Szabad Föld (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈsɒbɒd ˈføld], Hungarian: Free Land or Soil) is a weekly newspaper published in Budapest, Hungary. The paper has been in circulation since 1945.

Szabad Föld
TypeWeekly newspaper
Owner(s)Central European Press and Media Foundation
Founded1945; 79 years ago (1945)
LanguageHungarian
HeadquartersBudapest
CountryHungary
Circulation37,859 (2022)
ISSN0133-0950
Websitewww.szabadfold.hu

History and profile

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Szabad Föld was established in 1945.[1] The paper is published on a weekly basis and appears on Fridays.[2] It was the organ of the People's Patriotic Front[1] and of the working peasantry during the communist rule in Hungary.[3]

In the late 1990s the Attila József Foundation was the co-owner of Szabad Föld.[4] The Geoholding media group became the owner of the weekly in July 2004 when it purchased paper's owner, Book Publisher Rt.[5] Its publisher was Szabad Lap Publisher Kft.[5]

Szabad Föld became part of the Central European Press and Media Foundation in 2018 which is close to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.[6][7] The foundation acquired the paper from László Puch.[7]

The headquarters of Szabad Föld is in Budapest.[1][8] However, its target audience is non-urban people,[9] and it mostly covers local and agricultural issues.[10] In fact, the paper was called as peasants' newspaper or countryside weekly during its initial phase.[11][12] At that time the paper financed winter-evening lectures in the country.[13]

Lajos Feher served as the editor-in-chief of Szabad Föld. As of 2010 its editor-in-chief was László Horváth.[10]

Circulation

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In 1976 Szabad Föld sold 350,000 copies.[1] Its circulation was 176,385 copies in 2002.[14] In 2003 the weekly had a circulation of 160,000 copies.[15][16] The paper sold 115,326 copies in 2009, making it the second most read weekly in the country.[10] The circulation of the paper was 82,261 copies in 2013.[17] It sold 60,000 copies in 2018.[7] Its circulation decreased to 37,859 in 2022.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Szabad Föld". Great Soviet Encyclopedia. 1979.
  2. ^ "Publications. Szabad Föld". Geomedia. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ^ Robert Takács. "Education and the Inspiring of Hatred" (Book chapter). Politikatörténeti Alapítvány. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ^ Péter Bajomi-Lázár (June 2003). Freedom of the Media in Hungary, 1990–2002 (PDF) (PhD thesis). Central European University.
  5. ^ a b "Publishers to merge". XpatLoop. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. ^ Keller-Alánt Ákos (11 August 2021). "A megyei lapok Magyarországa: aktív és boldog nyugdíjasok, fejlődő falvak". Szabad Európa (in Hungarian). Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Govt Backs Right-Wing Media Firm". Hungary Today. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Exhibitors" (PDF). Hortus Hungaricus. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  9. ^ Balázs Kiss (2004). "Hungary". In Mary Kelly; Gianpietro Mazzoleni; Denis McQuail (eds.). The Media in Europe: The Euromedia Handbook. London: SAGE Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-7619-4131-6.
  10. ^ a b c "Communicating Europe: Hungary Manual" (PDF). European Stability Initiative. December 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  11. ^ Janos Rainer (2009). Imre Nagy: A Biography. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-85771-347-6.
  12. ^ "Newspapers" (PDF). Central European Rural Youth Centre Project. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Daily life in Hungary in the 1940s". Oral History Archive. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Media Landscape of South East Europe 2002" (PDF). ACCESS-Sofia Foundation. Sofia. 2003.
  15. ^ "Top Ten Magazines in Hungary by Circulation". Top Ten.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  16. ^ Mihaly Galik. "Hungary" (PDF). Mirovni Institut. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2005. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Top 50 Magazines". IFABC. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  18. ^ Lukács Csaba (15 August 2022). "Tovább zsugorodik a nyomtatott sajtó" (in Hungarian). Magyar Hang. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
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