Issues concerning Polish tabloids constitute a complicated topic that has a lot of aspects. In spite of the fact that it more and more frequently draws foreign scientists’ attention, here in Poland it is still dealt with in a fragmentary or marginal way. There are even people who argue that “true science” should not deal with such topics. The crucial element characterizing tabloids is media voyeurism which is not profoundly analyzed in Polish contemporary media science. The aim of this paper is to define the phenomenon of media voyeurism, determine the object of its interest and analyze it in the context of Polish tabloids. The article pays attention to the fact that reflection over media voyeurism is in fact multisurfaced because it introduces a scientist to onthological topics (for example, questions about existential status of a phenomenon), epistemological (for example, how, thanks to voyeuristic mechanisms, tabloids are able to peep at the reality and reach uncovered facts) as well as ethical (what one is or is not allowed to peep at). The author reveals that voyeurism shall be perceived as peeping, watching people, disclosing their secrets and even as invasion or invigilation of their privacy. The paper emphasizes the fact that media voyeurism is best realized in tabloids which can be characterized as having tendency to peep at and analyze the most intimate aspects of human life. The paper also pays attention to the recent tendencies of voyeurism to maximum use of modern technologies and domination of image over word (visual culture). It is also shown that contemporary media voyeurism is not an isolated or occasional element in Polish press but instead shall be classified as an obligatory one in case of tabloids.
The article is an attempt to analyse the tabloid phenomenon from the perspective of D.C. Halin and P. Mancini's theory of three media systems. These types of newspapers emerged in liberal media systems (USA and the United Kingdom), but as early as in the second half of the 20th century, during a period of intense privatisation and commercialisation of the media this type of journalism also emerged in the democratic corporatism model, where many popular newspapers began turning into tabloids. This was also where we could see the emergence of new titles which today set the conventions of tabloid journalism (e.g. Bild, The Sun, Verdens Gang). Today, tabloids are present in every democratic country in the world with the exception of the Mediterranean countries, where their function seems to be performed by sports newspapers. They flourish in Japan, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. After 1989 new markets also emerged in Central Europe. Media groups which had limited investment opportunities in their own countries were quick to take advantage of that. Tabloid publishers – the Swiss Ringier and the German Axel Springer – did not miss this opportunity either. The former chose small markets similar to Switzerland, while the latter decided to risk a tabloid on the Polish market. Both publishers have been hugely successful. Today in countries with low readership level, such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary or Romania, tabloids have become a permanent feature of their media systems, while tabloid journalism sets general standards in the media.
The article describes the lexical phrases in Polish and Czech tabloids and presents their usage in the texts. The accumulation of the epistemic modality phrases allows the tabloid articles to present the biggest scandals in a “legally safe” way.
The article deals with persuasive and rhetorical devices that can be found in tabloid headlines, used to arouse reader’s interest, such as: specific typography styles, irony, parody, euphemisms, lexical suggestions, allusions, presupposition, peculiar expressiveness. Thanks to these devices the newspaper seems more personalized, addressed directly to its reader. Furthermore, these devices create the image of the readers as a group with strictly defined allies and foes. Content analysis of the headlines leads to the conclusion that tabloids create a specific, simplified and axiologically incoherent image of the world, consistent with stereotypes and fully suitable for mass reader.
We are witnessing a growing popularity of tabloids in Poland. This is a result of two phenomena that will be the subject of my analysis: first, the content tackled by the tabloids, second — the way it is disseminated, characterised by the dominance of the image over the word. The article presents the results of research into the language of two Polish tabloids, Super Express and Fakt. Using the language of these tabloids, I analyse the most important vectors in the vision of the world and the image of humanity they propose. The research has shown that Polish tabloids present a vision of humanity and the world characterised by such categories as sensationalism, extraordinariness, commonness and shocking content. The system of values they present is highly relative. These newspapers, targeted at a wide public, use a colloquial language to a large extent.
The article represents the analysis of a newspaper edition in the frame of the causal-genetic approach, which deals with the content of a complex language sign. Reconstructing discourse category “theme” provides the researcher with an idea of the content of particular newspaper edition (case-study).
The article presents analysis of two newspapers from the 18th century: “Kurier Polski” and “Uprzywilejowane Wiadomości z Cudzych Krajów” as a prototype of contemporary tabloid. The main features of these newspapers are: content about life of upper class (gossip column: parties, births, funerals) and sensational events (killings, catastrophes), short messages, simple language, imagery, sentimentality. The features which disqualify “Kurier Polski” and “Uprzywilejowane Wiadomości z Cudzych Krajów” as tabloids are connected with technology and economy in the 18th century, for example the absence of photos and small edition.
From the point of view of rhetoric, the choice of certain ways of attracting and keeping attention in the media is determined mainly by the assumed recipient. Tabloids are addressed to less demanding readers, who expect simple message and focus on those elements of reality which can affect them directly, as well as on surprising and extraordinary events. The analysis of several dozen editions of “Fakt” shows that among the ways of attracting readers’ attention are: 1) dominance of visualisation over text, 2) referring to what is familiar and close, 3) describing reality from a personal perspective, 4) referring to what is sensational. In turn, among the ways of keeping this attention we can distinguish: 1) the mixing of subjects, emotions and genres, 2) the importance, and so the serious treatment of all the problems, experiences and emotions of people presented in media content, 3) involvement manifested by unequivocal judgement of described aspects of reality, 4) matter-of-factness manifested by providing details concerning places, people and events, 5) informality thanks to which the tabloid texts are clear and easy to understand, as well as give readers a sense of co-being in a certain community, which makes messages more attractive.
In contemporary democracies social life is considerably influenced by the media, which attract the general public by tabloidizing news (i.e. focusing mainly on lifestyle, celebrity, entertainment and scandal) and creating the picture of the world by means of certain catchy call slogans limiting the debate to particular issues. The media have recognized the potential of scientific perception and cognition, which is often seen as a gripping story of the world that intrigues the general public; clearly, scientific research abounds in dramatic events and scientists uncovering hidden secrets become contemporary heroes. By referring to scientific achievements and quoting them, the media make the scientific discourse a tool for objectivizing the reality. They talk of the complex world that we cease to comprehend and lose control over, creating the myth of triumphant science that allows us to control the world around us.
The goal of the article is to depict the implicit and explicit linguistic structures, which the reader of “Fakt” (Polish daily tabloid) uses to reconstruct the world of politics. Among all there are listed rhetorical figures, specifically chosen vocabulary and other linguistic schemes which describe or create the reality. At the same time they deform it. Moreover, the author refers to the term ‘factoid.' The article is based on press headlines' analysis. The headlines where published in “Opinion” and “Politics” sections of “Fakt” in September 2005 and October 2007. During those months parliamentary elections were held in Poland.
The article introduces into the Polish scholarly discourse some basic information about the origins and evolution of the Russian paper Komsomolskaya Pravda and constitutes the first attempt to interpret and assess the paper's cultural and linguistic profile. Komsomolskaya Pravda was established by the communist authorities as the party's propaganda tool to be used to influence young people in the Soviet Union; during the transformation period in Russia (1992) IT TRANSFORMED ITSELF INTO A SOCIAL-POLITICAL DAILY PAPER FOCUSED ON THE YOUNG GENERATION OF Russians and on the entire post-Soviet region. The transformation of the political and social formula of Komsomolskaya Pravda also led to profound changes in direct communication, especially with regard to new genres, and, first of all, the language of the publication. However, the increasing tabloidisation of the paper does not remove from its image and from its attitude to the external )global) reality and to the Russian political elite the old elements that have their roots in the “good old” Soviet days.
The main objective of this study was to present an image of the ruling group representatives (politicians and government officials) shaped by the language of the editors of tabloid newspapers. The study was conducted using the sample of hundreds of press clippings from "Fakt" and "Super Express" ("SE") from the years 2005–2009. Most newspaper clippings were taken from the online editions of the newspapers (www.se.pl, www.fakt.pl). The analysis of the language material showed that the image of the ruling group presented in the "SE" and "Fact", is not so much reflected in the language of these newspapers, but is rather intentionally linguistically shaped by the editors of tabloids. This image is created — of course — not only by linguistic elements, but also by the skillful manipulation of the reader and exploiting psychological techniques.
Lexeme tabloid is one of the most recent borrowings in Polish language. It provided the basis for a noun “tabloidization” which means “interpretation of phenomena, which aims to search for their sensational content displaying it without a profound understanding of the nature of the reported facts.” At the same time it is important here to appeal to emotions. Modern culture is like a tabloid. Language which makes it possible to build complex linguistic structures and which is the most essential tool for thinking tends to become more and more colloquial. It should be mentioned that the emotional factor plays a more and more important role in the language.
In my article I show how phrases “tabloid” and “tabloidization” are defined by Polish students and clerks. In surveyed groups’ definitions we can see their unambigiously negative judging. They emphasized such aspects of tabloids as: telling not true and not important stories, fascination with celebrities, creating scandals, big photos and headlines, simplicity of language and characteristic group of readers: uneducated and common people. Paradoxically, this type of defining is close to a model of world created by tabloids: based on division “we–they”, unambiguous judging, simplifying and stereotypization.
It has been 20 years since Poland entered the group of democratic countries. The 1989 breakthrough forced the changes not only in political but also in media system. Foreign capital appeared on Polish market and West European trends followed. From two decades’ perspective not all of these effects were positive. One of the most disputable trends is media tabloidization. Nowadays it is hard to imagine press market without tabloids, which topped the selling lists. Changes which are taking part in traditional media are also the result of electronic media influence. Is this intersection fruitful for both sectors? The author of the article tries to create a preliminary balance of profits and losses as an effect of tabloids presence on Polish market.
The article contains a thesis that research on tabloids and tabloidization is, in its very nature, tinged with ideology, as its subject is a uniquely created axiological construct with its place in culture being negatively prejudged. The article will present broadcaster actions from an interactionism perspective, mainly the theory of framing. Taking the original meaning of the word “tabloid” as a starting point, the article discusses four aspects, or rather “levels,” of tabloidization: the concentration of the message content and its intensification (using limited visual codes, among others), the strategy of eliminating the complications in the interpretation of reality (based on appeals to a “common sense” category and stereotypes, among others), the strategy of “elimination of the media appeal of the message” (effective thanks to an illusion of a total transparency of the medium itself being created) and the strategy of “being friends with the audience” (appealing to their resentments and phobias which — according to a key rule: create yourself a reader — are presented as obvious human needs, impossible to articulate because of the oppressive value system, created by the Others, most of the time being associated with the authority or authorities built on suspicious grounds).
The article presents the considerations, that the tabloids (here: the press and gossip portals) promote distorted, but suggestive picture of the world. These media have enormous creative potential. Under this concept the ability to create a false vision of reality (rather than reflecting it faithfully) is meant. The article is divided into two parts, an analysis of media discourse is the first of them. The author tries to determine if the tabloid articles and gossip portals respect the principle of accuracy, brevity and of regulation of journalistic ethics. Research helps deduce the following conclusion: tabloid media break "factual pact." The media create a false picture of the world and they use the mechanisms of fiction, rather than reflect reality. In the second part of the article the author focuses on the language, typography and graphic persuasive mechanisms that are present in the tabloids and gossip websites. Case studies were preceded by reflections on the relationship between persuasion and manipulation.
This paper discusses the history and current state of tabloid studies in Poland and abroad. As the classical distinction between quality press and tabloid newspapers ceased to exist, one may notice a growing role of the latter and increasing tabloidization of other media. This phenomenon can be approached at two levels: micro level — limited to media environment and macro level — embracing social aspect. Among the causes suggested by the researchers are changes in the social structure and morality of the readers and the emergence of new technologies that have strong impact on progressively competitive market. The first part of the paper is devoted to the origins of the tabloid newspapers, whereas subsequent ones examine the content, form and style of the same. Finally, presentation of various typologies shows heterogeneity of the tabloid group. In addition, the paper provides information about the readers as well as the viewpoints of journalists and scholars on tabloid media.
In defining tabloids, the scholars suggest a number of features, most important of which are the content, form and style. The content may be characterized by the limited space for hard news replaced by the softer news, focus on entertainment and relatively low interest in foreign affairs. The formal aspect is reflected in a growing role of image at the expense of verbal message as well as changes in headlines and the language, which becomes concise, sensational, emotional and colloquial. The key elements of style include scandalization, personalization and simplification of axiology. The paper is aimed at analysing the mentioned features of the style of Polish tabloids — “Super Express” and “Fakt.” The presented analysis is based on thematic content.
The private life of well-known people is a topic often covered by the tabloids. Weddings, romances, and divorces of politicians, musicians, and other public figures are of the great interest of these newspapers. It is worthwhile noticing that not every such a relationship is treated in quite the same way. The aim of this article is to introduce the way in which the tabloids deal with the private lives of the famous. It takes as examples the divorce and following relationship of the former prime minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, and the marriage of actor Cezary Pazura to Edyta Zając. In each case there is a common factor; the man is considerably older than his partner, who is similar in age to his own children. The presentation of Marcinkiewicz and his fiancée in the media is compared with the image of their relationship created by him and his fiancée. The way this relationship was presented by the press is then compared with the media presentation of the marriage of Cezary Pazura. The rhetorical techniques used by the journalists and the effect they created are also shown. Each pair is described in a different way. Writing about the former prime minister, journalists either write negatively or judgmentally, trying to condemn his decision, retreating into irony, employing stereotypes, and describing situation with a mocking tone. The private life of the actor, although it acts as fodder for jokes and various comments, is not, in fact, the subject of such aggressive attack ― the media are rather more positively inclined towards him. This article attempts to clarify reasons of these differences.
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