Sunday on both sides
René Worni on a Cross-Border Innovation Boom
René Worni on a cross-border innovation boostThe national border is an almost insurmountable obstacle for print media. Examples: Until 2001, the Basler Zeitung tried for ten years to establish cross-border identities in the border region on the bend of the Rhine with the culture and nightlife magazine 3Land. Without success. A joint business page funded by BaZ and Badischer Zeitung also disappeared again after a short time. Obviously, the public's interest in events beyond the border was too limited. But the Regio Basiliensis is moving closer and closer together. Now would be another opportunity to examine cross-border options for print media on the Rhine bend. This is because BaZ publisher Matthias Hagemann may already have a problem there in the fall: his Basel newspaper is facing competition on Sunday. Mathis Lüdin and his Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, which is part of the Mittelland newspaper association, will penetrate the city's agglomeration communities with a Sunday edition and siphon off advertising revenue. BaZ cannot simply let this slip through its fingers, not to mention the loss of reputation.
Not long ago, BaZ also invested massively in the regional editorial office and thus took a stand against Lüdin in the country. The options are being examined, says the publisher, who expects losses for a Sunday BaZ, but is prepared to bear them. Otherwise, Hagemann is keeping his head down and keeping his concept in the drawer for the time being. However, the situation offers the opportunity to do more than just launch a seventh BaZ: It's not just a matter of holding your own against Lüdin's Sonntagsblatt. With a Sunday BaZ, we are also taking on the national Sunday titles. Courage for journalistic innovation would mean asking the question of which topics a Sunday reading paper generates in the region. Such a cross-border Sunday product would bring exclusivity in terms of content and a clear distinction from the style of the usual Sunday press. The Badische Zeitung already spills over the border here and there with its weekend magazine. Why not the other way around?
René Worni, Editor
Not long ago, BaZ also invested massively in the regional editorial office and thus took a stand against Lüdin in the country. The options are being examined, says the publisher, who expects losses for a Sunday BaZ, but is prepared to bear them. Otherwise, Hagemann is keeping his head down and keeping his concept in the drawer for the time being. However, the situation offers the opportunity to do more than just launch a seventh BaZ: It's not just a matter of holding your own against Lüdin's Sonntagsblatt. With a Sunday BaZ, we are also taking on the national Sunday titles. Courage for journalistic innovation would mean asking the question of which topics a Sunday reading paper generates in the region. Such a cross-border Sunday product would bring exclusivity in terms of content and a clear distinction from the style of the usual Sunday press. The Badische Zeitung already spills over the border here and there with its weekend magazine. Why not the other way around?
René Worni, Editor
