Die Welt is a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
national daily newspaper published by the
Axel Springer AGAxel Springer AG is one of the largest newspaper publishing companies in Europe, having over 150 newspapers and magazines in over 30 countries, including several Central and Eastern European countries: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and western European countries: Germany, France,...
company.
It was founded in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
in 1946 by the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
. It originally carried news and British-viewpoint editorial content, but from 1947 it adopted a policy of providing two leading articles on major questions, one British and one German.
Die Welt is a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
national daily newspaper published by the
Axel Springer AGAxel Springer AG is one of the largest newspaper publishing companies in Europe, having over 150 newspapers and magazines in over 30 countries, including several Central and Eastern European countries: Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and western European countries: Germany, France,...
company.
It was founded in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
in 1946 by the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
. It originally carried news and British-viewpoint editorial content, but from 1947 it adopted a policy of providing two leading articles on major questions, one British and one German. At its peak in the occupation period, it had a circulation of around a million.
The modern paper takes a self-described "liberal cosmopolitan" position in editing, but
Die Welt is generally considered to be a
conservativeConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
newspaper.
The average circulation of
Die Welt is currently about 209,000 and the paper can be obtained in more than 130 countries. Daily regional editions appear in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Hamburg, and in 2002 the paper experimented with a
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n edition. A daily regional supplement also appears in Bremen. The main editorial office is in Berlin, in conjunction with the
Berliner MorgenpostBerliner Morgenpost is a German newspaper, based and mainly read in Berlin, where it is the second most read daily newspaper. Founded in 1898 by Leopold Ullstein, it was taken over by Axel Springer AG in 1959. The paper had a circulation of 145,556 issues in I/2009, with an estimated 322,000...
.
Die Welt is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the
Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungThe Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , also known as F.A.Z., is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . F.A.Z...
, the
Süddeutsche ZeitungThe Süddeutsche Zeitung is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper. It is published in Munich, Germany's third largest city and capital of Bavaria.-Profile:...
and the
Frankfurter RundschauThe Frankfurter Rundschau is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition as well as an e-paper...
. Financially, it has been a lossmaker for many years.
Die Welt was a founder member of the European Dailies Alliance (EDA), and has a longstanding co-operation with comparable daily newspapers from other countries, including the
Daily Telegraph (
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
),
Le FigaroLe Figaro is one of the leading French morning daily newspapers. Its editorial line is conservative and has generally been supportive of the Rally for the Republic political party and its successor, the Union for a Popular Movement...
(
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
) and
ABC (
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
).
The newspaper currently publishes a
compactA compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier to read on the...
edition entitled
Welt Kompakt, a 32-page cut-down version of the main
broadsheetBroadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of matter, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
.
Welt Kompakt has a fresher look and is targeted to a younger public. The paper does not appear on Sundays, but the linked publication
Welt am SonntagWelt am Sonntag is a German national Sunday newspaper published by Axel Springer AG, and established in 1948. Its head office is in Berlin, and it has local editions for Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf....
takes its place.