Trybuna Ludu

On 16 December 1948, Poland's primary two communist parties, the Polish Socialist Party and the Polish Workers' Party, were combined to form Polish United Workers' Party. The parties' respective newspapers, Robotnik and Głos Ludu, were merged as well, and Trybuna Ludu was formed.[2]

A copy of Trybuna Ludu headline from 14 December 1981 reporting Martial law in Poland

Through the 20th century, the media in Poland was entirely controlled by the PZPR, and newspapers were no exception. The contents of Trybuna Ludu and its smaller competitors were marked by the idea of reliance on the party.[1] Being the official party newspaper, Trybuna Luda dominated the market. By the end of 1981, circulation topped 1 million.[3] Despite growing opposition to the party, the number of Trybuna Ludu subscribers continued to grow and reached nearly 1.9 million by the time the communist state was dissolved.[1]

The break-up of the PZPR began on 28 January 1990, just hours after the final issue of Trybuna Ludu was printed. Despite an attempted relaunch as Trybuna Kongresowa, the paper was unable to survive the fall of communism in Poland.[4]

After 1990, much of its tradition was unofficially taken over by Trybuna, a newly created Polish left-wing newspaper. At its peak, the number of readers was a small 50,000, and, because of poor economic conditions, printing was halted in late 2009.[5]