Tuesday, January 30, 2007

This either falls into the category of "legal ads going online" or "somewhat irrelevant but interesting."

The world's oldest newspaper -- or at least the publication recognized by the World Association of Newspapers as the world's oldest -- has gone online and ceased print publication.

Post och Inrikes Tidningar (PoIT) was founded in 1645 by Queen Christina of Sweden. At one time it was a traditional newspaper, but it has not covered news for more than 100 years, according to this AFP story. Currently it's essentially a government organ publishing official announcements along with those from publicly listed companies and financial and legal institutions.

Circulation had dwindled to 1,500. On Jan 1 it was incorporated into the Swedish Companies Registration Office, Bolagsverket -- and it went online-only.

"The change in format is of course a major departure, for some possibly a little sad, but it is also a natural step," Roland Haegglund, PoIT's new editor-in-chief and only employee, told AFP.

"It will definitely widen our readership. Now anyone with Internet access can read PoIT free of charge."

CORRECTION BY THE EDITOR: The illustration which originally ran with this article was incorrect and has been removed. As Mark Fisher pointed out (thanks, Mark), it was not a painting of Sweden's Queen Christina, but rather of the 17th-century actress Nell Gwyn. I misread the attribution of the painting when searching for a public-domain image to use to illustrate this post. My apologies -- Amy Gahran, Tidbits Editor

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