Týdenní hlasatel
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Týdenní hlasatel (Weekly Herald) is the weekly counterpart to the daily newspaper Denní hlasatel. Denní hlasatel (Daily Herald) was founded in Chicago in 1891, as a result of a typesetters' union strike. The weekly was founded in 1892, with its first release on December 15th.
The typesetter's union, which was founded on December 7th, 1890, demanded shorter working hours and increased wages. After their demands were rejected, causing a strike, there were no employees to print newspapers, resulting in a lack of newspapers for two days. Responding to this lack, the typesetter's union started their own daily newspaper -- Denní hlasatel – which quickly gained popularity after its May 4th, 1891 release date.
The newspaper was dedicated to the interests of Czech-American workers [1]. It was directed by workers themselves and its subscribers grew greater than well-established newspapers such as Chicažských Listů (The Chicagoan Newspaper). By 1893, the paper had spread greatly and introduced a weekly system of fee collection that replaced their yearly subscription payments. By 1904, they became the Denní hlasatel Printing and Publishing Company [2].
In comparison to the daily, the weekly was twice as long (16 pages instead of 8). While the daily's content ranged from international news to letters to the editors, to advertisements, the weekly maintained a narrow focused on news – local, national, and international. The weekly also featured a section detailing news related to Czech settlement in America. It also featured long sections of creative works, such as poetry, short stories, and novel excerpts. Interestingly, and in great contrast to the early issues of Denní hlasatel, Týdenní hlasatel did not feature any editorials, letters to the editor, or even advertisements.
The paper ran until 1994 [3]. At the end of its publication it was the oldest Czechoslovak daily in the world and one of the most significant compatriot newspapers of the pre-war period [4].
[1] Jaklová, Alena. Čechoamerická periodika 19. a 20. století (Prague: Academia, 2010), 200.
[2] Ibid, 199.
[3] Ibid, 69.
[4] Ibid, 206.