wSieci: A serious opinion-shaping weekly or a political tabloid?

An analysis of its content and illustrations indicates that wSieci occupies a middle ground between serious opinion-shaping press and a political tabloid. Its taste for scandal is signalled first and foremost by its characteristic cover cartoons, a mix of crude simplification, brazen partisanship and unashamed xenophobia. Like other magazines with upmarket ambitions wSieci has followed the vogue for writing focused on sharply-drawn individuals. Its defiant conservatism that doesn't mince words is both a political stance and a marketing strategy. The magazine started with a big splash, but now that its price has climbed up and the novelty effect has faded, its sales have peaked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]