Działalność rynku polskiej prasy ludowej dla środowisk wiejskich w zaborze pruskim

Abstract

Studies of the press for the rural populations in the 19th and early 20th centuries form the basis for an analysis of changes in the publishing market and readers since the beginning of the print media up to political and economic transformation. This paper explores origins of publishing services for the rural population in the territories under Prussian occupation. Comparison of the titles with regard to the content, audiences and editorial teams in the first periodicals and popular press facilitated the determination of the functions of the farming press in the above period and region. An important factor to be recognised is the organisation of publishing companies and their influence on the audiences, despite press censorship. In the part of Poland under Prussian occupation the first large publishers had been established, publishing both newspapers and books. The activity of the press for rural audiences from the 19th century up to World War I varied. Educational, social, and religious content dominated in these editions. The fight to preserve Polishness in all three annexations, even though it varied depending on the government administration, focused on the dissemination of knowledge of Polish history and learning the native language.