Luboš Velek
Media Business in the Czech Republic, Based on the Example of Jan S. Skrejšovský’s Press Empire
The business affairs of Old Czech Party politician Jan S. Skrejšovský offer a remarkable example of the connection between politics and business. Skrejšovský was able to run a media business that oversaw the publication of a wide range of periodicals (from serious newspapers to tabloids and entertainment magazines), alongside a printing press, banks (which he founded), and investment activities in both stocks and the real estate market. In his business, he balanced the pursuit of economic profit with a struggle for political influence and desire for social recognition. The story of Skrejšovský's business affairs is interesting not only because of personal dramas that arose in his opposition to state power and ongoing conflicts that ensued, but also because of the unique fact that this Czech politician also happened to publish a notable German-language newspaper (Politik), which, in addition to foreigners and Austrians, also targeted a large part of the ethnically Czech readership. It is a readership which, due to their education and professional life, continued in the 1860s and 1870s to use German as a 'social language', so that they found it awkward to read Czech-language newspapers.
Keywords: history of the press - National Party (a.k.a. Old Czech Party) - history of business
design by Bedřich Vémola
