Abstract

The aríicle deals with media discourse communicadve tone undersíood as an emotional and stylistic format determined by cultural and situational traditions and predispositions o f communication participants. Several types of such a format are singled out and dis- cussed including habitual and solemn, serious and comic, neutrál and ideologically marked, informative and fascinative (aesthetically infelt), rational and esoteric toneš. These are specifically manifested in modem media discourse. The main tendencies of its development which reflect the essence o f mass culture may be summarized as communicative distance shortening, ludic carnivalization of cul­ ture, ideological self-positioning of an active population part, transformation of infor- mation quests into hobbies, and formation of speciftc communities within communica­ tion space which resemble Service clubs.