AZ Medien: Earning money online with local journalism
Christoph Bauer, who became the new CEO of AZ Medien at the start of the year, spoke with the media magazine Klartext about the future of daily newspapers and the importance of the Internet. He is convinced that daily newspapers will survive—whether in print or not. In the future, he believes, online publishing will be most profitable in the area of local journalism.
It is relatively easy to quickly post something online or mobile. Explaining once a day - "what happened and what does it mean for tomorrow?" - on the other hand, is relatively challenging. "That's why I'm convinced that daily newspapers will survive". Whether printed or not is a completely different question. In response to the question of whether money can be charged for content on the Internet at all, the 39-year-old replied: "If there is a change, then it is local and regional reporting." Only a few media brands could offer national and international topics on the Internet for a fee. AZ Medien is therefore concentrating on the former. "We want to get back out into the individual localities and be present there with even more external editorial offices," Bauer continues.
But there is plenty of competition there too. In the Mittelland region, there is a very diverse world of local advertisers "who do very, very good jobs". These are often the first reference for citizens in a small village or town. The intention was therefore to buy more small advertisers. The publishing house currently owns around 14 such newspapers. The model is working well. The company is currently in the process of strategically developing the titles. "Some take on the function of a daily newspaper, others have more of a marketplace function."
But there is plenty of competition there too. In the Mittelland region, there is a very diverse world of local advertisers "who do very, very good jobs". These are often the first reference for citizens in a small village or town. The intention was therefore to buy more small advertisers. The publishing house currently owns around 14 such newspapers. The model is working well. The company is currently in the process of strategically developing the titles. "Some take on the function of a daily newspaper, others have more of a marketplace function."
