World’s Oldest Newspapers ‘Wiener Zeitung’ Published Since 1703 To Cease Print Publication

Austria’s Wiener Zeitung, one of the oldest newspapers still published in the world, will predominantly go online as a result of a decision made by the nation’s parliament on Thursday.

The outcome signals the end of a protracted legal battle between the Austrian government and the newspaper over the direction of the national daily.

The Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria nationalized the once-private biweekly paper in 1857, becoming it the nation’s official gazette.

The paper was first published under the name Wiennerisches Diarium in 1703 and then changed its name to Wiener Zeitung in 1780.

Wiener Zeitung End by law

A new law that will predominantly transfer publishing online starting on July 1 was “adopted with a majority,” according to Norbert Hofer, the third president of the parliament.

Depending on the funding, the periodical will sustain a minimum of ten print publications year.

The World Association of News Publishers told AFP that The Wiener Zeitung was one of the oldest newspapers still in print in 2004.

The newspaper’s primary source of income, serving as the official gazette, will be transferred to an independent state-owned internet portal.

In accordance with a European regulation to centralise and disseminate public information online, the administration claimed, this was the case.

The Wiener will launch a media hub, a content agency, and a centre for journalist training in the interim.

According to Mathias Ziegler, the Wiener Zeitung’s deputy managing editor, “Some fear that the government simply wants to keep the Wiener Zeitung brand with its 320-year-old history.

While nobody knows what the future publication will look like or whether it will still be serious journalism.”

40 of its more than 200 staff, including 40 journalists, may lose their jobs.

The Wiener Zeitung has a weekday circulation of about 20,000 and a weekend circulation that is roughly double that.

Vera Jourova, vice president of the EU Commission, expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation to the Austrian news agency APA.

“I believe that over the years, the Wiener Zeitung did a good job of informing people.”

On Tuesday, several hundred people demonstrated against the government’s decision in Vienna.