THE POLISH TABLOID PRESS

IN the first third of the twentieth century, as the Polish press was developing rapidly, sensationalist newspapers began to proliferate. While this type of press had been widespread in the United States and western Europe since the middle of the nineteenth century, it first emerged in Poland only in 1910, with Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny (‘Illustrated Daily Courier’) in Kraków. In Warsaw the first tabloid newspapers, Kurier Informacyjny i Telegraficzny (‘Information and Telegraphic Courier’) and Ekspres Poranny (‘Morning Express’), appeared in 1922. In 1926 Kurier Informacyjny i Telegraficzny changed its name, now printed in red, to Kurier Czerwony (‘Red Courier’). In time the colour red became emblematic of sensationalist newspapers in Poland, and they were nicknamed czerwoniaki (Reds), similar to the ‘yellow’ press in the West.

There was originally little difference between mainstream and sensationalist newspapers other than the latter's small format (four pages with four columns on each page), compression of information into the fewest lines possible, concentration on the criminal world, and the publication of readers’ surveys. Popular subjects, such as film, theatre, fashion, and sport, and titillating reading, such as serialized novels, were featured. Little by little photographs, advertisements, and letters from readers were also included. After a number of years the division between the newspapers became much clearer, with the Reds using banner headlines for the more shocking news items. Such articles were printed on the inside pages and contained detailed descriptions of the events.

The rapid growth of sensationalist newspapers increased the competition between them, and each innovation made by one was immediately copied by the others. In their slant towards the lowest common denominator of readers the newspapers defined themselves as apolitical. There were no political editorials, and their comments on political and social matters contained no real opinions, consisting mainly of slogans, such as one promoted by the Reds in the 1930s: ‘Obrona Polski i Polskos´ci’ (‘For the defence of Poland and Polishness’). The average price of a Red paper was 5 groszy, and the cheapest, which was blatantly antisemitic, cost only 2 grosze, as reflected in its name, Dwa Grosze. Wiesław Władyka, who researches the Polish sensationalist press, suggests that, except for its Catholicism and extreme Polish nationalism, this press was not significantly different from sensationalist papers in the West, despite its late appearance.