Advance into difficult territory
Free Newspapers: 20 minutes is launching a third edition for French-speaking Switzerland. The battle among free newspapers enters a new round.
Free press A third edition for French-speaking Switzerland is launched by 20 minutes. The battle of the free papers is entering a new round. From January 3, around 90,000 copies of the French-speaking edition of 20 minutes will be distributed in the cantons of Neuchâtel and Jura and in the French-speaking areas of the cantons of Bern, Valais and Fribourg. According to the publisher, this increases the circulation of the commuter paper to 240,000 copies. As far as readership is concerned, no figures are yet available; Tamedia promises the first evaluations for the beginning of December. For comparison: The Wemf interim study from September 2006 confirms that the Edipresse competitor Le Matin bleu has 218,000 readers with a circulation of 150,000 copies.The Lake Geneva arc between Geneva and Lausanne - where the two free newspapers have been fighting for the best place in the sun - is an Eldorado in terms of advertising. The situation is different in the Jura Arc and the French-speaking part of the canton of Fribourg. There are no affluent metropolitan areas, no urban agglomerations with a young, urban target audience and no booming service industry. Advertising money is scarcer and the regional newspapers - Liberté in Fribourg, the merged newspapers L'Impartial and L'Express in Neuchâtel, the Journal du Jura in the Biel area and the Quotidien Jurassien in Delémont - are struggling to survive. Tamedia is now venturing into this difficult area. The expansion will create eight editorial positions and one publishing position, with more than 50 employees working for the paper.
Reason enough for Tristan Cerf, editor-in-chief of the Edipresse free newspaper Le Matin bleu, to put forward a bold thesis: "If 20 minutes is prepared to go to so much trouble, it could mean that they have not yet achieved their goals." Tamedia, of course, communicates otherwise: the third edition corresponds to the "extremely positive development" of the paper.
It should be noted that free newspapers are already omnipresent in the cities of Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Biel. And so the editors-in-chief of the regional newspapers concerned are wondering what the national edition of 20 minutes will bring in addition to a somewhat less "lemanic" view of things, centered on the Lausanne/Geneva agglomeration.
Louis Ruffieux, Editor-in-Chief of Liberté, is not afraid of Tamedia's expansion strategy and remains convinced that the Liberté concept - quality newspaper with in-house services - will prevail in the competition with the free newspapers. However, he sees problems ahead for the Matin Group: "The war of the free newspapers is intensifying and Edipresse could well be forced to sacrifice one of its two Matin products." In fact, the new appearance of the orange tabloid Le Matin is moving closer to the layout of a free newspaper, while the content of Le Matin bleu is becoming more tabloid. An indication of the forthcoming merger? Théo Bouchat, responsible for the free newspapers at Edipresse, denies any change in the business model of the blue-orange duo.
Things look a little different in the Jura Arc. There, publisher Philippe Hersant is in full swing with preparations for the "Projet arc", the collaboration between his Neuchâtel regional newspapers L'Impartial and L'Express with the Biel-based Quotidien Jurassien from Gassmann. The domestic, business and foreign sections as well as parts of the culture/society and sport sections will be merged: Around ten jobs will be cut by the end of 2007. The aim of the collaboration is to increase the profitability of the newspapers and make them more attractive for national advertising.
The competition from free newspapers is palpable, says editor-in-chief Nicolas Willemin: "20 minutes in particular offers national advertising at rock-bottom prices." The regional edition of 20 minutes aims to offer advertising customers coverage across the Romandie, but it will not break into regional advertising: "We are so well established in the region that we are not worried about the new competition." Fortunately, the losses in national advertising will be compensated by the regional and job advertisement business.
Edipresse reacts calmly. Théo Bouchat says that the company does not feel challenged by its competitors' plans to change its current strategy. Le Matin bleu is already present in the affected regions. Important topics are covered, perhaps even more so in the future. "As far as circulation, the number of employees and boxes are concerned, everything is open."
Mountain of garbage in FreiburgIn the city of Freiburg,
at the interface between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, there are three free newspapers. The German and French editions of 20 Minuten/minutes and Le Matin bleu are in the boxes here. This has tangible consequences. According to a report from the city's waste collection service to the local police, around 90 percent of the free newspapers distributed in the center of Fribourg are thrown away on public property and have to be collected by city employees. The paper is so dirty that it cannot even be recycled. It ends up in the waste incineration plant.
Matin-bleu editor-in-chief Tristan Cerf, known for his ecological convictions, hopes to be able to limit the waste of resources: "In Geneva, we are negotiating the provision of special boxes in particularly critical locations in which the newspapers read can be returned." If the Geneva model is successful, it will also become established in the other distribution areas. Meanwhile, 20 minutes is trying a notice in the newspaper to sensitize readers.
Helen Brügger
Reason enough for Tristan Cerf, editor-in-chief of the Edipresse free newspaper Le Matin bleu, to put forward a bold thesis: "If 20 minutes is prepared to go to so much trouble, it could mean that they have not yet achieved their goals." Tamedia, of course, communicates otherwise: the third edition corresponds to the "extremely positive development" of the paper.
It should be noted that free newspapers are already omnipresent in the cities of Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Biel. And so the editors-in-chief of the regional newspapers concerned are wondering what the national edition of 20 minutes will bring in addition to a somewhat less "lemanic" view of things, centered on the Lausanne/Geneva agglomeration.
Louis Ruffieux, Editor-in-Chief of Liberté, is not afraid of Tamedia's expansion strategy and remains convinced that the Liberté concept - quality newspaper with in-house services - will prevail in the competition with the free newspapers. However, he sees problems ahead for the Matin Group: "The war of the free newspapers is intensifying and Edipresse could well be forced to sacrifice one of its two Matin products." In fact, the new appearance of the orange tabloid Le Matin is moving closer to the layout of a free newspaper, while the content of Le Matin bleu is becoming more tabloid. An indication of the forthcoming merger? Théo Bouchat, responsible for the free newspapers at Edipresse, denies any change in the business model of the blue-orange duo.
Things look a little different in the Jura Arc. There, publisher Philippe Hersant is in full swing with preparations for the "Projet arc", the collaboration between his Neuchâtel regional newspapers L'Impartial and L'Express with the Biel-based Quotidien Jurassien from Gassmann. The domestic, business and foreign sections as well as parts of the culture/society and sport sections will be merged: Around ten jobs will be cut by the end of 2007. The aim of the collaboration is to increase the profitability of the newspapers and make them more attractive for national advertising.
The competition from free newspapers is palpable, says editor-in-chief Nicolas Willemin: "20 minutes in particular offers national advertising at rock-bottom prices." The regional edition of 20 minutes aims to offer advertising customers coverage across the Romandie, but it will not break into regional advertising: "We are so well established in the region that we are not worried about the new competition." Fortunately, the losses in national advertising will be compensated by the regional and job advertisement business.
Edipresse reacts calmly. Théo Bouchat says that the company does not feel challenged by its competitors' plans to change its current strategy. Le Matin bleu is already present in the affected regions. Important topics are covered, perhaps even more so in the future. "As far as circulation, the number of employees and boxes are concerned, everything is open."
Mountain of garbage in FreiburgIn the city of Freiburg,
at the interface between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland, there are three free newspapers. The German and French editions of 20 Minuten/minutes and Le Matin bleu are in the boxes here. This has tangible consequences. According to a report from the city's waste collection service to the local police, around 90 percent of the free newspapers distributed in the center of Fribourg are thrown away on public property and have to be collected by city employees. The paper is so dirty that it cannot even be recycled. It ends up in the waste incineration plant.
Matin-bleu editor-in-chief Tristan Cerf, known for his ecological convictions, hopes to be able to limit the waste of resources: "In Geneva, we are negotiating the provision of special boxes in particularly critical locations in which the newspapers read can be returned." If the Geneva model is successful, it will also become established in the other distribution areas. Meanwhile, 20 minutes is trying a notice in the newspaper to sensitize readers.
Helen Brügger
