The last printed issue of Lidové noviny opens with 36 front pages from the history of the paper. They capture important historical moments that the oldest domestic newspaper recorded during the 131 years since its foundation. A total of 26 pages of the Saturday edition also include the traditional Orientation and Relaxation supplements.
The paper will continue in electronic form at Lidovky.cz, where some of the current authors will continue to contribute. Starting next week, the Saturday supplement Orientace will become part of the printed daily Mladá fronta Dnes, which is also published by the Mafra publishing house.
The printed front pages recall, among other things, the very first issue of Lidových noviny from December 1893, the issue announcing the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state, the death of prominent author Karel Čapek, the declaration of the protectorate or the last samizdate issue from December 1989. From the modern history of the paper, they also recall the entry of the Czech Republic into NATO, floods , the terrorist attack on the “Dvojčat” buildings in New York, the death of President Václav Havel or the British Queen Elizabeth II.
“The independent publication of the printed Lidové noviny ends today, primarily as a result of technological and social changes. However, it is worth adding something: the belief that the respectable brand will find new ways to readers this time as well,” said editor-in-chief Petr Bušta in a column on the front page.
Commentators and authors of the Orientation supplement will continue to work in the editorial office. According to information in the media, about 40 people will lose their jobs. The company offered Lidové noviny subscribers the Mladá fronta Dnes daily newspaper as well as access to paid online content iDnes Premium for one crown until the end of this year, without changing the price.
People’s newspapers were struggling with declining readership and rising printing and distribution costs. Over the past five years, their readership has dropped by 43 percent to 114,000 readers per issue. Circulation during the same period fell by 45 percent to 18,500 copies. Similarly, the readership and circulation of other dailies such as Blesk and Mladá fronta Dnes decreased by tens of percent, according to data from the Union of Publishers.
Lidové noviny is one of the most famous Czech dailies, first published on December 16, 1893 in Brno. They probably experienced their most famous era during the time of the Czechoslovak First Republic, when its editors included well-known Czech writers, including Karel and Josef Čapková or Eduard Bass, who was later their editor-in-chief. In 1989, the renewed Lidové noviny became one of the symbols of the Velvet Revolution.
Some time ago, the Mafra media group was taken over from the trust funds of former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) by the Kaprain group of businessman Karel Pražák. Along with Lidové noviny and Mladá fronta Dnes, the group publishes, among other things, the daily Metro and the weekly Téma.
Portfolio groups but includes a wide range of titles across segments, from dailies to national news weeklies and social magazines to programmatic titles, women’s lifestyle magazines and more. Among other things, it is also the operator of the websites iDnes.cz or the timetable search engine iDos.cz.
