Interpretive Communities

Abstract

The term “interpretive community” refers to a social group’s meaning-making from media texts (such as books, newspapers, broadcasts, online sources). These meanings are shaped from peoples’ social experiences and their social identities. This is a constructivist position, suggesting that people with similar experiences and identities will draw similar meanings from media texts. Further, the experiences and identities of other groups will produce different interpretations from the same texts. These social groups do not have to be formally constituted, and group members do not even need to be aware of their interpretive group. Much of the literature about interpretive communities is grounded on reading of fiction, often applied to studies of women and girls, but also to literary criticism and the professorate that takes on that criticism. In another vein, the concept has found its way into the study of news, news audiences, news sources, and the journalists who create news. Some studies have also considered how interpretive community can be useful for understanding groups of specialty journalists, covering topics such as sports, politics, or ethnicity.