Every child knows that

 
René Worni on a looming standstill. 
Shortly after the publication of this issue of Werbewoche, something will/has changed again in the local free newspaper market. We are only talking about the transformation of Ringier's free evening paper today into the "Brombeeri-Blick", the pink free evening paper. But the move can certainly be read as a sign that the people at Dufourstrasse believe unwaveringly in the continued existence of the free press. Barely three years ago, Michael Ringier described himself in front of the assembled industry in Interlaken as a publisher without a free newspaper, only to launch his first free paper, 24 hodin, in the Czech Republic just weeks later. Today, the publisher already publishes six free titles in Europe. Good times, fast times for free newspapers - at least until now - but now we are hearing that in Scandinavia, the birthplace of the genre, the signs are pointing to stagnation. In particular, the Icelandic publisher Baugur, which just two years ago was aiming to become the number one free publisher in Europe, has pulled up stakes in the wake of the financial crisis and retreated to the island. Baugur parted with its prestigious titles, the Danish Nyhetsavisen and the American Boston Now, "a bottomless pit", as the Bund's correspondent recently reported from Stockholm. It also became known that 20-Minuten inventor Schibsted recently acquired a 35 percent stake in Metro, the world's largest free publisher. Apparently, the company is focusing on synergies and wants to downsize in the free market.
Elsewhere, such as in Italy and Switzerland, the circulation of the free press is now approaching the 50 percent mark of all published titles, and advertising is growing faster than in the paid press. It remains to be seen whether the new pace of the Nordic free press will spread to Central and Southern Europe.
The local public is becoming increasingly weary of the flood of free newspapers. Meanwhile, every child realizes this, except the publishers. That's why AZ boss Peter Wanner is once again being advised: No more free newspapers, please! Instead, a little more marketing for his journalistically well-made Sonntag, which now - not every child knows this yet - Zurich residents can also receive directly in their letterboxes.
 
René Worni, Editor