Arhivski vjesnik, Vol. 67 No. 1, 2024.
Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.36506/av.67.9
“To Write Freely”: Press Censorship through Archival and Library Resources
Tamara Štefanac
; Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica u Zagrebu
Sažetak
The paper presents the findings of the research project “To Write Freely”, which focuses on the censorship of periodicals in Croatia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also details the dissemination of these findings on an eponymous online portal, where the information is systematically organized in accordance with the Rules for the Description and Access to Materials in Libraries, Archives, and Museums. The project involved archivists and librarians from the National and University Library, the Croatian State Archives and the Zagreb City Libraries. The study examined the censorship of serial publications from the specified historical period, merging original and censored editions of newspapers and linking them to documents verifying the censorship, where such documents were available. The research findings are specifically illustrated through the following newspaper titles: Bič (Zagreb), Brana (Zagreb), Stršen (Zagreb), Tries (Zagreb), Trn (Zagreb), Vragoljan (Bakar), and Hrvatski branik (Srijemska Mitrovica). The paper elucidates the model used to document the censorship of historical press and reflects on the role of compiled editions in research on freedom of speech, censorship, and hate speech in public media. The topic of media censorship is of significant interest not only to researchers but also to the general public, as it represents a social phenomenon that varies in prevalence across different social systems throughout history. As part of the project, examples of censorship in newspapers from the specified period in Croatia were examined, documented, and presented, highlighting a time when the review and approval process for individual editions were governed by stringent legal regulations, with infractions leading to the criminal prosecution of newspaper editors. In accordance with these legal procedures, censors would confiscate entire issues or order the removal of specific texts or illustrations upon reviewing the first printout. The terms “confiscated” or “censored” would be printed in place of the removed content, or the space would remain empty, and such censored copies were then distributed for public use. Typically, original editions (reviewed by the censor) were preserved within the files of individual administrative or court proceedings, which are now stored in the Croatian State Archives (HDA). Conversely, the censored editions are primarily preserved in the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) and Zagreb City Libraries (KGZ). As part of the project, cases of censorship were investigated, original and censored editions of newspapers were juxtaposed, and relevant archival documents confirming the censorship were attached when available. The compiled materials are publicly accessible on the Pisati Slobodno online portal: https://digitalna.nsk.hr/pisatislobodno/.
Ključne riječi
press censorship; archives; library; virtual unification
Hrčak ID:
324802
URI
Datum izdavanja:
21.12.2024.
Posjeta: 0 *