Weekendavisen (The Weekend Newspaper) is a Danish weekly broadsheet newspaper published on Fridays. Its circulation (as of 2007) is approximately 60,000 copies, about ten per cent of which cover subscriptions outside Denmark. According to opinion polls, however, the actual number of readers is much higher (290,000 in 2007). Perceived to be a continuation of the original Berlingske Tidende, Weekendavisen regards itself as the world's oldest newspaper.

History

Until 1971 the Danish postal service distributed mail twice daily, in the morning and in the afternoon. When afternoon mail delivery was discontinued, Berlingske Aftenavis (Berlingske Evening Newspaper), which was the evening edition of the daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende, had to cease publication, and Weekendavisen came into existence as a replacement, known for the first several years as Weekendavisen Berlingske Aften.

Weekendavisen's logo contains the original coat of arms of Berlingske Tidende, including the words "ANNO 1749", and its volume#Noun count begins in that year rather than in 1971 because its publishers and editors regard it as a continuation of the original Berlingske Tidende.

Characteristics

Weekendavisen is a highbrow newspaper containing in-depth analysis of society and politics as well as extensive coverage of literature and fine arts. Unlike weekly newspapers in the United States and advertisement-funded district weeklies in Denmark, it covers matters of national and international rather than local interest.

Weekendavisen is split into four sections each week:

• Society
• Culture
• Books
• Ideas

References

External links

• Official website
• Information on Weekendavisen at the website of the paper's owner, the Berlingske Officin
• Information on Weekendavisen at the paper's own website
• Denmark - Culture - Mass Media – an overview of the history of the Danish press at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Weekendavisen is mentioned in the last paragraph of section 4.13.4.