The oldest newspaper in the world said goodbye to paper

Wiener Zeitung, the world’s oldest newspaper, published its last daily edition after 320 years.

Vienna-based Wiener Zeitung announced that it has taken this step as the print newspaper has lost its profitability due to a recent change in the law. Austria’s new right-wing coalition government abolished the obligation for companies to publish official advertisements in the print newspaper in April, thus ending the role of the Wiener Zeitung as an official newspaper.

Several people were made redundant after the law, which caused the publisher’s revenue to be reduced by almost 18 million euros.

The Wiener Zeitung will continue its online publications and would like to keep its print publication monthly.

Owned by the Austrian government but editorially independent, the newspaper began its publishing life in 1703 and has had 12 presidents, 10 monarchs, and 2 republics. In its last daily print edition published on Friday, the paper bid farewell to its readers with the words: “Stormy times are coming for quality journalism…Serious content competes with fake news, cat videos and theories of conspiracy on more platforms for attention”. .”