After 320 years, the Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung – one of the oldest in the world – published its final edition.
The final edition’s cover read: “116,840 days, 320 years, 12 Austrian presidents, 10 emperors, two republics, and one newspaper.” The newspaper will continue to be published online and the team hopes to print one issue per month.
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Wiener Zeitung’s final printed edition
(Photo: Alex HALADA / AFP)
Wiener Zeitung, one of oldest newspapers in world is also the only one that distributed a national daily.
The newspaper’s first edition, originally called Wienerisches Diarium, was published on August 8, 1703.
Along with domestic and foreign news, the paper also covered topics like culture. The newspaper reported in 1768 that a young boy of 12 years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was performing at a concert.
In its final edition, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a world-renowned Austrian was interviewed.
Seit 1857, Wiener Zeitung is owned by Austrian government. Its editors have enjoyed editorial freedom over the years, but the newspaper’s main source of income came from being the government’s official gazette.
In April, a new law in Austria abolished the requirement that advertisers pay for newspaper advertisements. The newspaper was forced to reduce its staff from 55 to 20, and 63 employees due to the sharp drop in revenues.
In the paper’s final editorial article, the editors noted that the law passed in April was the reason for ending the newspaper’s print edition.
The quality of journalism is in turmoil. “Quality content competes for attention in more platforms with fake news and cat videos, according to the article.