research. However, it was impossible to find any works on cy-nological journalism. The aim of this article is to observe cynological press of Western Europe and America from its origin to development. Cynological subject matter can be found in West European periodicals such as social, political, agricultural journals and, in particular, journals on hunting since the eighteenth century. In the 1880s first publications on dog breeding appeared, and in the 1920s a system of cynological journals was formed. Cynological subject matter is activated in periodicals due to the rising social interest in events where dogs take part, such as dog shows, check studies, dog racing; and cynological journals in their turn appear with the foundation of kennel clubs. Periodicals take an active part in the development of dog breeding. Thus, cynological journals are periodicals the main topics of which are different aspects of dog breeding, the activity of cynological organizations and user qualities of different dog breeds. The general scenario of the development of cynological journalism can be traced using the examples of European and American journals. At first, they appeared as separate topics in social and political publications and theme sections in special interest journals. Then, cynological journals of broad background appeared. Further on, journalism followed the path of a deeper specialization, it was reflected in the journals for breeders, fans of sporting and hunting dog breeding, owners of particular breeds. It should be stressed that in spite of the introduction of journals on dog breeding the themes in social and political publications and theme sections in specialized journals still exist and continue to satisfy the want of cynological information for different groups of population. The introduction of more specialized publications does not stop the publication of cynological journals of a broader background, many of which are published up to the present moment.

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