| Type | Daily newspaper |
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| Format | Broadsheet |
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| Owner | Südwestdeutsche Medienholding |
| Editor | Hans Werner Kilz |
| Founded | 6 October 1945 |
| Political allegiance | Liberal |
| Headquarters | Munich |
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| Website: sueddeutsche.de | |
The Süddeutsche Zeitung is the largest German quality newspaper. It is published in Munich.
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The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily, and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad. The editorial stance of the newspaper is liberal, leading some to joke that the SZ is the only opposition in the state of Bavaria, which has been governed by the conservative CSU party almost continuously since 1949.
The national edition features four sections: Politics, Culture, Economy and Sports. Editions sold in Munich and its surrounding counties include a local news insert.
Some of Germany's best known journalists either work for the SZ, or have spent considerable parts of their careers working for the paper. Heribert Prantl, head of the national desk, is a lawyer by education, a former public prosecutor, and the most cited author of editorial commentaries in German press. Hans Leyendecker is one of Germany's best known investigative journalists. Leyendecker formerly worked for the magazine Der Spiegel, unveiling various political and economic scandals, such as the widespread illegal party financing during the 1980s, and that of the CDU in 1999. He also unveiled the smuggling of Russian plutonium into Germany, with the help of the foreign intelligence service Bundesnachrichtendienst, bribery at arms deals, violations of visa-regulations in German Embassies and corruption of the staff council at Volkswagen. Another well-known journalist working for the SZ is Rudolph Chimelli, a political reporter who has been working for the paper since January 1, 1957.
Martin Süßkind also formerly worked with the SZ, and eventually became the editor of the Berliner Zeitung. Giovanni di Lorenzo, who was responsible for the SZ's full page documentary Seite 3 (Page 3) from 1994 to 1998, and who was later editor-in-chief of the Tagesspiegel, also worked for the paper. He is now editor-in-chief of the weekly German newspaper Die Zeit.
The SZ is well known for its daily frontpage column Streiflicht (streak of light) of 72 lines, which is published anonymously.
On Mondays, it has an 8-page broadsheet insert of English language articles from the "New York Times".
On October 6, 1945, five months after the end of World War II, the SZ was the first newspaper to receive a licence from the U.S. military administration of Bavaria. The first issue was published the same evening. The first article begins with:
The front page of the first issue can be read here (PDF).
In spring 2004, SZ launched the Süddeutsche Bibliothek. Each week, one out of 50 famous novels of the 20th century was published as hardcover for € 4,90 (approx. $ 6,-), available at certain newsstands and in book shops. Later a series of 50 influential movies on DVD followed. In late 2005 a series of children books continued this branch of special editions.
The circulation is 442,000, reaching over 1.1 million readers daily, making SZ the largest broadsheet daily published in German. Forty correspondents report from Germany and abroad.