Genre variety of literary materials on the pages of the newspaper “Saratovsky Vestnik” of the 1910s

The article deals with the newspaper genres, used for literary materials in the newspaper “Saratovsky Vestnik” (Saratov Herald) in 1910–1913. This is the time when Saratov’s newspaper culture is taking shape: the structure of the newspaper page, its layout and arrangement of materials, the link between the visual range and the genre palette. The Vestnik features the genres of newspaper advertisement, as well as chronicledocumentary articles. The preference of fact over commentary testifies to the high journalistic culture in  the “Saratovsky Vestnik”. The newspaper publishes notes, feuilletons, letters to the editor, reviews. Genres, reflecting the newspaper’s enthusiasm for literature and theatre, are presented abundantly. The deaths of Tolstoy and Chekhov are perceived by the newspapermen as a disaster that has hit the whole Russian social life. As a result, the genre of the passionate obituary is born. The genre diversity of the Vestnik’s literary materials suggests a unified context for the paper provided by the continuity of the authors and the editorial staff. Literary figures and literature often provoke conversation about contemporary life. One of the genre peculiarities that distinguishes the newspaper culture of the “Saratovsky Vestnik” is the way the authors of news lines, feature articles, and reviews of the political life of the city and the province, use literary images, writers’ statements, and aphorisms from works of fiction. It proves not only that the Vestnik’s authors were literary-centric, but also that the newspaper was created for Saratov intelligentsia and people of other walks of life who focused on literature as their main criterion of truth. Readers‘ intentions in the “Saratovsky Vestnik” were a form of popularizing newspaper genres, a way of recognizing them, and of expanding the boundaries of the audience. 

genres of newspaper journalism, “Saratovsky Vestnik”, literary-centric, newspaper context, readers‘ intentions