Publishers: Cannibalization is out
Complaining about cannibalization is out of fashion, according to a publishing imperative voiced at the traditional Three Kings’ Day conference of publishers in Zurich. Aside from that, the New Year’s meeting didn’t yield much that was new, despite the exciting signs in an industry marked by war rhetoric.
Complaining about cannibalization is out, according to a publisher's imperative at the traditional Epiphany Conference of Publishers in Zurich. The debate within the media industry is currently dominated by the issue of war. New free newspapers are springing up, the Sunday market is expanding and publishing houses are upgrading on the Internet. These are actually very exciting signs for an event from which one can usually expect one or two headlines. But this year, the publisher president, who always guarantees a wry tone, disappointed with a speech that left many things in the dark.
Free press: A temporary epidemic Hanspeter Lebrument initially wondered why the BZ prize for local journalism in German-speaking Switzerland did not find a winner, not least in a press landscape dominated by local journalism. With the polemical question of whether search engines and the free press had taken the place of paid newspapers, Lebrument turned to the commuter press, which does make the public hungry for reading material. But the free press today has the character of an epidemic and: "They will pass again at some point," said Lebrument. But the subscriber press will probably realize that today's free readers will hardly be tomorrow's subscribers.
Lebrument's second story probably left the majority of those present with question marks. The Graubünden publisher tried to explain how an alliance between the Vorarlberg publisher Eugen A. Russ (shareholder in the free newspaper .ch) and former radio pirate Roger Schawinski (applicant for a radio license in Graubünden and Glarus) had conspired against Lebrument's own Radio Grischa.
Neither a gravedigger nor a panacea As a result, there was nothing new from Pietro Supino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamedia, that his CEO Martin Kall had not already explained on previous occasions (for example in Werbewoche). The successor to Hans Heinrich Coninx gave his first speech to the publishers as a member of the board of the publishers' association.
Regarding the state of the industry, Supino said that the scope and complexity were increasing, which posed major challenges for paid newspapers. New approaches are needed, such as the partnership-based cooperation between Tamedia and Basler Medien with the free newspaper News and the planned online network. Commuter newspapers are generally overrated by the industry, as they are not very profitable worldwide. "They are neither the gravediggers of paid newspapers nor a panacea," said Supino.
The communication spaces of the media have also changed. As a result, German-speaking Switzerland is growing together into a dynamic economic area with various centers. Today, nobody is entitled to their own space, said Supino, alluding of course to the recent expansion of Tamedia's free news title into the Mittelland. Supino also took up the cudgels for independent research as a recipe against state and private sector communication, which were increasingly threatening the independent media with ready-made reports. Only in this way could the media differentiate themselves and the media landscape be cultivated.
Code of Conduct about to be implemented The Code of Conduct, the code of conduct on the separation of editorial and publishing, has now been signed by 147 titles, which have committed to complying with its provisions. The actual implementation is now imminent. Ralph Büchi, CEO of Axel Springer Switzerland, spoke out against lengthy implementation provisions so that the work does not degenerate into a paper tiger. For Res Strehle, President of the Editors-in-Chief Conference and a key initiator of the paper, the Press Council would be the appropriate body to monitor compliance with the charter.
Simply do a good job The following round of speakers from the local press strung together the familiar clichés about newspaper publishing, which provided few concrete insights into how local newspapers should respond to the current challenges and threats posed by electronic media and the moves of the major publishing houses. Essentially, the recipe for survival was limited to Fritz Lötscher, publisher of the twice-weekly Entlebucher Anzeiger, who said that local newspapers simply have to do a good job.
Christine Fivian, editor-in-chief of the Unterländer, sees the threat from a large publishing house (Tamedia) as an enrichment - "competition invigorates" - and Kathrin Spross, third-generation publisher of the Anzeiger der Stadt Kloten, emphasized that even a small "cheese paper" has to write critically about big issues (airport). Finally, Guido Blumer, busy publisher of the Winterthur Stadtblatt, took up the cudgels for the newspaper per se, which with its concentrated offering is always superior to the electronic medium ("I can take a newspaper under my arm").
Publishers pay too little attention to brands The editor-in-chief of Le Matin, Peter Rothenbühler, then gave an example of what a presentation can also be: Namely, the best and most authentic entertainment. Apart from repeated advertising spots for his papers Le Matin and Le Matin bleu ("I don't have any figures with me, but we are way ahead in French-speaking Switzerland"), he said that the free press (Matin bleu and 20 minutes) was eating into the paid newspaper Le Matin far less than had originally been expected. The choice of the same name for both the paid and the free title had proved to be very successful in the case of Le Matin and had strengthened the brand. In general, the publishers were not daring enough with their brands. Rothenbühler sees the success in the fact that Le Matin was a first mover in French-speaking Switzerland with its innovations (e.g. tabloid format). Despite the successes that have been heralded, Rotenbühler also has to slim down. He believes that better journalism is still possible with fewer journalists.
René Worni
Free press: A temporary epidemic Hanspeter Lebrument initially wondered why the BZ prize for local journalism in German-speaking Switzerland did not find a winner, not least in a press landscape dominated by local journalism. With the polemical question of whether search engines and the free press had taken the place of paid newspapers, Lebrument turned to the commuter press, which does make the public hungry for reading material. But the free press today has the character of an epidemic and: "They will pass again at some point," said Lebrument. But the subscriber press will probably realize that today's free readers will hardly be tomorrow's subscribers.
Lebrument's second story probably left the majority of those present with question marks. The Graubünden publisher tried to explain how an alliance between the Vorarlberg publisher Eugen A. Russ (shareholder in the free newspaper .ch) and former radio pirate Roger Schawinski (applicant for a radio license in Graubünden and Glarus) had conspired against Lebrument's own Radio Grischa.
Neither a gravedigger nor a panacea As a result, there was nothing new from Pietro Supino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamedia, that his CEO Martin Kall had not already explained on previous occasions (for example in Werbewoche). The successor to Hans Heinrich Coninx gave his first speech to the publishers as a member of the board of the publishers' association.
Regarding the state of the industry, Supino said that the scope and complexity were increasing, which posed major challenges for paid newspapers. New approaches are needed, such as the partnership-based cooperation between Tamedia and Basler Medien with the free newspaper News and the planned online network. Commuter newspapers are generally overrated by the industry, as they are not very profitable worldwide. "They are neither the gravediggers of paid newspapers nor a panacea," said Supino.
The communication spaces of the media have also changed. As a result, German-speaking Switzerland is growing together into a dynamic economic area with various centers. Today, nobody is entitled to their own space, said Supino, alluding of course to the recent expansion of Tamedia's free news title into the Mittelland. Supino also took up the cudgels for independent research as a recipe against state and private sector communication, which were increasingly threatening the independent media with ready-made reports. Only in this way could the media differentiate themselves and the media landscape be cultivated.
Code of Conduct about to be implemented The Code of Conduct, the code of conduct on the separation of editorial and publishing, has now been signed by 147 titles, which have committed to complying with its provisions. The actual implementation is now imminent. Ralph Büchi, CEO of Axel Springer Switzerland, spoke out against lengthy implementation provisions so that the work does not degenerate into a paper tiger. For Res Strehle, President of the Editors-in-Chief Conference and a key initiator of the paper, the Press Council would be the appropriate body to monitor compliance with the charter.
Simply do a good job The following round of speakers from the local press strung together the familiar clichés about newspaper publishing, which provided few concrete insights into how local newspapers should respond to the current challenges and threats posed by electronic media and the moves of the major publishing houses. Essentially, the recipe for survival was limited to Fritz Lötscher, publisher of the twice-weekly Entlebucher Anzeiger, who said that local newspapers simply have to do a good job.
Christine Fivian, editor-in-chief of the Unterländer, sees the threat from a large publishing house (Tamedia) as an enrichment - "competition invigorates" - and Kathrin Spross, third-generation publisher of the Anzeiger der Stadt Kloten, emphasized that even a small "cheese paper" has to write critically about big issues (airport). Finally, Guido Blumer, busy publisher of the Winterthur Stadtblatt, took up the cudgels for the newspaper per se, which with its concentrated offering is always superior to the electronic medium ("I can take a newspaper under my arm").
Publishers pay too little attention to brands The editor-in-chief of Le Matin, Peter Rothenbühler, then gave an example of what a presentation can also be: Namely, the best and most authentic entertainment. Apart from repeated advertising spots for his papers Le Matin and Le Matin bleu ("I don't have any figures with me, but we are way ahead in French-speaking Switzerland"), he said that the free press (Matin bleu and 20 minutes) was eating into the paid newspaper Le Matin far less than had originally been expected. The choice of the same name for both the paid and the free title had proved to be very successful in the case of Le Matin and had strengthened the brand. In general, the publishers were not daring enough with their brands. Rothenbühler sees the success in the fact that Le Matin was a first mover in French-speaking Switzerland with its innovations (e.g. tabloid format). Despite the successes that have been heralded, Rotenbühler also has to slim down. He believes that better journalism is still possible with fewer journalists.
René Worni
