Characteristics of Headline Complexes in an Era of Change: Typology and Functions of Article Headline Complexes in Tomsk Newspapers of the 1990s
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2026-4-56-63
The 1990s saw major changes in the socio-political life of Russia. These changes also had a significant impact on the development of the media. Studying this process is relevant for identifying the dynamics of the journalistic worldview as a whole and analyzing its specific features in the regional press. The purpose of this article is to analyze headline sets in Tomsk newspapers of the 1990s and examine their typology and functions. The study analyzed 140 headline sets from two periodicals: Krasnoe Znamya and Tomskiy Vestnik for 1992 and 1993. The primary research methods were descriptive, comparative, contextual, and semantic-stylistic analysis. The article examines various perspectives on the definition of a headline and its functions. The works of I.R. Galperin, I.A. Syrov, E.A. Lazareva, O.P. Semenets, L.A. Mankova, and others were analyzed. Headlines were examined in terms of their structure, subject matter, and function. An analysis of the functional characteristics of the headline texts of Tomsk periodicals from the 1990s revealed that the propaganda function of Soviet-era headlines was replaced by an advertising function. Newspaper headlines were no longer intended to promote communist ideology, but their primary function became to influence and impact the addressee, engaging the reader in the text. The researchers identified informative, nominative, pragmatic, graphic-highlighting, and reference functions in newspapers of this period. These functions also underwent changes in connection with changes in the state structure and ideological direction. Structurally, headline sets of publications from the 1990s primarily consist of a masthead, a section, and a lead; subheadings are less common. A significant feature of Tomsk press article headlines is the appearance of colloquial, slangy language on newspaper pages. This is due to the abolition of censorship, the proclamation of freedom of speech, and the desire of authors to be closer to the people. From the simple construction and simple sentence in Soviet-era newspaper headlines, journalists moved to the use of rhetorical questions and exclamations, parcellation, puns, and the use of phraseological units, metonymy, and metaphors to further attract attention and influence the reader. This study is of interest for further exploration of the dynamics of journalistic worldviews using newspaper headline sets in the context of the era.
Keywords: headline complexes, Tomsk press of the 90s, regional press, functions of headline complexes, headline structure
References:
1. Konovalov K.A. Ekonomicheskiye reformy 1990-kh godov: itogi i posledstviya dlya Rossii [Economic reforms of the 1990s: results and consequences for Russia]. Molodezh i nauka: materialy I Vserossiykoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii obuchayushchikhsya, 26 marta 2025 g. [Youth and Science: Proceedings of the 1st All-Rssian Scientific and Practical Conference of Students, 26 marta 2025]. Pp. 171–176 (in Russian).
2. Voytikova V.A. Periodicheskaya pechat’ Tomska v 1990-e gg.: analiz dinamiki razvitiya [Periodicals in Tomsk in the 1990s: Analysis of Development Dynamics]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Istoriya – Tomsk State University Journal of History, 2022, no. 77, pp. 12–19 (in Russian).
3. Koval’ T.N. Tema kachestva zhizni naseleniya v tsentral’noy i regional’noy presse Rossii v 90-e gg. XX veka [Quality of Life in the Central and Regional Press of Russia in the 1990s.]. Pechatnye SMI, 2008, vol. 1, pp. 1–10 (in Russian).
4. Homchenko Yu.A. O dinamike russkoy publicisticheskoy kartiny mira i eye otrazhenii v zagolovochnykh kompleksakh tomskikh gazet 60-kh gg. XX veka i 2007 g. XXI veka [On the Dynamics of the Russian Journalistic Picture of the World and Its Reflection in Headline Complexes of Tomsk Newspapers of the 1960s and 2007 of the 21st Century]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta – Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin, 2024, vol. 2 (232), pp. 138–145. doi: 10.23951/1609-624X-2024-2-138-145 (in Russian).
5. Khomchenko Yu.A. Osobennosti zagolovochnykh kompleksov v publikatsiyakh tomskikh gazet nachala XXI v. [Features of Headline Complexes in Tomsk Newspaper Publications of the Early 21st Century]. Kommunikativnaya stilistika teksta: itogi i perspektivy (k yubileyu doktora filologicheskih nauk, professora N.S. Bolotnovoy i 30-letiyu nauchnogo napravleniya): materialy Vserossiyskogo nauchnogo seminara (Tomsk, 20 yanvarya 2023 g.); pod redaktsiyey S.M. Karpenko [Communicative stylistics of the text: results and prospects (on the anniversary of Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor N.S. Bolotnova and the 30th anniversary of the scientific direction): materials of the All-Russian scientific seminar (Tomsk, January 20, 2023); edited by S.M. Karpenko]. Tomsk, TSPU Publ., 2023. Pp. 57–65 (in Russian).
6. Zagorodnov D.G. Sovremennoye sostoyaniye izucheniya fenomena zagolovka mediynogo teksta [Current state of studying the phenomenon of the media text title]. Vestnik Chelyabinskogo gosudarstvennogo unversiteta – Bulletin of the Chelyabinsk State University, 2009, no. 7 (188), Filologiya. Iskusstvovedeniye. vol. 41, pp. 56–60 (in Russian).
7. Zaglaviye [Title]. Literaturnaya entsiklopediya: V 11 tomakh. Pod redaktsiyey A.V. Lunacharskogo [Literary Encyclopedia: in 11 volumes. Ed. A.V. Lunacharsky]. Moscow, 1930. Vol. 4. P. 716 (in Russian).
8. Galperin I.R. Tekst kak ob’’ekt lingvisticheskogo issledovaniya [Text as an Object of Linguistic Research]. Moscow, 1981. 138 p. (in Russian).
9. Man’kova L.A. Lingvisticheskaya tipologiya gazetnykh zagolovkov (90-e gody XX veka). Dis. ... kand. filol. nauk [Linguistic Typology of Newspaper Headlines (1990s). Dis. … cand. philol. sci.]. Simferopol, 2000. 192 p. (in Russian).
10. Nezgovorov S.V. Rol’ zagolovka v publicisticheskikh portretnykh materialakh regional’noy pressy kontsa XX veka (na primere arhangel’skoy oblastnoy gazety «Pravda Severa») [The Role of the Headline in Publicistic Portrait Materials of the Regional Press of the Late 20th Century (Based on the Arkhangelsk Regional Newspaper "Pravda Severa")]. Vestnik Cherepovetskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta – Bulletin of Cherepovets State University, 2023, no. 5 (116), pp. 188–199 (in Russian).
11. Syrov I.A. Funktsional’no-semanticheskaya klassifikaciya zaglaviy i ikh rol’ v organizatsii teksta [Functional and semantic classification of titles and their role in text organization]. Filologicheskiye nauki – Philological sciences, 2002, no. 3, pp. 59–68 (in Russian).
12. Lazareva E.A. Zagolovochnyy kompleks teksta – sredstvo organizatsii i optimizatsii vospriyatiya [The heading complex of the text as a means of organizing and optimizing perception]. Izvestiya UrGU – Bulletin of the Ural State University, 2006, no. 40, pp. 158–162 (in Russian).
13. Korablyov V.S. Stilisticheskiye osobennosti zagolovka sovremennoy pressy (na primere gazet «Kommersant’’» i «Vestnik») [Stylistic features of the headline of the modern press (on the example of the newspapers Kommersant and Vestnik)]. Molodoy ucheny, 2023, no. 20 (467), pp. 444–447 (in Russian). URL: https//moluch.ru/archive/467/102682 (accessed 10 March 2025).
14. Kozhina M.N., Duskaeva L.R., Salimovskiy V.A. Stilistika russkogo yazyka [Stylistics of the Russian language]. Moscow, Flinta: Nauka Publ., 2008. 464 p. (in Russian).
15. Bolotnova N.S. O regulyativnom potentsiale zaglaviy mediatekstov (na materiale statey «Rossiyskoy gazety») [On the Regulatory Potential of Media Text Titles (Based on Articles in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta Newspaper)]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta – Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin, 2021, vol. 4 (216), pp. 7–14. doi: 10 .23951/1609-624X-2021-4-7-14 (in Russian).
16. Lazareva E.A. Zagolovok v gazete [Headline in the newspaper]. Sverdlovsk, 1989. 96 p. (in Russian).
17. Semenets O.P. Osobennosti gazetnykh zagolovkov vtoroy poloviny XX v. [Features of newspaper headlines of the second half of the 20th century]. Slovo. Semantika. Tekst: sbornik nauchnykh trudov, posvyashchennykh yubileyu professora V.V. Stepanovoy [Word. Semantics. Text: Collection of scientific papers dedicated to the anniversary of professor V.V. Stepanova]. Saint Petersburg, 2002. Pp. 186–190 (in Russian).
18. Bogomolova Yu.A. Funktsii zagolovochnykh kompleksov v tomskikh gazetakh 60-kh gg. XX veka [Functions of headline complexes in Tomsk newspapers of the 60s of the 20th century]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta – Tomsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin, 2011, vol. 3 (105), pp. 65–68 (in Russian).
19. Krasnokutskaya M.A. Sushchnost’ i funktsii zagolovochnogo kompleksa gazety [The essence and functions of the newspaper headline complex]. Mezhdunarodnyy zhurnal gumanitarnykh i estestvennykh nauk. Razdel: Filologicheskiey nauki – International journal of humanitarian and natural sciences. Section: Philological Sciences, 2023, no. 7, pp. 137–139 (in Russian).
20. Gordienko N.N. Funktsionirovaniye zagolovochnykh kompleksov v regional’noy presse [Functioning of Headline Complexes in the Regional Press]. Russkaya filologiya i natsional’naya kul’tura – Russian Philology and National Culture, 2023, no. 4 (9), pp. 8–20 (in Russian).
( 661.81 kB ) 
( 656.6 kB )
Issue: 4, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 4
Rubric: RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
Pages: 56 — 63
Downloads: 42