Since he was now engaged in a draining open conflict with the regime, financially strapped Ćuruvija for the first time turned to American organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy for funding.
The first issue of Blic appeared on September 16, 1996 thus becoming the 10th daily newspaper to be published in FR Yugoslavia at the time (the other nine being Politika, Borba, Dnevnik, Pobjeda, Narodne novine, Večernje novosti, Politika ekspres, Naša borba, and Dnevni telegraf).