The construction of a democratic reader of the masses. Borges on the newspaper Crítica and on the “Historia Universal de la Infamia”

Authors

  • Pablo Calvi Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2016.s.25141

Keywords:

Journalism, Democracy, Jorge Luis Borges

Abstract

The article analyzes the “Historia Universal de la Infamia” (HUI), particularly one of the most prominent stories of the series “El provedor de iniquidades Monk Eastman”, within the context defined by the modes of production of a tabloid newspaper such as Crítica, from Buenos Aires. In order to achieve this goal, we have attempted to become ourselves “dark swans” – to use Borges’ image of the perfect reader in the prologue of the 1935 edition of HUI. The main objective is to reveal some of the mechanisms that have not yet been exploited in former analysis of such texts, mechanisms that help us to understand Borges’ approach towards the Argentine daily press of the 1930s.

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Author Biography

Pablo Calvi, Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism

Profesor asistente en la Escuela de Periodismo de Stony Brook University e Director Asociado para América Latina del Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting. Ph.D. por la Escuela de la Universidad de Columbia de Periodismo en el año 2011.

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Published

2016-09-22

How to Cite

Calvi, P. (2016). The construction of a democratic reader of the masses. Borges on the newspaper Crítica and on the “Historia Universal de la Infamia”. Revista FAMECOS, 23(4), ID25141. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2016.s.25141