Women’s press has been analysed as an element of the Polish media system by representatives of various fields of research. There have been studies of press content, formal features of individual magazines, ownership and definition issues, and internal segmentations, amongst others. This research attempts to fill a gap in the study of women’s press content; it aims to show how the COVID-19 was presented in women’s press. As an introduction to the main research, this article examines a carefully selected study sample with individual sub-segments of women’s press each represented by a leading magazine. Research objectives include determining the ways in which COVID-19 is presented in certain women’s press titles belonging to different sub-segments, analysing the selection and presentation of information to potential readers in regards to their needs, and establishing the functions of COVID-19 guidance in women’s press.

Keywords: women’s press, COVID-19, press guidance, celebrities.

COVID-19 w prasie kobiecej w Polsce. Wstęp do badań

Prasa kobieca, jako składnik polskiego systemu medialnego, była analizowana przez reprezentantów różnych dyscyplin naukowych. Badano między innymi: jej zawartość tematyczną, cechy formalne poszczególnych magazynów, kwestie własnościowe, problemy definicyjne, wewnętrzną subsegmentację itd. Przedstawione w artykule badania stanowią próbę uzupełnienia luki w analizach zawartości prasy kobiecej. Celem głównym jest próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, w jaki sposób COVID-19 prezentowano w prasie kobiecej. Artykuł stanowi wstęp do badań. Próbę dobrano celowo. Poszczególne subsegmenty prasy kobiecej reprezentuje jeden wiodący tytuł. Cele szczegółowe to: sposoby prezentowania COVID-19 w poszczególnych tytułach prasy kobiecej należących do różnych subsegentów; dobór i prezentacja informacji w odniesieniu do potrzeb potencjalnych odbiorców; funkcje poradnictwa o COVID-19 w prasie kobiecej.

Women’s press has been analysed as an element of the Polish media system by representatives of various fields of research. There have been studies of press content, formal features of individual magazines, ownership and definition issues, and internal segmentations, amongst others. This research attempts to fill a gap in the study of women’s press content; it aims to show how the COVID-19 was presented in women’s press. As an introduction to the main research, this article examines a carefully selected study sample with individual sub-segments of women’s press each represented by a leading magazine. Research objectives include determining the ways in which COVID-19 is presented in certain women’s press titles belonging to different sub-segments, analysing the selection and presentation of information to potential readers in regards to their needs, and establishing the functions of COVID-19 guidance in women’s press.