Factuality and interpretation in the Serbian daily press

Abstract

Interpretation is an integral element of daily press and, as theorists believe, in the era of the Internet it is one of the ways how printed media can remain competitive and keep their readers. Providing a deeper analysis, shedding light on the background of the events which are reported, detecting hidden items by answering questions why and what next are actually the characteristics of a well done interpretation which 'forces' the reader to think and take a critical attitude, which makes the reader an active subject of public communication. However, the crisis that has affected the media in Serbia in recent years, and which has led to the commercialization and tabloidization of the media, has influenced, among other things, the quality of interpretation in the press. This paper investigates the presence of interpretation in factual genres (news, reports and interviews) in three daily newspapers in Serbia - Politika, Blic and Kurir, with a particular emphasis on the quality of interpretation and the existence of significant elements that a complete interpretation should contain.