Stjepan Andrašić has passed away, the legendary editor-in-chief of Večernji list from 1983 to 1990, a man who was not only a journalist but also an innovator in Croatian journalism.
Among the numerous innovations he introduced as editor-in-chief at Večernjak, which led it to record daily circulations, was the launch of the supplement ‘Business World’, the first specialized section that dealt exclusively with business in former Yugoslavia, which became a breeding ground for talent in business journalism and a precursor to other business publications, including Lider.
Stjepan Andrašić was born in Vrbovo near Zlatar on August 17, 1941. He was well-educated, having graduated from the Faculty of Forestry, studied journalism at the Faculty of Political Science, and completed the Higher School for Foreign Trade.
He began his journalism career while still a student, publishing in the Student Newspaper, and at the very beginning of 1971, he started working at Večernji list, where he built his career by literally climbing all the rungs from a novice reporter in the city section to editor-in-chief.
After leaving Večernjak, he founded the publishing company Masmedia, specializing in business and professional literature as well as professional magazines, which he launched in Croatia with partners from Germany. He briefly returned to the journalism scene in 2004 when he took over Poslovni dnevnik from EPH, which he sold two years later.
In the editorial office of Lider, there are still a few of us who had Stjepan Andrašić as our editor-in-chief at Večernjak and who will remember him as a person who skillfully navigated the very turbulent waters of journalism during a time of great political upheaval while also building the most profitable printed product that existed in the market at that time.
Dear Štef, thank you for everything we learned from you!
