After 320 years of existence, the Austrian daily wiener zeitung It publishes its last issue this Friday, June 30. Founded in 1703, it claims to be the world’s oldest daily, reports RFI.
The last one shows a count of the days, months and years that the title has been tirelessly publishing.
singular operation
Born at the time of the Habsburg Empire, the newspaper was then called the viennese newspaper before being renamed in 1780.
Nationalized in the mid-19th century by François Joseph 1er, the wiener zeitung since then it has belonged to the Austrian state. Until now, it has functioned as an Official Gazette, publishing legal texts and information related to Austrian companies, with an independent editorial team of around forty journalists.
But on April 27, a media law voted by the Austrian Parliament changes his destiny, by including a clause that puts an end to his OJ activity as of July 1. Without the resulting income, the newspaper will have to stop printing, especially since the Government, which claims to apply a European directive here, has not wanted to fill the gap of 20 million euros that weighed down the title’s finances.
An online version lives on
The newspaper has so far had a circulation of 20,000 copies on weekdays and double on weekends. The online version of the newspaper will continue to be published, with a priority for youth and solutions journalism, with the possibility of ad hoc print publications depending on available funds.
The 320-year-old brand will surely survive, “but no one knows what the future of the publication will be: will it remain rigorous journalism,” deputy editor Mathias Ziegler protested last April. Of the 200 employees, more than 60 should also be fired, including about 20 journalists.
In April, several hundred people protested in the streets to try to “save the newspaper”, to no avail. “Democracy needs quality media,” read one banner, as Austria’s tabloid press has been rocked by corruption scandals in recent months.
Questioned by the APA agency, the vice president of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, lamented this result and thanked “the useful role” played by the Wiener Zeitung over the years.
Source: BFM TV
