Bund editor-in-chief not worried about new newspaper plans
Ever since it became known that the Tamedia publishing group is taking over Espace Media, new plans for collaborations have been emerging constantly. Now, as Persönlich.com reports, there are discussions about a quality newspaper in which the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be involved. Whenever these plans are discussed, there is never any mention of Bern’s second daily newspaper, the Bund.
Ever since it was announced that the publishing house Tamedia was taking over Espace Media, there have been new plans for cooperation between the two companies: they want to publish a new free newspaper - together with the Basler Zeitung - and set up an online news network. Now there are plans for a quality newspaper in which the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be involved, as reported by Persönlich.com. When these plans are mentioned, there is never any mention of the second Bernese daily newspaper: the Bund. Editor-in-chief Artur K. Vogel is not acutely concerned about the new plans that the Tages-Anzeiger could be expanded into a new "big city newspaper" in cooperation with the Berner Zeitung. "I have spoken to my colleagues in Zurich and their plans are still so vague that there is currently no cause for concern," he told Werbewoche. He could not be worried about a matter that was not yet concrete.
Tamedia spokesman Christoph Zimmer is also defensive: "It is true that both editorial offices are considering how the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be developed further. We are considering various options. However, there is no concrete 'big city newspaper' project."
Bund is back in the blackVogel is building on what Tamedia Board Chairman Pietro Suppino and Espace Board Chairman Charles von Graffenried told him when they took over Espace Media: Bund will continue to exist as long as it is in the black and represents an independent journalistic voice. "And we are clearly in the black this year, for the first time in years," says Vogel.
The so-called Bern model has always been based on the fact that the Berner Zeitung (BZ) and the Bund are clearly different. The BZ is regarded as a local newspaper, while the Bund wants to position itself as a quality paper with background information. However, the latest plans from Tamedia seem to indicate that the BZ could be upgraded to a politically profiled, independent quality newspaper. "If developments go in this direction, we would really have to rethink the positioning of the two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel.
Members of the editorial team are concerned The fact that the Bund is not mentioned in the rumored plans is, in Vogel's eyes, due to the fact that it was still largely owned by the NZZ until recently. This is probably still firmly anchored in people's minds. "I now have to hammer home to my colleagues in Zurich that Tamedia owns two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel. He is also lobbying the Espace people Polo Stäheli and Franziska von Weissenfluh in Bern for his paper. "And it's important to remember that you can also talk a paper to death: If there is always talk that the Bund could be under threat, at some point a threat does indeed arise." However, his editorial team is very lively. "Of course there are members of the editorial team who are afraid. There have also been resignations," explained Vogel. They don't know exactly what will happen next, which causes anxiety.
In addition to the possible "big city newspaper", Tamedia wants to realize a new commuter newspaper and an online presence together with the Basler Zeitung. Here, too, there is never any specific mention of the federal government. "But if the Berner Zeitung actually benefits from the advertising revenue that the planned commuter newspaper is expected to generate, the Confederation will also receive a share of this through the joint advertising management," says Vogel. The federal government could also benefit from the online network. Its website is already being realized jointly with the Berner Zeitung; the Confederation has its own niches where it can operate as it wishes. Vogel assumes that this will remain the case in the future.
Incidentally, the Bund website also attracts readers who seem to be concerned about the fate of the two Bernese papers: in comments, they discuss whether two newspapers are needed in the capital. One user writes that he would immediately subscribe to the NZZ if the Bund no longer existed.
Carole Scheidegger
Tamedia spokesman Christoph Zimmer is also defensive: "It is true that both editorial offices are considering how the Tages-Anzeiger and the Berner Zeitung could be developed further. We are considering various options. However, there is no concrete 'big city newspaper' project."
Bund is back in the blackVogel is building on what Tamedia Board Chairman Pietro Suppino and Espace Board Chairman Charles von Graffenried told him when they took over Espace Media: Bund will continue to exist as long as it is in the black and represents an independent journalistic voice. "And we are clearly in the black this year, for the first time in years," says Vogel.
The so-called Bern model has always been based on the fact that the Berner Zeitung (BZ) and the Bund are clearly different. The BZ is regarded as a local newspaper, while the Bund wants to position itself as a quality paper with background information. However, the latest plans from Tamedia seem to indicate that the BZ could be upgraded to a politically profiled, independent quality newspaper. "If developments go in this direction, we would really have to rethink the positioning of the two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel.
Members of the editorial team are concerned The fact that the Bund is not mentioned in the rumored plans is, in Vogel's eyes, due to the fact that it was still largely owned by the NZZ until recently. This is probably still firmly anchored in people's minds. "I now have to hammer home to my colleagues in Zurich that Tamedia owns two newspapers in Bern," said Vogel. He is also lobbying the Espace people Polo Stäheli and Franziska von Weissenfluh in Bern for his paper. "And it's important to remember that you can also talk a paper to death: If there is always talk that the Bund could be under threat, at some point a threat does indeed arise." However, his editorial team is very lively. "Of course there are members of the editorial team who are afraid. There have also been resignations," explained Vogel. They don't know exactly what will happen next, which causes anxiety.
In addition to the possible "big city newspaper", Tamedia wants to realize a new commuter newspaper and an online presence together with the Basler Zeitung. Here, too, there is never any specific mention of the federal government. "But if the Berner Zeitung actually benefits from the advertising revenue that the planned commuter newspaper is expected to generate, the Confederation will also receive a share of this through the joint advertising management," says Vogel. The federal government could also benefit from the online network. Its website is already being realized jointly with the Berner Zeitung; the Confederation has its own niches where it can operate as it wishes. Vogel assumes that this will remain the case in the future.
Incidentally, the Bund website also attracts readers who seem to be concerned about the fate of the two Bernese papers: in comments, they discuss whether two newspapers are needed in the capital. One user writes that he would immediately subscribe to the NZZ if the Bund no longer existed.
Carole Scheidegger
