Trybuna Ludu (Polish pronunciation: [trɨˈbuna ˈludu]; People's Tribune) was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland, which circulated between 1948 and 1990. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and one of its main propaganda outlets along with the televised news program Dziennik.
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) |
| Publisher | Warszawa : Central Committee of PZPR |
| Founded | 16 December 1948 |
| Political alignment | Communist Socialist |
| Language | Polish |
| Ceased publication | 28 January 1990 |
| Headquarters | Warsaw, Poland |
| Country | Poland |
| Circulation | 1,900,000 (1989)[1] |
| OCLC number | 2268743 |
History
editCreation
editOn 16 December 1948, Poland's two largest communist parties, the Polish Socialist Party and the Polish Workers' Party, were combined to form the Polish United Workers' Party. The parties' respective newspapers, Robotnik, and Głos Ludu, were merged as well, forming the Trybuna Ludu.[2]
Significance
editThrough the 20th century, the media in Poland were entirely controlled by the PZPR and newspapers were no exception. Trybuna Ludu and its smaller competitors promoted the party line.[1] This newspaper had a significant role in spreading communist propaganda during the communist domination in the Polish People's Republic.[3] It was also responsible for "rewriting history".[4]
As the official party newspaper, Trybuna Luda dominated the market. By the end of 1981, circulation topped 1 million.[5] Despite growing opposition to the party, the number of Trybuna Ludu subscribers continued to grow and reached nearly 1.9 million by the time the communist state was dissolved.[1]
Party dissolution and aftermath
editThe break-up of the PZPR began on 28 January 1990, just hours after the final issue of Trybuna Ludu was printed. Despite an attempted relaunch as Trybuna Kongresowa, the paper was unable to survive the fall of communism in Poland.[6]
After 1990, much of its editorial was taken over unofficially by Trybuna, a newly-created left-wing newspaper. Even at its peak, Trybuna had just 50,000 readers, and could not make money. Printing was halted in late 2009.[7]
Editors-in-chief
edit| Name | Term began | Term ended |
|---|---|---|
| Leon Kasman | 1948 | 1953 |
| Władysław Matwin | 1953 | 1957[note 1] |
| Leon Kasman | 1957 | 1967 |
| Stanisław Mojkowski | 1967 | 1972 |
| Józef Barecki | 1972 | 1980 |
| Wiesław Bek | 1980 | 1985 |
| Jerzy Majka | 1985 | 1990 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Gripsrud, Jostein; Weibull, Lennart; European Science Foundation (March 2011). Media, Markets & Public Spheres: European Media at the Crossroads. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-84150-305-9.
- ^ "Trybuna Ludu". c-span.org. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ Łupiński, Józef (2019). "The Catholic Church in Poland in the Publications of Trybuna Ludu from 1949". Rocznik Teologii Katolickiej. 18 (1): 201–215. doi:10.15290/rtk.2019.18.14. ISSN 1644-8855. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ Ziffer, Bernard (1956). "Rewriting History". The Polish Review. 1 (2/3): 127–130. JSTOR 25776057. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Poland: Pressing On". Time. 118 (9). 31 August 1981. Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ Democratization in Poland, 1988–90: Polish Voices. Springer. 18 June 1992. ISBN 9781349120574 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Mouthpiece of communist Poland falls prey to market". Reuters. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
Notes
edit- ^ Matwin was absent for a short while in 1956. During that time, Roman Werfel, Jerzy Morawski, and Walenty Titkow served as acting chief editors.
See also
edit- Eastern Bloc information dissemination
- Köhler, Piotr (2016). "Lysenkoist Propaganda in Trybuna Ludu" (PDF). Studies in the History of Biology. 8 (3): 25–42. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- "LC Catalog: Trybuna ludu – organ Komitetu Centralnego Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej". Washington, DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved 22 April 2021.