24 of March, 2011.

As you know spring is the time of promise, inspiration and astounding growth of creativity. That is why the third International festival of school and university mass-media ? ?Giraffe?Mass Media? ? will be run on the faculty of journalism SUSU this spring.

By Elvira Kozhina from group 111 of faculty of journalism
translated by Anastasia Gulyaeva from group 111 of faculty of journalism

The history of festival begins in September, 2007 in the South Ural State University (SUSU) at faculty of journalism  ? where the first festival of student's and school mass-media was held. This festival was tenderly called ?ZhiraSMIk?. It was not surprising as giraffe is a curious, hardy animal, which is always in a course of all affairs thanks for it?s long neck. Besides, ?Giraffe? is a name of the newspaper of the faculty of journalism?s in SUSU.

At the first festival student's and school journalistic works were presented in 3 competitions: ?Fluent pen ? (periodicals), ?Optimistic radio? (broadcasting) and ?Youth television meridian? (television). Then ?ZhiraSMIk? grew matured and became a serious ?Giraffe?Mass Media?.

Two new competitions were added to the program of this International festival. There are ?Inet? in which Internet works of journalism were presented, and new experimental competition ?Universal journalist? where all participants could try to show their creativity in convergent journalism. So the third festival ?Giraffe?Mass Media? gives a good possibility for students and pupils to make a material in all spheres of journalism!

The festival has one more original: a special youth jury that evaluates the works of contestans. Lyudmila Shestyorkina, the dean of faculty of journalism and the organizator of the festival, said when young journalists have the opportunity to communicate with each other, to discuss good and bad things in programs, plots and the publications presented in jury?s court, it makes the evaluation of competitive works effective and objective. After the discussion special youth jury and festival organizing committee summarize the results. This year Valery Ruzin will be the chairman of united committee. He is the honourable cinematographer and producer from Russia, the president of the Euroasian Academy of Television and Radio.

The contest ?Giraffe?Mass Media? is not only about competitive actions. It is a real chance for people who are interested in journalism to elevate their  professional level. Russian and foreign journalists, editors and experts press and the Internet, television and radio will hold special master classes for festival?s participants. For example, at the second festival ?ZhiraSMIk?  workshops were given by the TV reporter and the producer of a correspondent's office ?Open studio? ? the Fifth channel (St.-Petersburg) and Larissa Okuneva, the winner of the Russian television competition ?Teffi-region?. Another workshops were run by the leading journalist of the newspaper ?South Ural Panorama? Dmitry Morgules, the general director of ?Radio-kontinental? Grigory Rojzman and others. This year workshops will carry by Valery Ruzin, the president of the Euroasian Academy of Television and Radio on the youth policy, Lyudmila Shesterkina, the dean of faculty of journalism, the editor-in-chief of the regional edition ?South Ural panorama?, Alexander Dragunov, an observer of Radio of Russia and Nikolay Mamulashvili, the honored worker of culture of the Russian Federation. Organizers have also a lot of negotiations with our Chinese colleagues about online competition in animation and workshops.

Nowadays organizers are planing to accept about 200 participants. Everyone who is interested in the contest has a chance to participate. The entry should be sent till April, 8th, 2011. The participants of festival can be both pupils and students from Russia, CIA and other countries  at the age from 15 till 25 years.

The partners of festival are the General Television and Radio Company (GTRC) ?South Ural?, the newspaper ?South Ural panorama?, School correspondents of RTR-SUSU, and ?Regional television? and others. That is why all participants will have a good chance to show themselves.

The third International contest ?Giraffe?Mass Media? promises to be interesting, fruitful and full of events.