Abstract
Thanks to the accelerated worldwide literacy process and technical innovations in the printing field, the written press reached its maximum development potential at the turn of the twentieth century. Because of their widespread availability, magazines and newspapers were used by the time's elites to disseminate new knowledge and technical innovations. Considering these aspects of the press, this study traces the thematic evolution of the educational and informational articles published by the most influential magazines and newspapers of the Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1914. Significant personalities wrote the selected periodicals of the Romanians from Transylvania, where most Romanians lived during the Dual Monarchy. They were also appreciated by the Romanians who lived in the Kingdom of Romania. Hence, they generated fruitful debates of ideas that helped to develop the various Romanian cultures, societies, politics and economies. This study, which focused on the comparative analysis of the messages conveyed in the articles, found that newspapers and magazines had similar educational messages despite having diverse purposes. The dissemination of general information was approached differently by the two types of studied press. Based on this first comparative analysis of the most representative publications of Romanians from Transylvania, I conclude that their editors put forth well-thought-out educational messages, and the informational articles had the same characteristics as the European press of the period.
In the humanities sciences, the history of press represents a highly current, dynamic, interdisciplinary and almost inexhaustible thematic research field, and it is prolific in terms of scientific results. The field is very receptive to interdisciplinarity, methods, tools and topics specific to sociology, comparative and conceptual history. The progress registered in this area of research at the European level can also be observed in the Romanian space. In the last three decades, the potential of the press began to be explored on new theoretical bases by more and more Romanian historians, especially young ones. To this day, the research of the Romanian press has focused particularly on the most representative published periodicals. The study of the press in terms of its educational functions as utilized by several publications has not entered into the concerns of the specialists. This has resulted from the concentration of Romanian historiography on the analysis of political phenomena, rather than paying more attention to the factors related to the different means of education through the primary communication channel, that is, the written press in the late nineteenth and early twentieth decades, and the information that it puts out.
One of the purposes of the written press was to educate the majority of the population. 1 Considering this aspect, my research traces how the Romanian press in Transylvania, where most Romanians from the Austro–Hungarian Empire lived, transmitted educational messages and informed its readers. The written press also represented a starting point for identity building and raising the level of education because the Romanian intelligentsia realised that material well-being was linked to the Romanians’ cultural development. The press of the Romanians from Transylvania, who carried out their activities in the Dual Monarchy, had spread its influence throughout the Romanian linguistic sphere. It is well known that the written word played a fundamental role as a propaganda vehicle in the political context of the era, not only in the geographical space under analysis but in the entire Central and South-Eastern European area.
The methodological process of this research is not a descriptive one. Instead, it focuses on the qualitative and critical analysis of how the press tried to educate and inform the readers. In the present study, I focused on analysing the general educational and informational themes present in selected articles from the periodicals analysed. I considered only articles that conveyed instructive messages that wanted the Romanians’ cultural, social and political developments from the Austro–Hungarian Empire. Due to the limited scope of this research, I only account for the educational themes and their evolution without going into details about the contents of the articles researched.
The analysis examined the three most influential magazines 2 of Romanians in Austro–Hungarian Empire, namely Familia [Family] (1865–1906), Transilvania [Transylvania] (1868–1946) and Luceafărul [Morning Star] (1902–1914); as well as the four most representative newspapers 3 : Gazeta Transilvaniei [The Transylvanian Gazette] (1838–2009), Telegraful Român [The Romanian Telegraph] (1853–present), Observatorul [The Observatory] (1878–1885) and Tribuna [The Tribune] (1884–1903). A criterion for the selection of the periodicals was their long periods of publication and the quality of their articles. The duration of publication indicates that they had a substantial audience and were able to convey information of interest, which reached their addressees most of the time. One should bear in mind that most Romanians press enterprises in the Austro–Hungarian Empire disappeared shortly after their appearance. Hence, I chose the two main types of Romanian press from Transylvania, namely scientific magazines and newspapers, as representative materials that can reveal the types and themes of educational and informational messages typically transmitted in that time period. To have a chronological point of view, I chose the period of 1867–1914. While it may seem like an extended time span, it provides a holistic representation of the publications and thereby reveal the transformations through which educational messages were transmitted. The chronological interval (1867–1914) is also important because it represents profound social, political and cultural changes. Due to the long period, I narrowed the analysis down to three categories of articles, namely cultural, social and political.
Regarding the terms used, ‘Transylvania’ 4 refers to all the territories that were united in 1918 with Romania. These include the Banat, Crișana and Maramureș, that is, most of the areas inhabited by Romanians from the Hungarian–administered part of the Dual Monarchy. The term ‘education’ is understood as a procedure used by the press of the analysed period to develop the readers’ cultural, social, economic and political levels. 5 Lastly, I used ‘information’ 6 to refer to the method of the press to keep their readers informed about the time events.
In the references, only some of the articles researched are listed. I have used this method to support and exemplify the claims delivered in the study. All the topics considered here have benefited from numerous articles, but it is impossible to cite all those analysed in the researched press. Regarding the sources, I draw attention to the documentary support based on the systematic research of the magazines and newspapers described above. While I cite from the literature, I would add the caveat that the archival holdings did not provide information relevant to our topic.
Even if I had not set out to critically analyse the selected periodicals studied for my research, it could be noted that other specialists have already paid attention to these newspapers and magazines. To demonstrate this point, when briefly describing the publications, I will also critically refer to the studies that have dealt with their history.
Before moving on to the analysis, I would like to briefly present some details about the selected periodicals to outline their importance in the Romanian press in the Austro–Hungarian Empire. In the first part, I will refer to the three magazines and present them according to the year of their first appearances, instead of their importance. I will proceed in the same way in my analysis of the newspapers.
The magazine Familia, 7 which was edited by Iosif Vulcan (1841–1907), 8 appeared between 1865 and 1906, initially in Budapest, then in Oradea. Even though it was considered a literary magazine, it had an encyclopaedic character, and its main programmatic goal was to educate its readers culturally and to inform the Romanian public about the Austro–Hungarian Empire. It had a weekly appearance, apart from an attempt to put out biweekly issues from 1878 to 1881. Regarding the area of its circulation, it had a significant spread throughout the Romanian linguistic space. By Romanian linguistic area, I mean the territory where the Romanians lived, mainly the Kingdom of Romania and the provinces of Transylvania, Bucovina, Bessarabia and Banat. Transilvania 9 magazine was the official press of the most representative cultural society of Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire, Astra. 10 Besides its encyclopaedic character, it also published information about the cultural organisations that supported it. The magazine was concerned with the cultural merger of Romanians 11 and also contributed to political, social, and economic developments and the consolidation of Romanian national consciousness. 12 It was published bimonthly and monthly from 1868 till 1914. With one of the longest spans of publication amongst the Romanian periodicals, Transilvania appeared with little interruptions between 1868 and 1946, and it published the writings of some of the most prominent intellectuals of the period. The magazine was banned after the establishment of the communist regime in Romania, but it reappeared in 1972 and continues to be published today. Luceafărul 13 magazine was initiated by a group of Romanian students in Budapest in 1902. After a challenging beginning, it transformed into an authentic ‘voice’ of Romanian culture and moved its editorial office to Sibiu. Demonstrating its aim to educate its readers, the management of the periodical transmitted mobilising messages that were addressed to Romanian priests, teachers and peasants. 14 Between 1902 and 1914, Luceafărul mainly appeared bimonthly. There was also an attempt in 1912 to publish the periodical weekly, but it quickly resumed its former frequency.
Regarding the newspapers, Gazeta Transilvaniei 15 (1838–1945) was the first political and informative publication of Romanians in Transylvania, which appeared in Brașov on the initiative of George Barițiu (1812–1893). 16 Between 1838 and 1884, it was disseminated weekly, fortnightly or even three times a week, before becoming a daily newspaper. Telegraful Român 17 was published for the first time in 1853 on the initiative of Andrei Șaguna (1808–1873), 18 Bishop and Metropolitan of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Transylvania. Apart from slight interruptions, it remains in publication to this day. Between 1868 and 1918, it was published three times a week. Even though it is currently a religious publication, its issues were printed in the Austro–Hungarian Empire in this period and covered a diverse range of information, primarily cultural, religious and political. Observatorul 19 (1878–1885) was the last informative newspaper to be edited by Barițiu, a prominent Romanian personality. It appeared biweekly with information about current events, both political and social. Following the period, it supported cultural information that was mainly related to history and literature. The Tribuna 20 newspaper appeared in Sibiu between 1884 and 1903 and was founded by a group of intellectuals led by Ioan Slavici (1848–1925), one of the well-known Romanian writers and journalists in Transylvania. Similar to Telegraful Român, Tribuna covered general topics ranging from information about the political field to analyses of culture, economy and social life, and also the international situation of the period. In a short time, such topics and the collaborators transformed it into the leading daily newspaper of the Romanians in Sibiu.
Based on the geographical spread of the newspapers and magazines, as well as the impact of their transmitted educational and informational messages, it is clear that despite the restricted circulation, which ranged from a minimum of 500 to a maximum of 10,000 copies, they were nevertheless made available to almost all regions inhabited by Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire. In addition, the Kingdom of Romania, Russia, Europe, America and places over the globe also gained access to such written press. 21 Despite the small number of copies circulated, the publications benefited from the spread of information through public reading in cafes and libraries. Furthermore, the ‘word of mouth’ process, that is, the method involving a person reading the contents to an audience of illiterate people, was largely effective. The procedure was used in literary clubs, and lectures organised for rural residents and village libraries. 22 For these reasons, the audience of the messages put forth by the written press is difficult to determine, and it is not possible to make an accurate correlation between the number of people who read a periodical and the number of those who had access to the transmitted information, that is, the number of subscriptions sold or the circulation. 23 This was the main reason to limit my analysis to the most important newspapers and magazines, and to focus only on the educational and informational themes. In doing so, my study highlights the thematic transformations that occurred throughout the researched period. However, from their long span of publication, the success of these magazines and newspapers in gaining and maintaining readership can be inferred.
Educational themes
The main educational themes are grouped into three categories: cultural, social and political. Being edited in Transylvania, when the struggle for the political and social emancipation of the Romanians had reached its peak, the Romanian press in the Austro–Hungarian Empire focused on several significant issues, including those related to the historical continuity of the Romanians in the North part of the Danube River. Combating Roesler's Theory, 24 these articles claimed that the Romanian people would have formed the South of the river and emigrated to the North. The message, which could be read as elitist in the magazines analysed here, highlighted the newspaper’s depiction of a continuation of political struggles. In addition, the press included a series of historical articles to demonstrate the importance of the Daco-Roman origins of Romanians, that is, the Romans and Dacians. The Dacians were former inhabitants of the area that was now populated by the Romanians, and the Romans had conquered them at the beginning of the second century.
There were also publications of a series of biographies dedicated to cultural and political personalities, which were accompanied by their images in order to make them better known. All three periodicals analysed here published such materials, and the newspapers particularly focused on describing the respective political activities of the personalities.
The studies published by the printed press related to the historical evolution of the Transylvanian Romanians mainly dealt with significant events, such as the Revolt of Horea, Cloșca and Crișan (1784), the Revolution of 1848, and the history of the border regiments of the Romanians in Transylvania. Historical analyses of the researched periodicals focused on the history of Romanians from the Balkan Peninsula, 25 that is, the so-called Macedo–Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno–Romanians and the historical evolution of the provinces inhabited by Romanians: Transylvania, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Dobruja and Banat. Furthermore, they discussed the Revolution of Tudor Vladimirescu of Wallachia (1821) and The Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878). The support for historical themes was different. While the magazines relied on an academic analysis by referring to names of Romanian historiography, the newspapers published studies that popularised knowledge without identifying contributions of the names of essential historians. However, I should add that the latter ‘translated’ the research of the great Romanian historians for the common readers.
Various topics in the field of universal history were treated, from the ancient period to the contemporary time of the periodicals. The matters addressed were dedicated to the Roman and Byzantine Empire as well as the migrants, which highlight the considerations of contemporary history and related issues. The historical themes were varied, and it is relevant that the authors focused on more than just the analysis of the history of Romanians. Their attention was also directed towards from the sphere of universal history.
Transilvania was undoubtedly the most concerned with the historical field in the three magazines. It published diverse contributions, from original documents to detailed analyses of Romanian history. 26 Its editorial policy can be explained by the fact that it was a scientific magazine published by a cultural association, whose primary purpose was to study the history and culture of the Romanians in Transylvania. As for the newspapers, Observatorul is similar to the Transilvania magazine when talking about the most significant published historical studies. Observatorul must be highlighted because it represents a historical source of first importance, with its editor recording all the significant events of the era as if in a proper historical chronicle. The other analysed newspapers, Gazeta Transilvaniei, Telegraful Român and Tribuna, used historical demonstrations in the framework of some political polemics, which are nothing more than methods supporting the debates. The messages of the historical articles put out by the publications discussed here contained an essential educational component, as they aimed to create a unique historical consciousness for all Romanians. 27 There was no doubt that the historical articles had a political purpose in the background. My research shows that the guideline for treating historical issues was similar in all the selected periodicals, regardless of the ideological or political orientation of their editors or authors of articles on this topic. A comparison of the Romanian press across the Carpathians illustrates the similarities in their themes. In this context, the ethnogenesis of the Romanians occupied a central place in the debates of the press that were dedicated to historiography. However, in Transylvania, the topics were more combative due to the socio-political situation. 28 For this reason, the press of the intra-Carpathian province placed a greater priority on the debate against Roesler's theory. This debate was carried out in the spirit of Romanticism and nationalism that were specific to the period.
I cannot ignore the preoccupation of a segment of the press with women's condition, and in particular the situation of Romanian women. 29 In the framework of the thematic analyses, a series of historical studies and some journalistic investigations, which were related to the legislative situation and social equity of women with men, were identified. 30 They also focused on indicating the most influential women in specific fields, 31 which challenged the archaic Romanian mentality about women's inferiority to men. Such articles on women's condition had benefited from an Enlightenment approach, which defined the prevailing ideals of the time worldwide. This is especially the case when we consider the developments of the second half of the nineteenth century, when the attempts to raise the status of women in society intensified. 32 The openness of some editors, especially those of the magazines, should also be mentioned: they exhibited strong support for a position favourable to women's social and political conditions. It is vital to remember the dominant social attitudes of the time, which were contrary to the propositions presented in the publications. While the former social attitudes were not presented in most of the publications analysed here, they should be noted to underscore the tradition of constructive polemics. The themes related to the feminist movement evolved from simple information in the second half of the nineteenth century to issues related to the condition of women in the first part of the twentieth century. Moreover, at the end of the nineteenth century, numerous articles were published regarding women's rights to be elected to political and administrative positions. This information was intended to awaken the Romanian women’s conscience and will to become more active in the cultural, associative and political fields. The three scientific journals Transilvania, Luceafărul and Familia were much more concerned than newspapers with putting out such messages about women's condition. Compared to the periodicals, the four newspapers only addressed women's issues in the last years of the nineteenth century and published more articles on the subject only in the early years of the twentieth century.
Based on the assumption that the press was the main factor that popularised and helped to introduce new knowledge and innovations in society, 33 I contend that the press under examination here was engaged in the aspect of innovation and change. All the periodicals supported columns that provided descriptions of new inventions and thus helped to disseminate information about them to the vast majority of the population. This is exemplified by articles that described the importance and usefulness of the telegraph, hot-air balloons, the seismograph, electricity, the typewriter machine, the telephone, the device that recorded heartbeats, the phonograph, the velocipede, X-rays, the bicycle and the cinema. 34 I found that in such articles, their authors used language that could be easily understood by most readers, and images or explanatory diagrams were used to support the descriptions. For education, some natural phenomena were also scientifically explained. 35
Both the magazines and the newspapers were concerned with capturing the cultural life of Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire. At certain stages of their existence, they published columns with descriptions and presentations of paintings, theatre plays, music, literary currents, Romanian cultural societies’ activity, museums’ appearance and debates of ideas.
Another widely debated cultural aspect was that of superstitions, which were combated through scientific contributions in most cases. 36 Other nations’ superstitions and popular beliefs were highlighted, such as those of the Japanese, Germans and the peoples of America, 37 noting which show that the Romanian ones were not significantly different. The fight against superstitions was an important and intricate educational subject: by using science to explain the inexplicable, the press came into conflict with the traditions and customary beliefs of the contemporaneous population.
The analysis is substantiated by references made by the press vis-à-vis the traditions of the Romanian people. 38 For instance, the presentation, descriptions and comparisons of local habits related to winter holidays with those of other Europeans were used as means of acculturation. 39
Educational articles related to the social aspects discussed the role of Romanian intellectuals in educating the vast majority of Romanians. In addition, they referred to the teachers and priests from the countryside, where the vast majority of Transylvanian Romanians lived. The most critical positions on the topic appeared in the magazines Familia and Luceafărul. The first belonged to Vulcan, who states in his Familia article that the cultural elites of the Romanians in Transylvania had the mission to deliver educational lectures on the educational level of understanding of the Romanian villagers and identify their needs. The efforts also had to be increased twice fold: the dissemination of the press and books would enhance the ‘national enlightenment’ campaign. 40 A fundamental contribution to the theme was that of Oct. C. Tăslăuanu (1876–1942), 41 which was developed in the article ‘Două culturi’ [Two cultures]. 42 Tăslăuanu's main idea was that two cultures were divided into ‘the ruling class and the ruled class’. The author believed that a separation existed throughout Europe between the culture of the common people and that of the elites. The dichotomy was possible because the elites had taken control of the state and created special laws and advantages. The cultural difference was also highlighted through language. While the elites used academic language, the peasantry used ‘common language’. In conclusion, he believed that ‘we have the international culture of the ruling classes and the national cultures of the peasants who make up the difference between nations’. 43 The cause of the distinction was identified in the elites’ ideas. For everything to merge into a ‘national culture’, the elites would have to give up their way of life and power. Noting that the differences between the two classes had intensified over the previous two centuries, Tăslăuanu emphasized that the cultural unity was ‘a scholarly fiction’. For him, the elites were key factors in the educational environment, in which they formed their identities and carried out their activities. Supporting the topic from the stance of political activism, the newspapers claimed that Romanian teachers and priests had to educate the elites from cultural and political points of view. The newspapers frequently complained that the rural elites were not interested in supporting the social development of the Romanian peasants from the Austro–Hungarian Empire. The ideas put forth by the press of the time emphasize how activism and the primary purpose of the cultural elites of Transylvanian Romanians were perceived: the elites first aimed to achieve a process of economic, social and political education, before carrying out their activities as priests, teachers, notaries, etc. 44 The critical attitude towards the rural elites arose from a desire to present to Romanian priests and teachers the methods to develop the cultural willingness among the majority of Romanians, as well as to draw the attention of local elites to the lack of interest in this aspect. It should also be pointed out that, despite the condemnation of the priests’ and teachers’ disinterest in the ‘enlightenment’ of the Romanians, they were in a difficult situation. Some of them were paid as civil servants, which made it difficult for them to carry out activities that the state considered subversive.
The press widely debated the lives of rural inhabitants and the methods that could be used to improve their social condition, especially at the beginning of the twentieth century. 45 At the time, a series of special periodicals were published for the peasants in Transylvania. Based on the rural residents’ understanding, these articles specifically transmitted elitist messages of the Romanian intellectuals, who were aware of the low linguistic level of peasant readers. 46
Cultural education through the press used the method of travelogue, which had the most influence and impact on the readers, to transmit educational and informative messages. 47 Articles that referred to Transylvania as well as those about other countries or regions were accompanied by images and explanations, which illustrated a good knowledge of the geography, inhabitants and customs. The towns and areas of Transylvania 48 and those of the Kingdom of Romania 49 have been extensively described. Plenty of travelogues referred to the Bukovina, 50 Dobruja 51 and Bessarabia 52 provinces. In most cases, the discourse focused on clothing, occupations, monuments and regional histories/myths, and it particularly referred to the Romanians from the region. The information was also related to the Saxons, Hungarians, and Jews. The supplemented attention towards the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Romania increased general knowledge about them and simultaneously produced a sense of belonging and a bond between the Romanians from both sides of the Carpathian Mountains.
Based on my study, Japan was one of the favourite cultures included in the press. The articles about Japan contained an educational and mobilising message about the possibility of succeeding in the modernisation leap without losing traditional specificity. 53 Another country that benefited from increased attention from the press was Italy, 54 which is appreciated as a sister country of Romanians because of its Roman ancestry. Likewise included in the articles, Greece 55 was pictured as the cradle of European civilisation and the leading representative of Orthodox Christianity, of which the Romanians were part. Travelogues also referred to Germany, 56 Turkey, 57 Switzerland 58 and Serbia. 59
The travelogue issued a solid educational message to create an image of the similarities amongst the Romanians who lived in the Austro–Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Romania, the Tsarist Empire and those in the Balkan Peninsula.
The idea of diversity and descriptions of customs in neighbouring European countries were also presented. The articles underscored the idea of similarity and good coexistence with neighbours, rather than stressing differences and individual behaviours. As part of a multinational empire, the Romanian press in Transylvania responded positively to the descriptions of European, Asian and American countries. The publication frequency of this type of article was higher in the case of magazines than in newspapers because the latter was more concerned with the political or economic activity of the areas described.
In the pages of the press examined for this study, I identified some practical tips for improving the standards of everyday life. The newspapers and magazines supported unique columns in a language that enabled the message to reach as significant an audience as possible. Most articles conveyed advice on issues of agriculture, medical needs, hygiene, food, economy, culture, household maintenance and personal care. Quite many of them referred to guidelines for the care and education of children. Helpful information also covered the introduction or withdrawal of banknotes and coins in the period.
The medical situation of the time was also covered by the press. Focusing on the most common diseases, the authors referred to the aspects of prevention, symptoms, prophylaxis and home hygiene. 60 Among the most acute diseases discussed in the articles were diphtheria, 61 tuberculosis, 62 leprosy, 63 rabies, 64 plague, 65 cholera, 66 scarlet fever, 67 influenza 68 and malaria. 69 As can be seen, the most serious diseases, which have given rise to epidemics, as well as the less dangerous ones were addressed. 70 The authors warned the readers of their gravity and informed them about prevention and medication. Such medical attention and care were elaborated in easy-to-understand language.
Over time, articles related to social or family behaviour were likewise published. These contributions condemned the Romanians’ practice of using numerous linguistic borrowings from the French language, 71 which was a common topic at the time. Further criticisms pointed out the tendency to give up traditional Romanian names in favour of borrowings from other peoples 72 and the fashion of young people who stopped wearing the Romanian traditional dress. 73 The increase of concubinage among Romanians and marriage for interest was highlighted. Even though the writing condemned such a practice, as an educational message, it also raised the awareness amongst readers about human society and its constant state of transformation. What worried the journalists was that the rapid change undermined traditions and thus represented an assault on long-established Romanian culture.
While I will not analyse the political issues in detail, the following section will present some of the themes that are linked to political education. Usually, the magazines published fewer political articles than the newspapers, but they described some of the most important political ideas and currents. Meanwhile, the newspapers focused on presenting and commenting on the everyday political situation. Both forms of press provided information about the elections of the period, the evolution of the electoral campaigns, the pressure of the authorities in the electoral process, the poll results obtained by the Romanians and short biographies of elected deputies. Both forms of written press adopted different strategies again to spread educational messages. While the magazines presented the situation more academically, the newspapers used passion and discourse in a much more accessible way to the readers.
Regarding political education specifically, the press defined political terms such as ‘voter’, ‘elected’, ‘representative of the people’, 74 ‘freedom’, 75 the role and purpose of politicians 76 and the concept of judicial independence. 77 The political articles also pointed to the phenomenon that some of the financially powerful Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire were unaware of the needs of the vast majority of Romanians or avoided involvement in the struggle for their political and social emancipation. Instead, this group of people chose to emigrate to Romania or cohabited with the Austro–Hungarian authorities. 78 In relation to political topics, it should also be noted that most of the newspapers and magazines of the Romanians in Transylvania supported the activity of the Romanian National Party in Transylvania and Banat, which appeared in 1881. This action, which was ‘a national policy of the Transylvanian Romanians’, reflected the fact that the Romanian press joined and supported the activities of the Austro–Hungarian Romanians’ party. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the attitude of supporting the passivist model, that is, the Romanians’ refusal to participate in the country's political life, changed. The idea of adopting the activist current, which was represented by being involved in political life, now appeared. After 1905, when the Romanian National Party leaders adopted activism, the Romanian press followed suit.
My study shows that the Romanians’ press in Transylvania also supported various educational messages in the three categories analysed, namely the cultural, social and political. The analysis of the selected press showed that the construction of discourses, the chosen themes, and the publication frequency demonstrated the belief of both authors and editors in the need to educate the readers. Moreover, the educational component supported by the press and its themes were not published by accident. Rather, the press constantly attended to them by specifying that they were included in every editorial year, as well as in all the newspapers and magazines, regardless of their political leanings. Furthermore, the contents of articles have evolved from brief information or thesis to extensive critical analyses, especially of social and political issues.
Some periodicals have been proponents of political activism since the end of the nineteenth century, and others did not adopt these ideas until after 1905; however, as mentioned above, this did not affect the publication of educational articles. Instead, such articles provided thematic links between the newspapers and magazines of Transylvanian Romanians, just like the columns dedicated to daily news, which will be dealt with in the following section.
Informative themes
This section provides an analysis of the information types dedicated to news from the same time period of 1867–1914. In magazines, columns were placed at the end of issues, while news or comments appeared throughout the contents of newspaper issues.
Since their inauguration, the three magazines have contained sections dedicated to daily news. These segments mainly presented information about balls, electoral actions, the debates in the parliaments in Budapest and Bucharest, the change of some ministers or governments, the appointment of Romanians to administrative or political positions from the Austro–Hungarian Empire, the outbreak of fires, crimes committed and the evolution of the time epidemics. It should be noted that a good part of the daily news conveyed information about the ruling house of the Kingdom of Romania, and this was balanced with those dedicated to the ruling family of the Austro–Hungarian Empire.
Between 1865 and 1880, both newspapers and magazines eruditely presented the daily news. After this chronological interval, they focused on transmitting information accessible to a general audience at a low-literate rate. This situation reflected the changes in the international press, which aimed to attract as many readers as possible. 79 The publication of easy news also occurred because, from the second part of the nineteenth century onwards, literacy became widespread in the vast majority of the population. Therefore, the press aimed to convey understandable messages to less educated readers.
The press of the Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire was very concerned with the Romanian War of Independence (1877–1878). Magazines 80 and newspapers 81 allotted unique columns to the event. However, their positions were different. Unlike the newspapers, which presented the information from a political point of view, the magazines were limited to transmitting information related to the evolution of the war and the aid granted by the Romanians from Transylvania to support the Kingdom of Romania. This observation can be easily understood if we consider Austro–Hungarian press law, 82 where the publications could discuss political issues only after paying a bond. Magazines did not have to pay the bond: having declared themselves cultural publications, they avoided paying the tax. The same phenomenon happened with the news about the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt. Relatively little about the topic was presented by the magazines of Romanians in Transylvania, while the newspapers covered much of it. Other events of the period, such as the Balkan Wars of the second decade of the twentieth century, and especially Romania's involvement in the second Balkan conflagration, were debated by the Romanian press in Transylvania, which channelled the positionings of Romania and Austro–Hungarian Empire vis-à-vis the events. According to my analysis of articles pertaining to the three events (the Romanian War of Independence, the 1907 Romanian Peasants’ Revolt and the Balkan Wars), the Romanian press in Transylvania, as well as the Saxon or Hungarian press, took over the news from the press in Bucharest or Iasi. They either condemned the events or took Romania's side, especially in the case of the Romanian press in the intra-Carpathian province. The information was particularly taken from the major daily newspapers that appeared in Romania: Universul (1884–1951) [The Universe], Adevărul (1888–1946) [The Truth] and Dimineața (1904–1937) [Morning]. 83
In 1914, the representatives of the Romanians in Transylvania held discussions with the government led by Count István Tisza (1861–1918) about a possible political alliance. The press rejected a possible political agreement with the Hungarian rulers, believing that it would have been a favourable agreement to the advantage of the authorities. It also highlighted the dissatisfaction of many Hungarian elites with the deal. The failure of negotiations and the positions taken by the Romanian political elites were widely commented on, especially by newspapers, and much information was published about the political life of Romanians in Bessarabia and Bukovina. The first province was under the rule of the Tsarist Empire, and the second was part of the Austro–Hungarian Empire but on the side that was administered by the Austrians. As the press analysed references to Romanians in Bukovina, it considered them fellow citizens and admired the evolution of their political life, which was better than that of the intra-Carpathian province. The interest of the Transylvanian press in Bessarabia and Bukovina can be explained by the fact that, like the province in which they appeared, the two regions were inhabited mostly by Romanians in the empires bordering the Kingdom of Romania.
A common aspect of the newspapers and magazines was the detailed presentation of the Kingdom of Romania's social, cultural, economic and political situation. The perspective adopted by the press in Bessarabia and Bukovina regarding Romania was described in a positive light, which stood in contrast to the position on the Hungarian side of the Austro–Hungarian Empire. Some magazines, for example, Familia and Luceafărul, entertained columns dedicated to the culture and social life of the capital of Romania, Bucharest. Newspapers, instead, focused on aspects of politics and economy. As expected, the press presented the information related to Romania in pages dedicated to internal affairs rather than external ones, even if it referred to a country distinct from the one in which they were published. This aspect reveals that the elites of Romanians in Transylvania considered themselves much closer to the Romanians’ lives in the Old Kingdom. Their attitude meant that Transylvanian Romanians were much better informed about the happenings in the Kingdom of Romania than those in their own country. One must also consider that most Romanians did not know the Hungarian language and were informed only by the Romanian-language press. 84 Moreover, some of the analysed periodicals took over the daily news from the press in Bucharest. For this reason, famous politicians and the ruling family of Romania benefited from a series of biographical articles accompanied by photographs, which were overlooked by those in the Austro–Hungarian Empire. One cannot escape the feeling that the editors attempted to create a unified perspective of the evolution of Romanians on both sides of the Carpathians in terms of culture and political life. Furthermore, the presentation of Romania's social, economic, cultural and political situation as being much better than that of the Austro–Hungarian Empire could not have failed to touch a nerve with Romanians from Transylvania. 85 The emphasis on highlighting the situation in Romania, which is more pronounced than the one in the Austro–Hungarian Empire, is linked to the political orientation of the press under analysis. Periodicals, such as Familia, Luceafărul and Tribuna, which clearly supported the activist policy until 1905, focused on presenting the local political activities and comparisons with their politically active neighbours, they referred in particular to the Saxons. 86 Meanwhile, the other publications, which supported the passivist tactics, were not very concerned with the presentation of political actions.
Articles in the magazines highlighted concerns about fashion and housekeeping, with information specifically aimed at the needs of women. In addition to pure knowledge, such details in the articles transmitted necessary educational advice to the reading public.
Regarding news dissemination through the press, I again found different methods used by magazines and newspapers. The magazines appealed to an elitist mode of transmission and sometimes with much more expediency than newspapers. In the most numerous situations, the newspapers used insults and messages that were too personal, and this attitude distanced them from a segment of the readers. In addition, I noticed the concern of the authors of the informative articles to convey useful educational information in the news sections.
Conclusions
Both types of press, newspapers and magazines, addressed various topics of interest such as culture, social issues and politics. Using educational articles, the Romanian press from Transylvania aimed to convey helpful information to its readers regarding the current situation of the era. My paper has illuminated on the educational themes in cultural, social and political articles.
It can be noticed that the Transylvanian press sustained the historical issues concerning the whole area inhabited by Romanians and published writings by contributors from all over the Romanian space. Both Enlightenment and Romanticism ideas were obvious in the treatment of the topics, even if historical criticism made its presence felt after 1880. Furthermore, through historical articles, the political struggles of the Romanians in the Austro–Hungarian Empire continued to manifest. Here, the press did not consider the political orientations of the time, and the editors followed the national objective of the Romanians. These articles and their educational messages sought to achieve a unity of national consciousness, an action that persisted through literary articles or those dedicated to the biographies of Romanian personalities.
One essential educational component supported by the press was the travelogue, which espoused messages related to the modernisation and adoption of the innovations of the time, the acceptance of diversity and the need for international collaboration in keeping with the spirit of Romanticism. The travelogue was also based on historical descriptions and the geographical space of South–East Europe, where the Romanians lived. The descriptions dedicated to the internal space of the Romanians referred to Transylvania and the Kingdom of Romania, while those dedicated to the external area, as the analysed press perceived it, references to countries and regions worldwide. As in the case of the historical articles, the influence of Enlightenment ideas can be seen in these articles. It should also be noted that the travelogue's authors were the leading names of Romanian culture as well as ordinary travellers. For this reason, I can distinguish two types of travel descriptions: those made by cultural personalities mainly concerned with the areas of interest of those who made them, history, popular literature, folklore, etc. and those made by ordinary travellers, mainly concerned with how people lived in the places they passed through, with a much more focus on their lives rather than on the cultural or historical aspects. The themes in their writings were related to the regions’ history, traditions and customs, the fight against superstitions, the cultivation of national specificity, and the importance of modernisation. The magazines and newspapers focused on such contributions, which had credit among their readers. The difference appears in the way of transmission. While the magazines had an elitist message that was appropriate for their targeted audience, the newspapers used a popularising discourse that was easily accessible to the poorly literate, because they wanted to reach all categories of readers.
As shown in my analysis of the informational component, the flow was channelled on the news about the Kingdom of Romania. This situation could be explained by the fact that the press selected for my study wanted to support the cultural fusion of Transylvanian Romanians and, as a subsidiary, presented information about a possible political union. The news about Romania was more favourable than those about the Austro–Hungarian Empire. The informative component was a feature of the newspapers but it was likewise present in the magazines Familia and Luceafărul, although not at the same level as the current news.
It can be concluded that the educational and informational messages had specific characteristics of their period. A regression regarding the discursive level of the topics researched can also be observed. The prime example of this development is the thematic focus on the needs of the majority after 1880; this turn departed from the earlier emphasis on the concerns of the elites. Since the end of the nineteenth century, the press has sought to address an increasingly important segment of the population, and it eventually achieved this goal at around the outbreak of World War I. As demonstrated by the social, political and cultural developments in the first half of the twentieth century, the impact of educational messages was beneficial and the lessons were clearly taken up by readers.
Footnotes
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI – UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-0412, within PNCDI III.
