Monitor (Polish newspaper)

The Monitor was one of the first newspapers in Poland, published from 1765 to 1785, during the Polish Enlightenment^[1].

The newspaper was created by Ignacy Krasicki and Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, with initiative and supporting of king Stanisław August Poniatowski^[2]. It was published in royal printery, twice a week. Monitor usually had 8 pages.

It was edited in imitation of english The Spectator, some of articles from its were borrowed. Periodical supported and promoted religious tolerance, development of natural science and criticized noble and magnate feudalism, but supported bourgeoisie and peasantry. In new, short journalist forms (essays, reportages, letters to staff, articles, opinion pieces etc.) autors criticized sarmatic backwardness and propounded new model of enlightened nobleman. The main objective of this periodical was reform of customs and morality of society. There're fought off e.g.:

• Drunkenness and card playing
• Idleness
• Aversion to civilizational oeuvre of foreign countries
• Gossiping
• Mania of dueling
• Eulogism
• Fanaticism

The periodical was addresed to company of educated readers, became in first period of it's existing the press organ of king's faction.

In Monitor there were printed texts of the most notable polish writers from 18th century, but in some years, mostly in later, there were dominated translations and adaptations of foreign autors' texts, or it's own articles from earlier years. E.g. all the year 1772 was written by Ignacy Krasicki, who translated and adapted to polish conditions articles from english "The Spectator".

The cooperators and editors of this periodical were mainly people from Stanisław August's surroundings, e.g. Feliks Franciszek Łoyko, Tadeusz Lipski, Stanisław Konarski and Franciszek Bohomolec

• Fables and Parables
• Gazeta Narodowa i Obca
• Gazeta Warszawska
• Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny
• Zabawy Przyjemne i Pożyteczne (Pastimes Pleasant and Profitable)

• Klimowicz M. - Enlightened, 2nd edition, Warsaw: PWN, 1975

• Digital copies of Lower Silesian Digital Library
• Digital copies of Digital Library of University of Łódź