Development of periodical press and other media in totality

Ing. Jiří Šnajdar 2012

3

Censorship is institutionally and politically supported intervention of state power in authorial intention or in information flow, forced intervention in authors´ and publishers´ rights. Is divided into preliminary (prevention), consequential (repressive) and running (continuous).

Also it is possible to follow the phase of communication process, where the censorship is performed. It can be aimed at : communicator, often author, publication and recipient. Often used self-censorship is named as result of indirect pressure on author.

 

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Roots of censorship practice reach to Rome and beginning of Christianity in Europe. Censorship is also the base of inquisition, what proclaims the bull of pope Inocence VIII. dedicated to sorceresses´ persecution and especially its operating manual so called The Hammer of Witches.

In the year 1559 the pope Pavel IV. published for the first time list of forbidden texts in Index Librorum prohibitorum, which restricted communication until its last revision in the year 1948 (canceled only in the year 1967. 

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Protestantism did not bring fundamental change in realisation of censorhips´ activities – after consolidation of their positions moved the Protestant authorities in the similar ways as Catholic. In Europe increased the censorship proceedings after invention of typography and the freedom in expressing became a political theme.

In the Czech crown region copied the censorship development in the European trends. Media´ censorship is actually enforced only with development of Czech newspapers from the end of 18th century.

In the year 1848 was the censorship cancelled by law, but after repression of revolution ideas returned the state authority to well-tried methods.

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The absolutist law of May 1851 was in December 1862 replaced with a liberal law, which was modified in the years 1868 and 1894 and after the year 1918 assumed it newly developed Czechoslovak republic and with some peripetia, caused by national pressures, was this modification used until 1939.

In the period between wars became the journalist profession professional, in the year 1926 is established Czech Journalists Syndicate in the head is Jiří Pichl, from the year 1927 publishes professional bulletins and magazines.

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Management and media control from beginning of occupation was closely connected with practice of second republic. The censorship performed officials of press supervisory service (press government department, later ministry of school and public cultivation) installed directly in editors and connected to district or police offices.

Media came under a group for press of cultural-political department of Office of the Reich Protector. Important element was in media Czech activism as a ideological and political course of tendency to politics of nazi German. It appeared already in the period of so called second republic.

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Its keystone was belief, that only through the most active cooperation with the empire, as the dominate contiguous great power, and leaning to its nazi ideology it is possible to reach some political targets.

After the war was renewed validity of laws and rules from the time before 1938, but political parties did not enforce previous censorship practice. So from the May 1945 de facto did not exist any censorship.

After the state revolution in February 1948 caught the communists together with authority also regulation and control of media.

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The censorship appears in all societies – also in the most developed democracies.

In non-democratic societies is pervasive and totalitarian interpretation stresses its protective function.

At present is again discussed the possibility to influence content and formal quality of internet mainly with consideration to childern´ and youths´ education and accessibility of pornography.

 

10

After Munich agreement in March 1939 was established Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Media are for 6 years under occupation administration, some of them are cancelled. Listening of all foreign radio stations is forbidden. Important is especially BBC broadcasting (Jan Masaryk) and Voice of America (Hofmeister, Voskovec, Werich, Ježek).

After the war was weaken the democratic character of the country already as the result of Kosice government program. According to notice of Ministry of information cannot be the publisher of periodicals a private person.

 

 

11

The censorship authority developed only five years after revolution – under the name Main Administration of press supervision. In the second half of sixtieth years of the 20th century was also reorganisation of control system.

New communists approach to media management culminated in summer 1968 with acceptance of a law, which marked the censorship as inadmissible. But after occupation of the Czechoslovakia in August 1968 was established again and was found Office for Press and Information.

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Number of issued journals decreases to less than one fifth of the number before war and after the revolution in 1948 issue in the Czechoslovakia only 13 journals.

Altogether after the year 1948 is stopped 570 titles, occurs first wave of emigration – Tigrid and Peroutka.

During next decades comes step by step to some liberalisation - not only in the Czechoslovakia, but in whole Europe (criticism of Stalin) and new titles start to issue, for example Evening Prague but also Creation, Culture, Economic newspaper, professional magazines, Flowers, Porcupine, Pioneer, Campfire, The Literary Newspaper and others. Culmination in our conditions was Prague Spring.

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The first signal in mass media, that there are structural changes in the society, brought medial discussions to still taboo themes – for example necessity of freedom in utterance for democratic organisation of society, objective description of congress Association of writers in June 1967 and students´ demonstrations in Prague at Strahov.

In June 1968 was cancelled censorship and was published text Two thousand words. Progressive break-up of ideological tongs of socialism including control of media was interrupted by intervention of military powers of Warsaw Pact and its consequences.

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Again are cancelled popular titles (Týdeník aktualit, Listy, Reportér, Dialog, Impuls, Plamen, My 69) and is next wave of emigration of journalists.

After relatively short period of release started again disappear hundreds of names of authors, whose publications were cast out form libraries and school books and some of elite members stopped to exist openly - normalisation regime not only deleted their work from public knowledge, but started to liquidate them and expel to the side of society by sacking from the work, restrictions of activities and lasting bullying..

15

In the time of normalisation especially dissent formulated some appeals to official regime, for example Charta 77 and opened letter A few sentences, exhorting for changes and democracy.

In mind of normalisation worked also professional organisation Czech Union of Journalists and all official press and broadcasting media.

Probably the only one positive of this time period was really very high quality of programmes for children, to its apolitical creating fallen the best performers.

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Till today is also discussed quality and undisputed spectatorial attraction of normalisation TV series.

On one side were influenced by socialist ideology and false morality, on the contrary verged on with kitsch (The youngest of the family Hamry, District in the north Thirty Cases of Major Zeman etc.).

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Musty communist establishment in the Czechoslovakia resisted in the 80th even more or less opened the release coming from East – perestrojka and Gorbačov.

But after some peripetia was the situation indefensible, passed off demonstrations in August 1988 and in January 1898 and lastly the events in November.