The Image of Ukrainians in Press Headlines: A Case Study of Polska Times Website

The aim of this paper is to identify the image of Ukrainians in the headlines found in the Polish electronic press. This study uses content analysis as an initial tool for outlining the content of the headlines as well as for classifying them according to the main feature. The analytical data consist of the headlines published on Polska Times website (www.polskatimes.pl) between 2015-2019 and tagged “Ukrainian” or “Ukrainians” (N=194). In reference to previous studies, this paper aims to expand existing knowledge regarding the role and functions of press headlines by examining the Polish electronic press. The quantitative analysis shows that, although informative headlines still dominate, their proportion has been declining since 2017 (from 50 to 35 per cent). At the same time, the proportion of enigmatic, or intriguing headlines has been increasing (from 21 to 30 per cent). An engaging, often rhetorical question appears in about 11 per cent of the research material. Moreover, the percentage of poetic and stereotypical headlines is relatively small (on average about 9 per cent each year). Historical disputes are also rarely mentioned in the research corpus (about 5 per cent each year). The length of the headlines, which in the entire analyzed period was between 76 and 88 characters including spaces, did not change significantly. In conclusion, this study makes it possible to record the main strategies of the Polish electronic press related to showing Ukrainians, whose visibility in Poland was increasing between 2015 and 2019. This is clearly confirmed by the more than six-fold increase in the number of headlines compared to 2015 and 2019.