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There is a clear distinction to be drawn between the regional press and the national press. The former is characterized by strong regional newspapers, dominating up to 90 percent of the regional markets. Their strong position is, however, challenged by the regional editions of the Neue Kronenzeitung, which competes fiercely with the traditional press on these regional markets. In four (out of nine) federal states, the Neue Kronenzeitung has either taken the lead or is as strong as the respective regional paper. Neue Kronenzeitung attracts about 43.4% of all readers aged over 14 years every day. The successful mass newspaper has been published since April 11th, 1959. Until 1967 it was named “Illustrtierte Kronenzeitung”, between 1967 and 1971 the daily’s name was “Unabhängige Kronen-Zeitung” and in 1971. When the paper became the Austrian readership market leader with a share of 29%, it became Neue Kronenzeitung. Over the years the newspaper, of which 50% each are owned by Hans Dichand and WAZ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung), has become one of the world’s biggest dailies in terms of its exponential reach in relation to the country’s total population.
Kleine Zeitung and Kurier (daily reach about 12.4% and 11.1% respectively) rank second and third after Neue Kronenzeitung. Kleine Zeitung was founded in 1904 by the Catholic Press Association Graz/Seckau. On March 12th, 1938 the paper was “annexed” by the National Socialists and ceased to appear in May 1945. On May 2nd, 1984 Kleine Zeitung was re-founded as a weekly, and since October 1948 it has been published as a daily. The newspaper is owned by Styria Medien AG.
Kurier was founded on October 18th, 1954 as “Neue Wiener Kurier” by Ludwig Polsterer and succeeded “Wiener Kurier” published by the US occupiers (published from August 27th, 1945 to October 16th, 1954). 50.49% of Kurier are owned by the Raiffeisen Group (PrintmedienbeteiligungsgesmbH), while 49.41% are held by WAZ and 0.10% by small shareholders.
The above-mentioned investments of the WAZ Group in Neue Kronenzeitung and Kurier have been held by “Mediaprint AG” since 1988. The entry of Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung into the print media market in the late 1980s marked the beginning of the boom investments in the Austrian market by large German publishing houses. The publishing group from North Rhine-Westphalia, which had become a market leader in Germany mainly with ad-only and regional papers, was legally barred from investing more in the Germen press market. In 1987 WAZ acquired 45% (to date 50%) of Neue Kronenzeitung and one year later 35% (today 49.4%) of Kurier.
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