Der Standard
Der Standard is a Vienna-based Austrian daily newspaper founded on 19 October 1988 by journalist and publisher Oscar Bronner, initially as a financial-focused publication modeled after outlets like the Süddeutsche Zeitung.[1][2] It describes itself as liberal and politically independent, aspiring to function as Austria's equivalent to The New York Times, and has established itself as one of the country's two primary quality newspapers alongside Die Presse.[3][4] Bronner remains the owner, having shaped its direction through his background in media and defiance of Austria's post-war conservative media landscape.[5][6] The newspaper publishes in both print and digital formats, with derstandard.at launching in 1995 as the first online edition of a German-language daily, evolving into Austria's leading news portal among newspapers through innovations like ad-free subscriptions to combat ad blockers and enhance user experience.[7][8] Its coverage emphasizes business, politics, culture, and international affairs, earning a reputation for high factual accuracy despite an editorial bias assessed as left-center, which manifests in more favorable treatments of left-leaning policies such as wealth taxation compared to conservative-leaning outlets.[2][9] This positioning reflects broader patterns in European quality media, where liberal orientations often correlate with systemic preferences for progressive narratives over empirical scrutiny of market-oriented reforms.[10] Notable aspects include its role in Austria's media ecosystem amid controversies over opaque state advertising allocations favoring tabloids over quality dailies like Der Standard, prompting calls for greater transparency, and legal challenges such as European Court of Human Rights rulings on balancing commenter anonymity with defamation accountability on its portal.[11][12] While praised for pioneering digital journalism, the outlet has faced criticism for perceived shifts in tone amid Austria's polarized politics, underscoring tensions between its self-proclaimed independence and observable ideological leanings in source selection and framing.[2]