Mai Nap

Mai Nap
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Founded8 February 1989
LanguageHungarian
Ceased publication15 June 2005
HeadquartersBudapest
CountryHungary
ISSN1588-2403
WebsiteMai Nap

Mai Nap (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmɒji ˈnɒp], Hungarian: Today's Day) was a tabloid newspaper published daily in Budapest, Hungary. It began publishing early in the country's post-communist era. It was in circulation between 1989 and 2005.

History and profile

Mai Nap was the first newspaper published immediately following the collapse of the communism in Hungary.[1][2] The paper was first published in February 1989[1][3] and the founders were three Hungarian journalists.[2] It was a tabloid newspaper.[4] During its initial period it included 24 to 32 pages and was published daily except for Saturdays.[2]

The owner of Mai Nap was a state-owned bank.[1] Rupert Murdoch acquired 50% of Mai Nap in January 1990,[5][6] but sold it back in 1993 due to its low circulation levels.[1][4][7] Then the paper was acquired by the Swiss company JMG Ost Press.[1][6] At the beginning of the 2000s it was owned by the VNU group, a Dutch company, which also owned another Hungarian paper, Magyar Hirlap.[8]

Marcell Murányi served as the editor-in-chief of Mai Nap.[9] Although the paper was independent, its editorials were supportive of the right-wing political parties in the periods of 1994 general election and 1998 general election.[10]

Mai Nap folded in June 2005 due to low circulation levels.[11]

Circulation

In the 1990s, Mai Nap had highest circulation levels on Sundays.[10] The paper sold 140,000 copies in January 1991 and 104,000 copies in July 1992.[10] The circulation of the paper was 85,000 copies in March 1993.[10] The paper had a circulation of 79,000 copies and had 396,000 readers in 1998.[12] The 2003 circulation of the paper was 66,000 copies.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ágnes Gulyás (2000). "Development of the tabloid press in Hungary". In Colin Sparks; John Tulloch (eds.). Tabloid Tales: Global Debates over Media Standards. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4616-4385-2.
  2. ^ a b c Milton Hollstein (23 July 1990). "Western Media Moguls Invest in Hungary Press". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Péter Bajomi-Lázár. "The Business of Ethics, the Ethics of Business" (PDF). Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b Ray Hiebert (January 1994). "The Difficult Birth of a Free Press". American Journalism Center. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Murdoch Pays $4 Million for 50% Interest in 2 Hungarian Papers". Los Angeles Times. Budapest. UPI. 22 January 1990. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  6. ^ a b Ágnes Gulyás (1998). "Tabloid Newspapers in Post Communist Hungary". Journal of the European Institute for Communication and Culture. 5 (3): 65–77. doi:10.1080/13183222.1998.11008683.
  7. ^ Raymond Hill (2003). Hungary (2nd ed.). New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-8160-5081-9.
  8. ^ Europe Review 2003/04: The Economic and Business Report (15th ed.). Essex: Walden Publishing Ltd. 2003. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-7494-4067-1.
  9. ^ Csaba Toth (1 July 2014). "Blikk's Marcell Muranyi named Nepszabadsag editor-in-chief". The Budapest Beacon. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d Marina Popescu; Gábor Tóka (2000). "Campaign Effects in the 1994 and 1998 Parliamentary Elections in Hungary" (PDF). ECPR. Archived from the original (Conference paper) on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Megszűnik a Mai Nap". hvg.hu. 15 June 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  12. ^ Mihály Gálik; Beverly James (1999). "Ownership and control of the Hungarian press". The Public. 6 (2). Archived from the original on 12 November 2014.