PRESSE, DIE

(German: "The Press"), newspaper published in Vienna, Austria's leading daily (though far from the largest) and one of Europe's outstanding journals. It was founded in 1848 during one of the Austro-Hungarian empire's intermittent periods of freedom of the press. It emphasized quality and balanced reporting and comment from the start. In 1864 most of its editors and staff left the paper to establish another under the name of Neue Freie Presse, dedicated to the same kind of excellent writing and thorough news coverage. The new paper quickly gained recognition and influence. Neue Freie Presse was merged into a Nazi-propaganda organ in 1939, but after World War II it was reestablished as the independent Die Presse and resumed its longtime emphasis on solid national and world news coverage and perceptive editorial and cultural commentary, along with economic and financial news, and features, often using contributions by noted authorities. The modern Die Presse is generally liberally oriented, but it is conservative in its support of free enterprise. It is a militant supporter of freedom of the press.