Szabadság
| Type | Daily |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 23, 1989 |
| Language | Hungarian |
| Circulation | 7,000-8,000 |
| Website | Online edition |
Szabadság (Freedom) is a Hungarian-language local daily newspaper published in Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Its average circulation is about 7,000-8,000 copies a day, with a readership up to 40,000 readers.
Overview
The newspaper was first published in the Communist Romania named Igazság (Truth) between 20 May 1945 to 22 December 1989. After the Revolution it was renamed to Szabadság, and continued to appear six times a week.
The online version of the newspaper (www.szabadsag.ro) is viewed daily by several thousand readers from all around the world. On March 15, 1995, Szabadság became the first daily newspaper from Romania and Hungary with its own web page. It was the first in Romania to use the offset technology and to be published in full color.
With a total staff of 30, including 20 journalists, the daily is distributed in 5 counties in central Transylvania, inhabited by an important Hungarian population.
The newspaper is privately owned by the Minerva Cultural Association from Cluj, an NGO led by the main employees of Szabadság. The Hungarian-language daily is financially independent, and does not receive any government grants. Its costs are covered by sales (around 60%) and advertising (40%). Less than 1% of its annual turnover comes from public foundations from Hungary and Romania.
Szabadság is a general newspaper dealing with all types of news from the local to the regional, as well as national and international. It also has opinion columns, editorials, political, cultural, economical, IT&C, automobile, EU, sports, opera, lifestyle, student, animal protection, health, music, science sections, as well as two supplements for children.
Szabadság is the number one daily newspaper in the Cluj area, even though it is published in Hungarian. There are several Romanian-language dailies published in the city, but none of them has so many copies.