The genre of press review in Boris Vian’s music journalism: structural and compositional features and its role in communication with readers

Section: History of Journalism

French writer Boris Vian spent nearly eleven years, from 1947 to 1958, reviewing press for the Parisian music magazine Jazz Hot. The reviews incorporated an editorial column of responses to readers, after which the magazine’s communication with its audience gradually became intense and rich. The first analysis of the complete archive of author press reviews revealed that Vian, through literary and journalistic play, transformed the press review into a special form of interaction with readers, where every structural element worked to create the effect of presence and spontaneous conversation with readers in real time. This conversation was led by a character created by Vian, a “revuedepressiste”, who made the column recognizable by appearing from issue to issue of the magazine and telling not only about the latest jazz press but also about his life, mood, the hardships of his profession, and his musical tastes. By creating the illusion of closeness to the reviewer and the effect of a lively conversation, Vian encouraged readers to send letters and enter into a real dialogue. Vian’s journalistic texts are published in Russian for the first time.

DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.1.2026.130151

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To cite this article: Slovokhotova V. Yu. (2026) Zhanr obzora pressy v muzykal’noy zhurnalistike Borisa Viana: strukturno-kompozitsionnye osobennosti i ikh rol’ v kommunikatsii s chitatelyami [The genre of press review in Boris Vian’s music journalism: structural and compositional features and its role in communication with readers]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 1: 130–151. DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.1.2026.130151