Croatology, Vol. 1 No. 1, 2010.
Original scientific paper
Advertisements in Newspapers Na{a sloga: a Semiotic Approach
Mislav Bertoša
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
This paper analyses the role of advertisements in “instructive, economic
and political newspapers” Na{a sloga which has been published from 1st June 1870 untill 25th May 1915 in Trieste and Pula. The approach to advertising is semiotic, meaning that advertisements are not seen as the reflection of an a priori existing reality (false or distorted or credible), but as the one of its constitutive elements, comparably important as politics, economics, information system, law etc. In this perspective advertisements do not reflect reality, they are a part of it, they act efficiently in it, give their contribution to its construction, change or transformation. Taking into account historical and social context in which the appearance of Na{a sloga had an extraordinary significance for Croatian population in Istria, the analysis of advertisements has been
particularly focused on their social and possible political role. The paper tries to illustrate that advertisements in Na{a sloga have been equally included in the flow of different types of information and contents that have been published in this newspapers – political and national, literary, advice on agriculture, news on education – and that they were undoubtedly perceived as a relevant source of information, the place of spreading new scientific ideas and achievements, exchange of experiences and advice. In this way, they have been functioning from the beginning as an important social discourse of the 19th century, powerful means in the service of different ideologies which has influenced the formation of collective knowledge, experiences and identities.
Keywords
advertisements; semiotics; social discourse; Istria; 19th century; Naša sloga
Hrčak ID:
60204
URI
Publication date:
27.10.2010.
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