Karlovački tjednik – lokalne novine u socijalizmu

Abstract

The article presents the results of research into local media during the socialist era in Croatia using the example of the situation in Karlovac and the local weekly newspaper Karlovački tjednik. Launched in 1953, its development kept pace with that of other local media in socialist Croatia and Yugoslavia. During the 1960s, it was among the best local newspapers in Croatia and received several awards. As elsewhere, the weekly was published by the Socialist League of the Working People, a mass organization used by the League of Communists to rule the country. The circumstances of the establishment and development of this local newspaper are presented, as well as its status vis-à-vis local centres of power. In addition to party structures, there were other centres of power, such as large local factories, upon which newspapers depended. In the paper, emphasis is placed on research into the position of local media and the interrelationships that dictated their status in the local community during the period of self-management socialism. It was therefore possible to recognize phenomena of a more general character as well as the specifics of the local milieu in Karlovac. The case of Karlovac is extremely interesting due both to the dynamic environment there and the specific situation in the city in terms of interethnic relations with certain associated tensions. The research made use of the digitized newspaper materials of Karlovački tjednik and the rich collection of materials held in the State Archives in Karlovac.