Social Issues Discussed on the Columns of the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ (‘Illustrated Daily Courier’) and the Cracovian ‘Czas’ (‘Time’) During the First Days of Poland’s Independence

In November 1918 the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ and the Cracovian ‘Czas’ both belonged to the most popular daily newspapers and already had an established position on the Galicia press market. The conservative ‘Czas’ celebrated its 50th anniversary and the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’, after 8 years of its continuous development and capturing its readers’ attention, was known not only in the Austrian Partition (Polish territories occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire), but its copies were also distributed among soldiers fighting on both sides of the front lines of World War I. Those newspapers differed not only in the political coloration, but also in their destination. The ‘Czas’ from Krakow seemed more elitist, while the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ was addressed to a wider circle of readers. This difference influenced their published content, subject areas and their ways of presenting information. Social issues discussed on the columns of the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ were understood more broadly and took more space than on the columns of ‘Czas’. The former was focused not only on the most important political events, which made the headlines in November 1918, but it also used to raise current issues concerning the ordinary existence of the local community. 

In November 1918 the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ and the Cracovian ‘Czas’ both belonged to the most popular daily newspapers and already had an established position on the Galicia press market. The conservative ‘Czas’ celebrated its 50th anniversary and the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’, after 8 years of its continuous development and capturing its readers’ attention, was known not only in the Austrian Partition (Polish territories occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire), but its copies were also distributed among soldiers fighting on both sides of the front lines of World War I. Those newspapers differed not only in the political coloration, but also in their destination. The ‘Czas’ from Krakow seemed more elitist, while the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ was addressed to a wider circle of readers. This difference influenced their published content, subject areas and their ways of presenting information. Social issues discussed on the columns of the ‘Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny’ were understood more broadly and took more space than on the columns of ‘Czas’. The former was focused not only on the most important political events, which made the headlines in November 1918, but it also used to raise current issues concerning the ordinary existence of the local community.