Yearbook of Bibliology and Press Studies

Summary

The weekly "Nowa Kultura" [New Culture], which appeared in the years 1950-1963, played a very essential role in the cultural life of post-war Poland. Its innovative manner of the editorship should be emphasised. It was diametrically different from that of the well-known model of the social and cultural press of the time. The weekly under consideration, although far from being perfect, occupied a prominent place among social and cultural periodicals in the period of the Polish People's Republic. Its inspirational and cultural role cannot be overestimated. Its publications heralded the "thaw" in the political transformations and consolidated them after October 1956. The area of the influence of the periodical was very large. It is testified by its weekly edition of nearly 70,000 copies, which the magazine reached its best period. The presentation of the dynamics of changes in the structure of the content of the investigated periodical during the whole period of its existence would not be possible without the use of the method of the quantitative content analysis of the press. The structure of the content of "Nowa Kultura" was shaped by two essential factors: the current sociopolitical situation and the editorial board, which was changed quite often. This was due to the friction of two tendencies. One of them was the popularisation of the officially proclaimed cultural policy; the second was presenting of manifestations of autonomous cultural life. If the latter factor began to dominate over the first, the then party disposer of the magazine began to take radical steps, which usually meant staff castling in the editorial board, and in the effect the liquidation of the "troublesome" periodical.