The paper, started by Queen Kristina to keep Swedes up-to-date on
affairs of state, started out as a pamphetlike publication carried by
courier and posted around the kingdom. By the time the paper killed its
print version Jan. 1, distribution had fallen to about 1,000. Despite
its shrunken circulation and its move to online-only publication,
Post-och Inrikes Tidningar
will retain its No. 1 rank as the world’s oldest newspaper. "An online
newspaper is still a newspaper, so we’ll leave it on the list," said
World Association of Newspapers spokesman Larry Kilman.
Old binded issues of the world's oldest newspaper, Sweden's Post och Inrikes Tidningar, founded in 1645 by Queen Christina, are didplayed 15 January 2007 in Stockholm. The paper has now entered the digital age by ending its run as a print publication and opting to be published exclusively on the Internet. "From the point of view of cultural history it is rather sad it (the print version) has disappeared," the editor-in-chief of the Swedish newspaper Post och Inrikes Tidningar (PoIT) from 1987 to December 2006, Hans Holm, said. "But it's fantastic it remained in print for so long." In its electronic format, launched 01 January 2007, PoIT remains the official news organ of the government, as it has been since the 17th century.
