The authors examined publications of the popular-science journals “Machines and Mechanisms” and
“N+1” aimed at the mass reader. Both journals are polythematic and interdisciplinary oriented. The
publication was taken as the unit of analysis, the theme and the genre of publication became the unit of
account. The research showed investigated journals are the integral part of scientific knowledge
popularization system and perform an important educational function, and play the role of responsible and
ethical intermediaries between the scientific world and the audience. The choice of topics in popular
science journals is dictated by the main tasks of publications: to present complex scientific topics in an
accessible and entertaining way and to satisfy the information needs of the audience. There are data on the audience structure of examined journals and the strategies of scientific information promotion in Russian publications specific genres and formats. Media, existing in the web-space, provide new development opportunities for popular science journalism which are directly connected with the use of multimedia tools, as well as hypertext systems. A small number of publications that acquaint readers with modern scientists, especially Russian ones, can be considered as the disadvantage of journals. And it is just a direction that deserves attention because one of the key functions of popular science media is to popularize the activities of scientists as leaders of progressive knowledge