The Bottomless Barrel: The Ownership and Financing of a Catholic Publisher: The Central Press Company in Interwar Hungary

Klestenitz, Tibor (2024) The Bottomless Barrel: The Ownership and Financing of a Catholic Publisher: The Central Press Company in Interwar Hungary. CENTRAL EUROPEAN HORIZONS, 4 (2). pp. 54-76. ISSN 2732-0456

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Abstract

The Central Press Company, founded in Budapest in 1918 by Catholic clerics and intellectuals to promote Christian national values, published two major dailies: Nemzeti Újság and Új Nemzedék. These papers were highly popular in 1919–1920 but soon faced a steep decline in sales, creating chronic financial problems. To survive, the company relied on state support from István Bethlen’s conservative government in the 1920s, which also imposed political constraints on its editorial policy. Later, the owners sought aid from Catholic bishops, who introduced the “culture pennies” poll tax among the faithful, but this caused conflicts and failed to stabilize finances. In the early 1930s, after the Great Depression, Új Nemzedék was turned into a tabloid, achieving commercial success. In 1935, the Gömbös government tried unsuccessfully to take over the paper through financial pressure. The study examines the company’s interwar financing within its political, social, and ecclesiastical context.

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