''Blesk'' () is a daily tabloid newspaper published in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
.
History and profile
''Blesk'' was first published on 14 April 1991. In 1992, it launched a weekly edition published on Sundays and its magazine, which is a comprehensive TV guide, was started in 1993. The paper is headquartered in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and was owned by
Ringier
Ringier is a media group operating in multiple countries with over 6,500 employees. Founded in 1833, the family-owned business manages media brands across print and digital, TV and radio, and is active in the entertainment and digital marketplac ...
until December 2013. Its owner is the Czech News Center (CNC) and its publisher is the Czech Print Center, a subsidiary of the CNC.
Its lay-out is modelled from the Swiss tabloid '' Blick'', also published by Ringier, and the German daily ''
Bild
''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...
'' which is published by ''
Axel Springer SE
Axel Springer SE () is a European multinational corporation, multinational mass media, mass and online media company, based in Berlin, Germany. The company offers printing and publishing of advertisements, digital classifieds portfolio, marketi ...
''. Thus, ''Blesk'' is a tabloid newspaper and is neutral in its political and religious leaning.
The daily's sister paper is '' Aha!'', another tabloid. Vladimír Mužík is among the former
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
s of the daily who served until April 2011 when Pavel Šafr was appointed editor-in-chief of the paper. Šafr's tenure ended on 1 May 2013 and Radek Lain became the editor-in-chief of the paper.
Circulation
The circulation of ''Blesk'' was 378,000 copies in 2002, making it the best selling newspaper in the country. In October 2003 the paper had a circulation of 485,334 copies and was the most read newspaper in the Czech Republic. Its circulation was 458,000 copies in 2003, making it the best selling newspaper in the country. In December 2004 the paper had a circulation of 500,840 copies. It was 514,000 copies for 2004 as a whole.
In 2006, ''Blesk'' ranked first with the circulation of 480,000 copies. The 2007 circulation of the paper was 432,170 copies, making it the most read paper in the country. The circulation of ''Blesk'' was 435,505 copies in 2008 and 412,238 copies in 2009. It was 384,991 copies in 2010 and 347,566 copies in 2011. In 2012, its circulation was down to 305,600 copies. In 2013, the paper had the second highest circulation in the country.