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Wiener Zeitung () is an newspaper. First published as the Wiennerisches Diarium in 1703, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. Until April 2023, it was the official gazette of the government of the Republic of Austria for legally-required announcements, such as company registrations§ 10 (1) UGB, dRGBl. S 219/1897 as amended by BGBl. I Nr. 63/2019 and was also the official publishing body for laws and executive orders until 2004.Bundesgesetz über das Bundesgesetzblatt 2004, BGBl. I Nr. 100/2003
Considered a newspaper of record, Wiener Zeitung was among the four Austrian daily quality newspapers beside the right-liberal Die Presse, the left-liberal Der Standard and the Christian-liberal and conservative Salzburger Nachrichten. The newspaper ended its daily print edition on 30 June 2023, becoming an online publication. The launch of the digital platform won the 2023 European Publishing Award for a “Launch or Relaunch” of a publication in digital form.
It became considered the official mouthpiece of the Imperial Court due to its being supplied information directly and exclusively by the Court. The paper was published bi-weekly, usually running around eight pages in length. Supplements and other extensive reports were published during war time, mainly about Austria, the Franco-Austrian Alliance, and their mutual enemy Prussia. Field journals and diaries from the Austrian army were the main sources used by the paper, reporting on officer promotions, troop deployments and other public announcements pertaining to the war, mostly of local interest. Around 15 per cent of reports were about battles and armed conflicts while 3 per cent were about war crimes committed by Prussian troops.
Since 1780, the paper was known as Wiener Zeitung (meaning Viennese newspaper in English) and in 1810 it became the official government newspaper. On 1 October 1813, it began publishing daily.
Wiener Zeitung is also the official publication used by the Government of the Austria for formal announcements. Such announcements, for example, civil service vacancies and changes in the commercial register, are printed in the Official Journal insert of Wiener Zeitung. Until 2004 it also used to publish the official version of newly passed Austrian laws. Today the governmental version of newly passed statutes and treaties are officially published in the Internet, the law gazette thus is not available in a printed version anymore.
Until 2009 Wiener Zeitungs editor-in-chief was Andreas Unterberger, before being replaced by Reinhard Göweil. While Unterberger hired mostly outspoken conservative columnists, the paper returned to its liberal position under Reinhard Göweil.
In March 2021, the Austrian government led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz proposed a law that would no longer require companies to pay to publish public announcements and changes to commercial registry in the paper's print edition, citing rules from the European Union that allowed such corporate information to be published digitally. The advertisements comprised the majority of the newspaper's revenue. A decision of the European Court of Justice is pending.
resigned as editor-in-chief, a position he had held since 2018, at the end of 2022, when he felt it had become clear that the newspaper would be restructured. and became editors-in-chief on 1 January 2023. Hämmerle remained as a journalist, but announced on 21 April 2023 that he and the newspaper had mutually terminated his contract, beginning 1 May 2023.
On 27 April 2023, Wiener Zeitung announced an end to its daily print run. Going forward, the paper will be printed a minimum 10 times a year depending on available funds. The paper also announced plans to establish a media hub, a content agency and a training centre for journalists. At this time, the paper had a 20,000 weekday circulation, with about twice as much on weekends. Almost half of the newspaper's over 200 employees, 40 of whom are journalists, could be laid off due to the change, according to its trade union. After the announcement, several hundred people took to the streets in Vienna to protest the government's move.
On 30 June 2023, it ceased its daily printing. Wiener Zeitung intends to continue online with a monthly print run and an editorial staff of 20 employees. Katharina Schmidt, formerly product development for Wiener Zeitung, and Sebastian Pumberger, previously working on the digital form of Profil, were announced as interim editors-in-chief the same day.
It was also described by others as "the world's oldest national newspaper" and as "one of the world's oldest newspapers". The title of world's oldest newspaper still in print is also attributed to Gazzetta di Mantova, The London Gazette (1665), the weekly Berrow's Worcester Journal (1690), and Haarlems Dagblad (1883), through its forcible merger with the Weeckelycke Courante van Europa (1656).
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