Folks’s newspaper based in 1893, for which the Čapk brothers and presidents Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš wrote, will likely be revealed for the final time on August 31. The Lidovky.cz web site will stay and its content material will likely be expanded, particularly with opinion posts. It was introduced by the Mafra publishing home.
“On the finish of August, the Mafra media group will finish the unbiased publication of the newspaper Lidové noviny in printed type. Essentially the most profitable complement of the Lidové noviny Orientace will develop into a part of the Saturday version of the newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes from September,” the publishing home stated.
He justifies the transfer by “developments available in the market”, particularly declining gross sales of newspapers and, on the identical time, excessive prices of paper and distribution. The corporate is negotiating with the workers about their additional employment. Based on him, the commentators and authors of the Orientation complement will stay particularly. “Sadly, we now have to terminate the employment relationship with a number of the workers,” stated Mafra. Based on the server e15 roughly 40 individuals will lose their jobs.
The newspaper is ending although a number of Czech businessmen have proven curiosity in it in latest months and wished to maintain it. Nevertheless, they didn’t agree with the proprietor of Mafra. The developer, founding father of the Karlín Group and proprietor of the Karlín Discussion board, Serge Borenstein, supplied 100 million crowns, in response to his phrases. Nevertheless, he acquired the impression from the assembly that the corporate doesn’t wish to promote the newspaper itself, however your entire publishing home.
Media analyst Jan Potůček stated that the announcement is stunning, however not a lot contemplating the event of gross sales of newspapers in recent times. “I am afraid that this will likely be a pattern sooner or later and others could comply with. The drop in gross sales is de facto dramatic,” he advised ČTK. “It is unhappy above all due to the historical past of Lidové noviny. I believe that if the proprietor had made extra of an effort and never demanded such a excessive worth, he would have been in a position to promote the title and thus protect it,” he stated.
Based on information from the Czech Union of Publishers from Might, Lidové noviny, with 123,000 readers per situation, was the fifth most-read nationwide every day within the Czech Republic. Like different printed newspapers, their readership is step by step reducing.
The web site lidovky.cz stays, however will endure a change. It must be expanded to incorporate opinion texts particularly. “Based on inside surveys, readers of the net newspaper lidovky.cz choose feedback and glosses, which have a major custom within the historical past of Lidovky noviny,” the corporate stated. It’s going to provide current subscribers Mladá fronta Dnes in addition to entry to iDnes Premium paid content material for a crown till the tip of the 12 months.
From Čapki to Babiš
Lidové noviny was first revealed in 1893 in Brno. They skilled their most well-known period throughout the first republic, when well-known writers together with Karel and Josef Čapk or Eduard Bass contributed to them. After the communist coup, publication of the newspaper was stopped in 1952. Since 1987, they’ve been revealed samizdat and irregularly, after the autumn of the regime they have been restored as a full-fledged every day.
Because the Nineties, Lidové noviny has belonged to the German concern Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft. In 2013, your entire publishing home was purchased by Andrej Babiš’ holding Agrofert. Final 12 months, along with the Synthesia chemist, he offered it to the Kaprain group of entrepreneur Karel Pražák.
Josef Čapek with Lidový noviny, to which he himself wrote for a few years. | Picture: 8smička Basis
He absolutely took over the publishing home originally of this 12 months. Since then, there was repeated hypothesis about the way forward for the corporate and its titles. Mafra ended up shedding 85 million crowns the 12 months earlier than, in comparison with 113 million a 12 months earlier.
“It is a fully new setting for us, through which we must discover our manner. However all variants are in play, we are able to hold Mafra and develop it additional, or promote it as a complete or solely part of it. There are lots of events available on the market,” stated final September Karel Pražák v dialog for Hospodářské noviny.
Along with Mladá fronta Dnes, Mafra publishes the printed newspaper Metro and several other magazines. It operates many web titles from information to social to tabloids. It additionally contains Óčko TV, Impuls and Rock Zone radios, the digital cell operator Mobil.cz and Mafraprint printers. The publishing home additionally operates in Slovakia.
