August Zang returned to Austria in 1848, when he founded the newspaper Die Presse and began the career that made him a press magnate.
Zang had first made his name in baking. After serving as an artillery officer, he went to Paris and opened the Boulangerie Viennoise in 1838 or 1839. The bakery helped popularize Viennese baking techniques and the kipfel, a predecessor associated with the modern croissant.
The political upheavals of 1848 changed Zang’s direction. After censorship was lifted in Austria, he returned to Vienna and launched Die Presse, modeled partly on Émile de Girardin’s La Presse. The paper used low prices, advertising, serialized material, and short paragraphs to reach a broad readership.
A common mix-up is confusing 1848 with 1839: the earlier date belongs to Zang’s Paris bakery, while 1848 marks his return to Austria and entry into newspaper publishing. He later sold Die Presse in 1867.