28 Experiment

This genre "manifested" in the domestic journalism as an independent in the early 90s. However, in essence, materials similar to those that are now often found under the heading "experiment" have been published on the pages of the press for decades. They only came out under other "names" —either a sketch, or a correspondence, or a feuilleton, etc.

Experiment is one of the most important ways to establish the truth in some cases.

Experiments conducted by journalists, by their nature, can be very different. A journalistic experiment, unlike, say, a forensic (investigative) one, does not deal with the disclosure of an already committed action (for example, a crime). A journalistic experiment can be done for any reason. For example, in order to find out how trams go in the city, how they serve customers in the store, how they pass entrance examinations to the university, etc.

The experiment is not possible without active interference in the course of affairs of interest to the journalist, which implies a transition from passive waiting, from observing any phenomenon, from “looking at” it (the same piece of soil) to a certain impact on the subject, interest (“spitting”, “Breath”, etc.), i.e. to the fact that in the language of journalism itself is called an experiment (“organizing an event”).

Experiments are different in their degree of complexity. Sometimes a journalist is limited to the simplest task and accordingly applies the elementary form of the experiment.

However, when a journalist sets himself a more difficult task, it is sometimes quite difficult to carry out the corresponding experimental verification of the initial assumption at the right level. Much depends on the first step of the journalist, i.e. from the organization of the experiment. As far as possible in this regard, it is necessary to focus on how experiments in science are organized. At least, the experiment should be based on a well-grounded scheme of its conduct, corresponding to the task set by the journalist. Unfortunately, not all journalists “figure out” how the implementation of the adopted plan will “work” on the set task.

The use of information obtained by the method of experiment does not always affect the genre definiteness of a future publication. Uncertainty arises primarily in the case when the experiment is not the only, but one of the methods of research of reality applied by the journalist in the preparation of the publication in a particular case.

When, along with the experiment, he deems it necessary to resort to, say, the analysis of documents, interviews, surveys, etc. On the basis of the cumulative data obtained, a work can be created that will fall either under the definition of an essay, or under the definition of an article, etc. In this case, genre certainty arises only as a result of the interaction of several genre-forming factors. At the same time, none of the methods used to study reality in combination with others will most likely be taken into account as the dominant (and forming the “name” of the genre) factor. Some other signs may come to the foreground (dimensions of the material, form, language of exposition, degree of detail of the main fact of the speech, etc.).

However, situations are possible when the research method applied by the author of the text still becomes the main genre-forming factor. A well-known (classic) example in this regard is the formation of an interview genre. So, if the author used only the interview method to obtain information, then in the case of “fixing” the course of applying this method in a publication, it will be assigned to the interview genre.

The experiment method may also be the dominant genus-forming trait. This happens when the description of the course of the experiment (and even more detailed) becomes the main content of the publication. Referring to the publication to the genre of the experiment, thus emphasize the fact that we are talking about an artificial, specifically objective-practical situation organized by the journalist himself.

Experimental publications are beneficial for a journalist in that they usually allow you to create texts that have dynamic features, a “live” visual presentation of the material. They allow you to combine the analytical beginning and reportage. In other words, the author of the experiment not only analyzes some phenomenon, but also applies the detailed description of the created situation inherent to the reportage.

At present, texts in the experiment genre are actively published by popular mass (especially youth) publications. Moreover, the statement is based on the study of the experimental situation, the reader can learn from different, but quite eloquent headings.

Thus, the publication “Life of the Morgue” in Moskovsky Komsomolets (1997) was held under the “Experiment” heading, the other - “How I called Aeroflot” in “Arguments and Facts” (1998) - under the heading “The Reader Makes Experiment” , the third - “Run to the first hole” in the same place - under the rubric “Collective experiment on oneself”, the fourth - “Policeman - it sounds proud” in “Trude-7” (1997) - under the rubric “Checked on myself”, the fifth - “Do you have a conscience?” In “Capital” (1998) - under the heading “Checking dies”, etc.

See also

• Reportage
• 15 Review