Croatia’s legendary publication Feral Tribune has closed for financial reasons.

Feral was an outstanding and courageous source of scurrilous but hard-hitting attacks in the 1990s on Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and his close associates, who strove mightily to close down the paper.

In 1997 Robin Cook flew from Banja Luka to meet Tudjman. Tudjman knew that the issue of official Croatian assaults on free media would come up.

It did. As I heard the story later, when Robin Cook raised the subject Tudjman clicked his fingers and in solemnly walked a flunky with a silver tray laden with articles from the Croatian media critical of Tudjman, complete with lampooning pictures of Tudjman with spectacles and a silly beard crudely added.

Tudjman insisted that the media in Croatia were free, as this weighty material scandalously attacking him showed.

R Cook opined that in democracies such phenomena in fact were quite normal.

"Look at this!" said Tudjman. "No other government in the world would accept such attacks on the head of state."

"Sometimes the truth hurts," mused the Foreign Secretary.

Easy enough to find on the Internet examples of Feral in its most aggressive form, including brave investigative reporting of atrocities committed in Croatia against Serbs.

For something more subtle, try this. A reporting piece by Ivan Lovrenovic evincing insight, wisdom and generosity of spirit. Great journalism. 

Hvala, Feral.