Last edition of the Austrian “Wiener Zeitung” went on sale on Friday (30.jun); daily news has been produced since 1703
the austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung, which claims to be the oldest in the world, printed its last edition on Friday (June 30, 2023). The daily newspaper will stop circulating after almost 320 years due to a law passed in the country in April. Now, the newspaper will be called WZ and will continue with online publications.
Founded in 1703, the Wiener Zeitung is known for its journalistic quality and its politically independent views and also acts as an official journal, publishing information on national companies. The newspaper was originally called Wiennerisches Diariumbut it was renamed in 1780 and has belonged to the Austrian state since 1857.
In the final edition, the cover of the newspaper represented the time for which the vehicle followed the history of Austria. “320 years, 12 presidents, 10 emperors, 2 republics, 1 newspaper”stamped.
The oldest national print newspaper in the world still in circulation is now believed to be the German one. Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitungfirst published in 1705.
However, the title is disputed by the Gazzetta di Mantovaa local Italian newspaper that would have been published for the 1st time in 1664. London Gazettean official UK government journal that does not report news, dates from 1665.
On April 27, the Austrian Parliament approved a new law that no longer requires advertisements to run in the newspaper’s print edition. The measure cut off the newspaper’s main source of funding.
“It is not the role of the Republic to administer and finance a daily newspaper“said, in 2021, the then Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz when the changes surfaced for the 1st time.
According to the German magazine Der Spiegelthis change resulted in an estimated loss of €18 million (about R$95 million at current exchange rates) for the publisher and forced the newspaper to terminate 63 positions, including the reduction of its editorial staff from 55 to 20 employees.
PAPERLESS QUALITY JOURNALISM
This Saturday (Jul 1, 2023), the newspaper published an editorial titled “Quality journalism can also be done without paper”in which he explained how the coverage of the newspaper, which will now be called WZin online publications.
“We will no longer be a ‘complete newspaper’ – there will be no more sports coverage, weather and program tips. […] We will continue to do quality independent and critical journalism. It’s just not on paper anymore.” said the editorial.
Regarding the name change, the newspaper stated that it has a “public law mandate to make journalism for all in Austria”. “As a mark of the new beginning, we are leaving the name with a focus on Vienna a little behind”, he said. The old name translates to “Viennese newspaper” in Portuguese.
O WZ continues to be funded by the Austrian government, with independent content. However, the news will no longer be daily and factual as before. In addition to the content on the site, the WZ it also says it will maintain a weekly podcast and a monthly video documentary. The newspaper also states that it intends to return with a printed product in 2024.
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