La Epoca (Ladino newspaper)
Ladino newspaper in the Ottoman Empire (1875–1911)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Epoca (Ladino: The Era) was a Ladino language newspaper published between 1875 and 1911 in Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire. Published nearly for forty years it was the leading Ladino publication in the Empire[1] and first Ladino newspaper in Thessaloniki.[2]
- Daily newspaper
- Weekly newspaper
- Saadi Levy
- Samuel Levy
- Saadi Levy
- Samuel Levy
Cover page dated 1902 | |
| Type |
|
|---|---|
| Founder | Saadi Levy |
| Publisher |
|
| Editor |
|
| Founded | 1 November 1875 |
Ceased publication | 1911 |
Political alignment |
|
| Language | Ladino |
| Headquarters | Thessaloniki |
| Country | Ottoman Empire |
Sister newspapers | Le Journal de Salonique |
History and profile
La Epoca was launched by Saadi Levy in 1875, and the first issue appeared on 1 November that year.[3][4] He also served as the publisher and editor-in-chief of the paper until 1888.[5] He was the publisher of another paper entitled Le Journal de Salonique, a French language newspaper.[6] The subtitle of La Epoca was Revista comerciala y literaria (Ladino: Commercial and literary newspaper), and the paper had a progressive and avant-garde stance.[3] Its supporter was Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Jewish organization.[3] La Epoca targeted the Sephardi Jews living in Thessaloniki and other towns who could only read Ladino materials.[7]
Following the death of Saadi Levy his son, Samuel, became the editor and publisher of La Epoca.[4] The newspaper was first published on a daily basis, and then, its frequency was switched to weekly.[4] One of the contributors was Mercado Joseph Covo.[1][8] La Epoca and its sister newspaper Le Journal de Salonique both supported Zionism, socialism and Ottomanism.[6] In 1892 La Epoca praised the Ottomans for offering them a land after their expulsion from Spain and described the Empire as the "land where we are eating free bread."[4] Following the Young Turk revolution in 1908 both La Epoca and Le Journal de Salonique focused more on Zionism.[9]
La Epoca folded in 1911.[2][3] The paper was archived by the National Library of Israel.[4]
