Phoenix from the ashes

 
Student newspaper With a new concept and layout, the Zurich student newspaper aims to attract the attention of the advertising industry.  
The movers and shakers (from left to right): Steven Goodman (Managing Director Media Association), Florian Frey (Editorial Director) and Mirco D'Angelo (PR and Marketing).
At the end of last year, things were still looking bleak for the Zürcher Studentin, formerly Zürcher Student, which had been published since 1923: After years of maneuvering on the financial precipice, the newspaper, like its sister iQ (Quartalsinfo für Uni und ETH), was on the verge of going out of business. The free papers, produced exclusively by students, were struggling with declining advertising revenues, so that printing costs could barely be paid - not to mention wages. "A doomsday mood was spreading," says Florian Frey, a member of the media association and editorial director of the new ZS. "We laid our cards on the table in December and saw only two options: Either quit or turn 180 degrees, think more commercially and define a new product."
No sooner said than done. Thus, the merger of the two previous newspapers resulted in ZS, the Zurich student newspaper. It retains the traditional name of one of the two newspapers, while taking over the unique distribution channel at Zurich's universities, i.e. mailing to all of the approximately 35,000 students and assistants at both universities. The newspaper will now be published monthly in tabloid format three times per semester with a minimum of 32 pages. The newspaper is printed by Ringier in Adligenswil with a circulation of 36,000 copies.
In terms of content, the seven-member editorial team aims to bring an attractive mix of news, a focus topic and lighter sections. Student topics remain at the center, which is why the magazine also cooperates with the largest student associations, VSETH and the Student Council of the University of Zurich.
"Advertising-wise, two target groups have emerged: The talent group and the student group," says Steven Goodman, business manager of the media association. "The first group targets talented graduates and wants to stay in the conversation with students through advertising; there's a kind of war for talent going on." The second group is looking for students as momentary customers or to establish long-term customer loyalty - for when they start earning good money." In his work, Goodman seeks to talk directly with advertisers. "If the contact is only through agencies, it's harder for us to address the needs of the clients."
A website is to be launched soon, where news will be published alongside the print edition in an independent effort. "The advertising opportunities on the Web will be offered to print advertisers as an added value for now," Goodman says. But the newspaper makers have already thought further into the future, too. "Of course, right now we want to see how it goes with the first few numbers. But growing is clearly an issue," says Frey. Goodman continues: "We have two scenarios: One is growth across the board, for example expansion to HSG St. Gallen or Basel. The other would be growing in depth, expanding the Zurich market and including the universities of applied sciences." When that will be remains open for now. But the first steps toward the recovery of Switzerland's oldest student newspaper have been taken.
Michael Koller