Do you speak franglais?

 
Online I Edipresse wants to address Switzerland's English-speaking population with Swisster. The Lausanne-based publisher is thus entering into competition with SRG's English-language radio station, World Radio Switzerland. 
"The idea is simply captivating," says Christophe Rasch, project manager and editor-in-chief of the English-language news service "Swisster," which was launched on March 31. He is thus handing out flowers to his own address: Edipresse seems to have indeed found a new market niche. "One-fifth to one-quarter of the active population of French-speaking Switzerland is English-speaking or uses English as a colloquial language," says Rasch, looking forward to a target audience that is set to grow strongly in the coming years. This audience does not read local newspapers because they have no local ties," says Rasch. According to the publisher's research, this is a highly educated audience with high purchasing power that relies on public transportation to get to work, where they read free newspapers to familiarize themselves with the French language. "But that doesn't meet their information needs, and that's where we step in," Rasch said. With Swisster (a contraction of "Swiss" and "Napster"), which targets the English-speaking community of French-speaking Switzerland, estimated at about 100,000 people, and brings news, commentary, background and services five times a week. Swisster has an editorial staff of six people, including four journalists (two in Lausanne, one in Geneva and one in Zurich) appropriate to the ambitious project.
The Tribune de Genève already had an English-language corner. However, Edipresse quickly discovered that it needed its own editorial department in order to appeal to its target audience in the long term. Christophe Rasch: "The perspective is different, the interests are different, the processing and the weighting of the story have to be different." In addition, he says, there are topics that local media don't cover enough, such as information in the areas of research and development or business, all topics that a mobile population working in international organizations or top sectors of the economy can't find anywhere else. "Also very important are our services: Tips and advice on health, the school system or taxes." Swisster works, for example, with doctors from the Hirslanden private clinic, who respond in English to questions sent in.
Edipresse has secured the collaboration of various partners, such as the private bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch or the Lausanne ETH, which contributes scientific and technological content. For news, Swisster relies on Edipresse's two regional newspapers, Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures, and works with Philippe Hersant's two Neuchâtel newspapers, which contribute topics from the Jura Arc region - a remarkable collaboration between partners who are fierce competitors in the print sector, or at least pretend to be. The British Times is also among the partners with whom Swisster collaborates on content.
The business model is surprising, because the online newspaper is not exclusively ad-financed. It has a free section and a paid section. In the free section, there are topics that are older than 48 hours, in the paid section, the daily news and services. Rasch relies primarily on many collective subscriptions from companies (subscription price 300 francs per year), but a subscription to a certain number of accesses or article packages is also possible. "We want to become active on a national level very quickly," promises Rasch. Deals" with German-speaking Swiss partners, such as Inside Switzerland Magazine in Zurich, and above all the expansion of the target audience to around 350,000 people are enticing.
Edipresse has already gained experience in the field of foreign-language online news services, with the aforementioned "English corner" on the Tribune de Genève website and with a Russian corner there. The online magazine Nashagazeta employs two people and attracts between 400 and 500 visitors per day. Nashagazeta boss Nadia Sikorsky is convinced: "People read us not only in Geneva, but as far away as French cities like Lyon or Evian." Sikorsky doesn't want to cultivate a Russian-language garden spot, "but actively contribute to the integration of the Russians who live here." That includes getting them interested in Geneva, but also getting Genevans interested in Russia: "We help break down prejudices."
Helen Brügger