Characteristics and functions of the black chronicle column in press and online media in Serbia

[A. Z. Jevtović]

277 listova

Biografija autorke sa bibliografijom: listovi 272-274.

media studies, journalism, theory of genres

The constant decline in circulation and commercial income of the press, along with the strengthening of online media, has caused profound changes in the communication environment;alongside with the featurization of genres, this leads to constant market competition for gaining the attention of the users. Within thefoundation of infotainment journalism lie hidden the processes of growing tabloidization and sensationalism, which by using the speed, ubiquity and apparent openness of social networks, create a new communication landscape for an audience of changed habits and needs. The transition from "print first" to "digital first" strategy is visible in the traditional press, but also on news portals where numerous changes have already been implemented. In this dissertation we have been researching the content of ten daily newspapers in the interval from the third to the twelfth of December 2021 and 2022, and we have selected a corpus of 9,018 texts, almost a fifth of which were from the field of black chronicles. We discovered that under the pressure of productivity and click-baiting, such columns are becoming more and more important in daily reporting. Based on the theory of benefits and pleasure, as well as the distribution of publicity, we have identified structurally important changes in the visualization and spectacularization of narratives of death, violence and numerous forms of social deviance. This isquite importantknowing that the agenda of social events is being created under the influence of media images, thus framing the dominant meanings, desirable values and behavioral patterns. A big change was brought by the Internet - news broadcasted by the portals became the explosive initiators of popularity. The subject of the research has led us to prove that in the creation of dominant narratives about crime, violence, social vices and pathological phenomena, the black chronicle has a great responsibility, role and importance, both in informing and notifying the public, as well as in educating and preventing the public. The analyzed sample of our researchhas shown that the most serious, sensational and "spectacular" forms of crime are the center of attention, unlike those which turn out to be the most widespread in society. This consequently results in a false image of a "criminalized society". The hybridization of genres is evident, and by investigating the scope, characteristics, elements and directions of the mentioned changes, our goal is to point to trends and perspectives in adopting new theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Hopefully, this will eventually enable for the ethics of the profession to return to the place it actually deserves.

štampa, portali, crna hronika, žanrovske promene, publicitet, pažnja, fičerizacija, tabloidizacija, nov teorijski okvir, algoritmi

press, portals, black chronicle, genre changes, publicity, attention, featurerization, tabloidization, new theoretical framework, algorithm

316.77:070.449(043.3)

S 265

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