The Associated Press reports that Sweden’s Post-och Inrikes Tidningar — the world’s oldest newspaper — has now dumped its print edition and gone digital only.
The newspaper, founded in 1645 by Sweden’s Queen Kristina, became a Web-only publication on Jan. 1. It’s a fate, many ink-stained writers and readers fear, that may await many of the world’s most venerable journals.
“We think it’s a cultural disaster,” said Hans Holm, who served as the chief editor of Post-och Inrikes Tidningar for 20 years. “It is sad when you have worked with it for so long and it has been around for so long.”
Queen Kristina used the publication to keep her subjects informed of the affairs of state, Holm said, and the first editions, which were more like pamphlets, were carried by courier and posted on note boards in cities and towns throughout the kingdom.
It was founded in 1645 so that’s about 362 years in print for the Post-och Inrikes Tidningar. They are sure to publish for many years to come in their digital format.
World’s Oldest Newspaper Dumps Print Version
The Write News, Posted on 2007-02-14