Lietuvos žinios (literally:News of Lithuania) was a daily newspaper inLithuania. Established inVilnius in 1909, it was a liberal newspaper representing theLithuanian Democratic Party. Even though its publication was interrupted by World War I andSoviet occupation of Lithuania,Lietuvos žinios billed itself as the oldest newspaper in Lithuania.[1]
Jonas Vileišis, publisher ofVilniaus žinios, decided to discontinue the newspaper and establishedLietuvos žinios on June 19, 1909. A few months later he transferred the rights to theLithuanian Democratic Party.[2]Lietuvos žinios was published by partnershipF. Bortkevičienė, dr.K. Grinius ir Ko and shared staff withLietuvos ūkininkas.[3] Its initial circulation was 2,500 copies.[4] At first it was published twice a week. In 1911, it began publishing three times a week becoming a daily in 1914. The newspaper included semi-independent monthly supplements, includingAušrinė (for youth),Mokykla (on education),Farmaceutų reikalai (on pharmacy),Vasaros darbai (collection of folklore).[5] Editors in chief wereJonas Vileišis,Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė,Mykolas Sleževičius,Jurgis Šaulys, andŽemaitė. Even though it was affiliated with the Democratic Party, the newspaper attempted to represent non-partisan liberal agenda.[2]Lietuvos žinios reported on political, economic, and cultural news in Lithuania and abroad. After writer Žemaitė became its editor, the newspaper paid more attention to literature. It publisher a few of her short stories. Other contributing fiction writers includedIgnas Šeinius,Julius Janonis,Balys Sruoga,Kazys Binkis.[2] It was discontinued on August 15, 1915 due to World War I.
Lietuvos žinios was revived on February 16, 1922 inKaunas by theLithuanian Popular Peasants' Union. Its notable editors includedKazys Grinius,Felicija Bortkevičienė,Jonas Kardelis (1933–1940). In 1924, the newspaper had only four pages and circulation of 2,800 copies.[6]Lietuvos žinios advocated for the Peasant Popular Union, publishing its agenda, resolutions and activity reports. After the elections to theThird Seimas in June 1926, the Peasant Popular Union formed a coalition government with theSocial Democratic Party. This propelled the newspaper into the spotlight as the voice for the new government.[3] After thecoup d'état in December 1926, the newspaper stubbornly opposed the new authoritarian regime ofAntanas Smetona, was censored, and even temporarily suspended.[1] Despite political struggles, the newspaper grew to 12 pages (22–24 pages on Saturday) and circulation of 30,000 by 1935,[6] at times competing with officialLietuvos aidas in popularity.[3] The newspaper was praised for having a network of correspondents in each county of Lithuania as well as major European cities and its ability to publish news quickly and effectively.[6]Lietuvos žinios was discontinued on September 1, 1940, afterLithuania was occupied by theSoviet Union.
In 1990, when Lithuania declared independence, theSocial Democratic Party of Lithuania revivedLietuvos žinios as a newspaper for politics, culture and society. Its daily circulation peaked at some 30,000 copies and later plummeted. In 1993, it was acquired by theAchema Group. In 2010, it had circulation of about 20,000 copies.[7] After suffering a net loss of 963,300 euros in 2018, the newspaper was discontinued on 30 April 2019.[8]