Thinner than ever before
Press Weltwoche is suffering from anorexia. Since the beginning of the year, the paper has slimmed down by up to a quarter. Nothing out of the ordinary, says publisher and editor-in-chief Roger Köppel.
Press Weltwoche is suffering from anorexia. Since the beginning of the year, the paper has slimmed down by up to a quarter. Nothing out of the ordinary, says publisher and editor-in-chief Roger Köppel. Anyone holding the first three January issues in their hands will quickly notice: Weltwoche has become a thin paper. A glance at the last page confirms this impression. Since the beginning of the year, the magazine has always ended on page 66 - an unusually low figure, as a consultation of the last issue shows. In 2006, even in summer weeks with few advertisements and topics, the magazine was eight pages longer. In the past, however, the last sentence closed on page 90 by far the most frequently. You do the math: Weltwoche has lost up to a quarter of its former size.On an austerity courseNothing out of the ordinary, says publisher and editor-in-chief Roger Köppel. "We have always adapted the size of the paper to the size of the advertisements." Which means: very thin paper equals very few advertisements. Köppel therefore sees no cause for concern. The conspicuously small size of the January editions is due to the economic situation. "The first two weeks of January and the summer months are times with few advertisements," says the publisher.
The new owner of the traditional title vehemently denies that the reduction in size could also be an expression of cost-cutting and downsizing measures. On the contrary. Since his return from Berlin, he has increased the number of stories in Weltwoche, not reduced them. In fact, the narrow edition from January 18 contains a lot more text elements than many of the 90-page issues from last year. However, the individual articles are shorter on average. This also makes it clear how the downsizing came about. So there are savings, just in a different way.
In industry circles, there is talk of an annual shortfall of one to two million francs. Köppel does not confirm this figure, but says ambiguously: "The target has not yet been reached. We have to keep at it." However, this cannot be achieved with savings alone. "We also have to increase earnings. We are on track here." Kiosk sales in particular are developing positively.
Creating space for advertisementsIncreasing revenue means, among other things, further increasing the paid circulation. Weltwoche is making good progress in this respect. Compared to the previous year, an additional 2500 copies were sold in 2006, as the Wemf figures show. However, the slight increase in circulation contrasts with the loss of reach. Here Weltwoche is clearly one of the losers with a drop of 21,000 readers in the 2005/06 period. And in terms of advertising, 2005 went down in the company's history as a year of crisis. Whether the situation has improved in the past year cannot yet be conclusively assessed. Köppel's predecessor Jürg Wildberger knew at the end of June that the advertising volume from January to May 2006 was "above the previous year's figures", Köppel now speaks of a good performance last November and December.
If Weltwoche media columnist Kurt W. Zimmermann's rule of thumb were to apply ("It is probably the case that papers with a very sharp profile cannot become major financial successes"), the slump would certainly continue. Zimmermann's client is likely to see things a little differently. After all, Roger Köppel is doomed to success if he doesn't want to make up for the losses out of his own wallet.
The first steps to boost the advertising business are already visible in the paper. Until the end of 2006, the table of contents was still spread over a double page, but now the right-hand side of page 5 is available to advertisers. Köppel would not be Köppel if he did not sell this decision primarily as a journalistic measure. The new table of contents is now stricter and fits the paper better. Only in second place does he give the real reason: "We have also created prominent advertising space."
However, the redesigned introduction to Weltwoche is just one of numerous changes to the paper's architecture that Köppel has made in recent weeks and months. "Weltwoche was fraying after I left. I wanted a clearer focus and a clearer structure in the paper again." Specifically: the weekly news at the front and the classic magazine section in the middle of the magazine.
Köppel wants to bring "more surprise and flexibility" to the culture and review section in the last third of the paper. To this end, he wants to break up the "rigid structures". For example, he has abolished the weekly pop music page. The departure of the "Me about me" section with its idiosyncratic "vegetable portraits" on the last page is also striking. Since the beginning of the year, the paper has closed with a (royalty-free) text from the Weltwoche archive. Köppel does not want this to be seen as a cost-cutting measure, but as a "tribute to a great tradition and important authors".
Nick Lüthi
The new owner of the traditional title vehemently denies that the reduction in size could also be an expression of cost-cutting and downsizing measures. On the contrary. Since his return from Berlin, he has increased the number of stories in Weltwoche, not reduced them. In fact, the narrow edition from January 18 contains a lot more text elements than many of the 90-page issues from last year. However, the individual articles are shorter on average. This also makes it clear how the downsizing came about. So there are savings, just in a different way.
In industry circles, there is talk of an annual shortfall of one to two million francs. Köppel does not confirm this figure, but says ambiguously: "The target has not yet been reached. We have to keep at it." However, this cannot be achieved with savings alone. "We also have to increase earnings. We are on track here." Kiosk sales in particular are developing positively.
Creating space for advertisementsIncreasing revenue means, among other things, further increasing the paid circulation. Weltwoche is making good progress in this respect. Compared to the previous year, an additional 2500 copies were sold in 2006, as the Wemf figures show. However, the slight increase in circulation contrasts with the loss of reach. Here Weltwoche is clearly one of the losers with a drop of 21,000 readers in the 2005/06 period. And in terms of advertising, 2005 went down in the company's history as a year of crisis. Whether the situation has improved in the past year cannot yet be conclusively assessed. Köppel's predecessor Jürg Wildberger knew at the end of June that the advertising volume from January to May 2006 was "above the previous year's figures", Köppel now speaks of a good performance last November and December.
If Weltwoche media columnist Kurt W. Zimmermann's rule of thumb were to apply ("It is probably the case that papers with a very sharp profile cannot become major financial successes"), the slump would certainly continue. Zimmermann's client is likely to see things a little differently. After all, Roger Köppel is doomed to success if he doesn't want to make up for the losses out of his own wallet.
The first steps to boost the advertising business are already visible in the paper. Until the end of 2006, the table of contents was still spread over a double page, but now the right-hand side of page 5 is available to advertisers. Köppel would not be Köppel if he did not sell this decision primarily as a journalistic measure. The new table of contents is now stricter and fits the paper better. Only in second place does he give the real reason: "We have also created prominent advertising space."
However, the redesigned introduction to Weltwoche is just one of numerous changes to the paper's architecture that Köppel has made in recent weeks and months. "Weltwoche was fraying after I left. I wanted a clearer focus and a clearer structure in the paper again." Specifically: the weekly news at the front and the classic magazine section in the middle of the magazine.
Köppel wants to bring "more surprise and flexibility" to the culture and review section in the last third of the paper. To this end, he wants to break up the "rigid structures". For example, he has abolished the weekly pop music page. The departure of the "Me about me" section with its idiosyncratic "vegetable portraits" on the last page is also striking. Since the beginning of the year, the paper has closed with a (royalty-free) text from the Weltwoche archive. Köppel does not want this to be seen as a cost-cutting measure, but as a "tribute to a great tradition and important authors".
Nick Lüthi
