Parodic genre mix as a value prototype of internet citizen journalism (The Hlas Kotolne 1989–1992 samizdat in sociolinguistic perspective)

Abstract

The paper focuses on an interdisciplinary presentation of the social conditions and socio-communicative circumstances of the emergence and existence of the Slovak periodical Hlas kotolne (The Voice of the Boiler Room), focusing on its genre profile. The computer-processed, low-cost, unregistered by the regime, community-distributed copies were edited in the breakthrough period as a unique, playful initiative of members of the young, non-journalist intelligentsia from December 1989 to April 1992. This paper aims to identify the possibilities, intentions, and expressions with journalistic features and predetermination of that time, consider the linguocultural conditions, contour the value- or value-forming ambitions of contemporary communication, and highlight their (dis)use in contemporary internet journalism. Analytical perspectives on the motivic area form the paper's main line, the periodical's compositional profile and genre composition, along with model characteristics and variation potential of texts published during the short life of the edition. The focus of the reflections is formed by references to the peculiar parodic-persiflage way of medializing the theme and object of attention, contemporary motifs, or protagonists of life in the post-socialist society at the end of the 20th century. The cyberenvironment provides much more developed and varied conditions for building effective, necessary value prototypes of citizen journalism than Hlas kotolne did as its proto-digital predecessor. Despite the preceding insights, skillful, professional parodies, hybrid genre practices, and readable, inspiring posts are only sporadically employed in today's online media communications sphere.