Abstract
There are two distinct streams of thought in assessing the impact of tabloidization or infotainment on the perception of media contents by the readers. First, the critical theory of the decline of public space problematizes the emptying of the information in favor of entertainment.
The second ideological stream emphasizes the emancipatory change of media communication. In this point of view, tabloid "translates" political code into ordinary language and thus provides insight into the political content for wider public.
I present the results of analysis of 16 in-depth interviews and one focused group discussion with a regular newspaper readers. Based on the analysis I claim that critical theory doesn't consider the fact that there is a need of compensation for the increasing complexity of the fields of public space and the associated increasing demands on the orientation of citizens in public affairs.
I am inclined to emancipatory thesis, which, as opposed to critical view, emphasizes the diversity of public space and perceives diversity of audiences. Reading of tabloids is not explained here as the loss of interest in public affairs, but a way to reduce the cost of orientation in a highly structured world and thus to cope with the growing demands in the processing of information from many fields of public space.