Czechoslovakia was once known as Bohemia. Printing press was introduced in this country via Germany soon after Gutenberg printed his Bibles. The first book of that country was printed in Pilsen in 1468.

At least two historians assert there had been newspapers issued in 1515, but no indication of what they were like has come down to us.

The Hapsburgs had claimed and won the throne of Behemia in 1526. Only few weeks earlier, the Turks had crushed neighbouring Hungary at the Battle of Mohac, an event reported in the first newssheets we know of to have circulated in Prague.

Many more newspapers followed but all of them joined the reformation and counter-reformation forces. Censorship was imposed in 1622 that continued until 1848.

The first signs of a national revival appeared in the 18th century. Newspapers began with a twice-weekly journal, the Prazske Noviny ( Prague News) , the origins of which can be traced to 1719. German language papers had started even earlier, but the Prazske Noviny was the first to be printed in Czech. This did not necessarily make it popular, however, since, like the German papers, it was the voice of the Hapsburg administration. The first attempt at publishing a newspaper in Hungarian-ruled Slovakia was made in 1783, when Daniel Tallyai issued the Prespurske Noviny ( Presberger News). However after four years he had to close the paper for lack of subscribers; almost 25 years passed before the second, Tydennik (Weekly) came in the market.