Feral Tribune was a Croatian political weekly magazine. Based in Split, it first started as a political satire supplement in Nedjeljna Dalmacija (the Sunday edition of the Slobodna Dalmacija daily newspaper) before evolving into an independent satirical weekly in 1993. It became a popular political weekly in the 2000s before ceasing publication in June 2008.

The magazine, whose name was a play on Herald Tribune (see below), and which billed itself as a "weekly magazine for Croatian anarchists, protesters and heretics", commonly included a provocative satirical photomontage on the cover page, a short news section (titled "Informbiro"), editorials, interviews, a satirical section (titled "Feral Tromblon"), and sections on music, books and the Internet.

Another popular section, titled "Greatest Shits", included a collection of ludicrous statements made in the Croatian media by politicians and other public figures in the previous week. The magazine typically had between 50 and 100 pages in total. It was originally printed in black and white, later changed to full color glossy paper, but then reverted to black and white. In 1994 Feral Tribune also launched a book publishing department which published a series of works by renowned contemporary authors and intellectuals from ex-Yugoslav countries, such as Arsen Dedić, Slavenka Drakulić, Milan Kangrga, Mirko Kovač, Izet Sarajlić and Nenad Veličković, foreign writers such as Isaiah Berlin, Norberto Bobbio, Leonard Cohen and George Soros, as well as works by their in-house columnists such as Boris Dežulović and Viktor Ivančić.

Although the magazine was hugely popular in the 1990s and had received a number of international awards during the period, its circulation gradually declined in the 2000s. Following a series of financial difficulties and failed takeover negotiations with Europapress Holding, the magazine was forced to cease publication in 2008 and published its final issue on 19 June 2008. In March 2010 a digital archive of all articles ever published in Feral Tribune was published in the form of a four-disc DVD set. The trio named itself by combining letters in their names to form "Viva Ludež", their neologism for goofy madness. Their works initially appeared in the weekly humour supplement of Nedjeljna Dalmacija in 1988. After a month, Feral was banned after it ran a satirical piece ridiculing then Serbian president Slobodan Milošević's nationalist and anti-establishment protests. Meanwhile, Ivančić, the magazine's editor, was conscripted to the Croatian army. This tax received criticism and in 1995 the Croatian Constitutional Court overturned the decision. In 1998, they were sued by the government for an article criticizing Tudjman's plan to move the remains of Ustaše soldiers and bury them alongside World War Two concentration camp victims at Jasenovac.

Financial troubles and closure

In June 2007, the paper missed two weekly issues due to financial problems. The editorial staff announced that their bank accounts had been blocked due to a VAT debt, and that several court rulings against the paper had imposed additional strain on their accounts. The staff accused the Croatian government of favoring governmental and nationalist media by writing off their VAT debts, thus creating an unfair competition to Feral. The finance ministry's decision to freeze the weekly's bank accounts was widely condemned in Croatia. Croatian officials, including the President Stjepan Mesić and the Prime Minister Ivo Sanader both pledged help to Feral Tribune, both acclaiming it as a contributor to the development of democracy in Croatia, but no help was actually offered.

On 28 June 2007, the paper began publication again. It was reported that, due to financial difficulties, it was to be bought by Europa Press Holding (EPH), the largest publisher in Croatia (Globus, Jutarnji list), sparking speculation regarding the future of Feral's independence. However, in June 2008, after the EPH started avoiding the paper's officials in takeover negotiations, Feral Tribune editors announced the end of the magazine. After 15 years, and numerous lawsuits from politicians, editors cited financial troubles due to lack of funding and the failure of negotiations with EPH as the causes.

Awards

Feral had won several important awards over the years:

  • In 1992 it received Veselko Tenžera's award and the Stefanel award.
  • In 1996 it won International Press Directory's award for freedom of the press.
  • In 1997 it won the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom, and an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
  • In 1998 it received an award for the best political satire newspaper in the world, at the International fair of political satire in Forte dei Marmi.

See also

  • Boris Dežulović
  • Viktor Ivančić
  • Nedjeljna Dalmacija

Further reading

References

Sources

  • Official website
  • Feral Tribune back issues at ceeol.com