Lidové noviny

Lidové noviny (People's News, or The People's Newspaper, Czech pronunciation: [ˈlɪdovɛː ˈnovɪnɪ]) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily. It is a national news daily covering political, economic, cultural and scientific affairs, mostly with a centre-right,conservative view. It often hosts commentaries and opinions of prominent personalities from the Czech Republic and from abroad.

History and profile

Lidové noviny was founded by Adolf Stránský in 1893 in Brno. Its high prestige was due to the number of famous Czech personalities that were contributing—writers, politicians and philosophers—and its attention toward foreign politics and culture. It was also the first Czech daily publishing political cartoons. Its publication was interrupted during World War II and was closed down in 1952.

In 1987 a group of political dissidents led by Jiří Ruml, Jiří Dienstbier and Ladislav Hejdánek recommenced the publication in a monthly samizdat version. In the autumn two "zero editions" were published and in January 1988 the first edition was issued. The paper has its headquarters in Prague. Since November 1989 it is being published legally and since the spring 1990 as a daily. Some years later it was merged with dissolving Lidová demokracie, from which they inherited the blue colour of the title.