A committee of politicians and the media is now opposing the quasi-discontinuation of the oldest daily newspaper in the world. Heinz Fischer, Rudolf Anschober, Doris Bures, Irmgard Griss, Michael Häupl, Michael Ludwig, Reinhold Mitterlehner, Erwin Proell and Franz Vranitzky as well as representatives of all important newspapers in the country – including OÖN editor-in-chief Susanne Dickstein – appeal to the federal government, the law, which is to come into force on July 1, 2023, cannot be realised.
“The ‘Wiener Zeitung’, as the oldest still existing newspaper in the world, represents a cultural asset of the highest quality,” it says. With its independent editorial team, the newspaper has set standards for quality journalism, which is indispensable in a democracy.
“With initiatives for digitization, e-papers and a newsroom, the editorial team itself has long since set the course for the modern media age with its quality journalism and lived it.” The undersigned appeal for the “Wiener Zeitung” to be continued in its current form for a transitional period of 18 months. During this period, a solution for a continuation should be sought.
Criticism also from the union
Criticism also comes from the union. In the draft for “new media promotion,” the government defined the editors’ right to have a say as a quality criterion, but as the owner of the “Wiener Zeitung” they trample on this right themselves, says Eike-Clemens Kullmann, chairman of the journalists’ union: “It’s a deathblow Rates for the ‘Wiener Zeitung’ and an irreplaceable loss for quality journalism in Austria.”
Source: Nachrichten
