Periodicals (entry)

Categories / Press. Mass Media/Periodical Press
PERIODICALS, a form of mass media. Their history dates back to the early 18th century when newspapers first emerged as purely information leaflets (publishing event reports buy and sell advertisements etc.). The length varied from two to twenty pages, and were irregularly printed (for instance, only one issue of the Vedomosti appeared in 1719), beginning with the 1720s newspapers came out bi-weekly. From 1800 the Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti became the first daily. From 1728 the Petersburg Academy of Sciences came up with what were the first Russian journals, the Pribavlenie k Vedomostyam. In the 18th century there was as yet no clear-cut differentiation between journals and newspapers (common name - leaflet), the publication type was defined according to the material specifics (e.g. journal Podenshchina came out on four pages, I To i Sio - on eight ones, and the newspaper Vedomosti - on ten to twenty pages). From the mid-18th century over 30 leaflets and three newspapers were published in St. Petersburg (journals outnumbered newspapers until the late 19th century). The term journal entered common usage in the early 19th century (from French journal - newspaper; for instance the newspaper Geniy vremen, 1809 was called a journal). Most of the journals were privately owned, the newspapers however until the early 19th century were as a rule state-owned. From the early 19th century into the early years of the 20th century all sorts of appendices and supplements were widely distributed, mostly as journal-type publications, almanacs, sometimes books and even newspapers (e.g. the Russian Invalid published a series of Supplements: in 1822-26 the journal Novosti Litertury, in 1840-49 Literaturnaya Gazeta and others; in 1882 the book series Home Library appeared as a supplement to the newspaper Syn Otechestva etc.). The word press became common in the 1830-40s (from the name of the first Paris public newspaper La Presse, 1836). From its very first days the press was subject to censorship. Upon the emerging of free printing works (1783) censorship functions rested with the police (the Disciplinary Board). In 1804 private periodicals were prohibited from covering political issues. On the death of Emperor Nicholas I (1855) the newspaper and journal business experienced an upsurge. The Provisional Press Regulations of 1865 lifted preliminary censoring of some periodicals, thus giving a nudge to the development of the individual publishing entrepreneurship. A gradual improvement of the publishing business, and its facilities in the mid-19th century paved a way for newspaper and journal publishing associations (Russkoe Slovo, Novoe Vremya, and others), joint-stock societies, incorporating newspaper editorial offices, paper mills, printing works, stores etc. Mergers of newspapers and journals were also not uncommon (for instance, the merger of the newspaper Novosti and Birzhevaya gazeta in 1872), large newspapers started to appear in morning and evening issues. In the 1860-70s St. Petersburg saw the emergence of the first underground revolutionary publications (newspapers, journals, leaflets, proclamations etc.), which were printed in underground printing works. Professional journalism came into being in the mid-19th century, at the some time numerous advertising, correspondent bureaus, later private information companies started to appear: The Russian Telegraph Agency (RТА, 1866), The International Telegraph Agency (IТА, 1872), The Northern Telegraph Agency (NТА, 1882). In the last quarter of the 19th century - the early 20th century the bank Capital got its hands on the newspaper and journal industry, though failing to establish big monopolies in this sphere in Russia. Mergers also occurred in the periodical retail business: in 1878 St. Petersburg's first Cooperative Association of Street Periodical Retailers and the Central Periodical Warehouse for Retail were established. In the late 19th century the government took steps to restrict the sale of periodicals on the street, fearing the spread of revolutionary ideas (in 1905 there were only 200 newspaper stands in St. Petersburg). In 1902-03 first attempts to found a Club (union) for journalists resulted in failure. The Government St. Petersburg Telegraph Agency established in 1904 provided the press media with official information. In the course of the Revolution of 1905-07 censorship was involuntarily lifted, however following the suppression of the revolution control over the press intensified. After October of 1917 the Soviet State claimed a monopoly over all periodicals, most of the pre-revolutionary publications were shut down, and despite the lift of censorship it became in fact much harder to print journals and periodicals (both the state and party organs exercised control over the press). In the early 1920s journals and newspapers were divided into central, republican, regional, district and local (so called large-circulation publications of public organisations, universities, parties etc.). In 1959 the USSR Union of Journalists along with its Leningrad affiliation was established. The Law of the Russian Federation on Mass media (adopted in 1991), which eliminated party and state censorship, initiated new types of newspaper and journal publications: organs of various parties and associations, entertainment, information, advertising publications, yellow press; even though the number of specialised publications increased (technical, sport and others), they saw a reduction in the circulation volume, as well as that of large-scale publications in general. In the mid-1990s a lot of periodicals found themselves in financial and political dependence from large corporations (Lukoil and others). However, it was also the period of formation of big corporate organisations (Russia and others), uniting electronic and print media. In 2002 there were over 200 registered newspapers and journals (magazines) circulating in St. Petersburg, besides various party leaflets, election bulletins and other occasional print items. The North-West Intraregional Territorial department (14 Sadovaya Street) implements the activity coordination of and control over the city press media. Various societies and associations (City Hall Information and Publication Department, Petropress, The Publishers and Distributors Union, Metro-press and others) handle the distribution of the periodicals.

References: Лисовский Н. М. Библиография русской периодической печати, 1703-1900 гг. Пг., 1915; Библиография периодических изданий России, 1901-1916: В 4 т. Л., 1958-1961; Периодическая печать СССР, 1917-1949: Библиогр. указ.: [В 11 т.]. М., 1955-1963; Газеты СССР, 1917-1960: Библиогр. справ.: В 5 т. М., 1970-1984; История русской журналистики XIX-XX веков. СПб., 2003.

Y. N. Kruzhnov. Sadovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 14
Периодическая печать СССР, 1917-1949: Библиогр. указ. М., 1955-1963
Газеты СССР, 1917- 1960: Библиогр. справ.: В 5 т. М., 1970-1984
Есин Б. И. Русская газета и газетное дело в России: Задачи и теорет.-методол. принципы изучения. М., 1981 Sankt Peterburgskie Vedomosti (St. Petersburg Gazette), newspaper
Literaturnaya gazeta (Literary Newspaper), 1830-1831, 1840-1849
Syn Otechestva (Son of the Fatherland), journal
Board of Decency
Russkoe slovo (The Russian Word), journal, 1859-1866
Novoe vremya (The New Time), newspaper, 1868-1917
1866