Last edition of world’s oldest national newspaper goes into press

Austria's 320-year-old newspaper Wiener Zeitung has ceased publication. From now on it will be published online only. The latest print edition of the newspaper was published on Saturday (July 1).

In a report, the British media The Guardian said this information.

The parliament's decision will finally resolve a years-long dispute between the Austrian government and the newspaper over the future of the state-owned daily.

In 1703, the newspaper Wienerisches Diarium began to be published. In 1780 it was renamed "Winner Zeitung".

The private fortnight was nationalized in 1857 by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Through this it started its journey as a government newspaper.

Last April, the coalition government changed a law related to newspapers by a majority decision in the country's parliament. It was decided to stop printing it according to the law.

According to the law, the newspaper will no longer have to pay the amount it had to pay for publishing government notices in the print edition of the "Wiener Zeitung".

This national newspaper used to print job circulars and official notices in gadget form. Most of the newspaper's income came from these advertisements. At the same time the news was also published.

However, questions were raised about this expenditure for several years. "It is not the responsibility of the state to finance and operate a daily newspaper," said former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in 2021.

Due to this further discussion, the matter was raised in Parliament and it was decided to stop its printing by law.

Meanwhile, the newspaper is facing financial crisis due to this decision. It suffered a loss of $15 million after the law passed.

Besides, 63 workers have been fired. The number of editorial staff has been reduced from 55 to 20.

From now on this magazine will be online only. And that too is not just a daily newspaper, but an online platform for training and further education.

Besides, it is planned to bring out a print version of the newspaper once a month. However, that plan is still under consideration.

The editorial in the first edition of the newspaper said, "We want to give a simple account of the news, no fluff or poetry."

The newspaper even printed a special edition on the abdication of Kaiser Karl, the last Habsburg emperor, when Austria was defeated in World War I.

"She is not happy with the magazine's current situation," European Commission (EU) Vice President Vera Jurova told the Austrian News Agency (APA).

"The Wiener Zeitung has played an important role in providing information to people over the years," he said.

An editorial in the last print edition of the newspaper on Saturday criticized the new law issued by the government. At the same time, it is said that quality journalism is going through difficult times.

Hundreds of people protested in the streets of the Austrian capital Vienna against the government's decision to stop printing the century-old newspaper.

In the printing history of more than three hundred years, the publication of the "Wiener Zeitung" was discontinued only once. After Hitler's occupation of Austria in 1939, the Nazis stopped publication of the newspaper.

After a gap of 6 years, the publication of the newspaper started again in 1945. However, Austria was still occupied by the Allies during World War II.

Although the online version is in operation, Thomas Seifert, deputy editor in chief of the newspaper, thinks, “The decision is not only about publishing the online or print version. Rather, it involves the spirit of the newspaper.”

In a survey by the World Association of News Publishers in 2004, "Wiener Zeitung" was recognized as one of the oldest newspapers still in operation.

Since its closure, the world's oldest newspaper has been replaced by the German newspaper Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung, published in 1705, two years after the Wiener Zeitung.

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