Today in the starting blocks
Commuter Press: Ringier’s free evening newspaper, *Heute*, launches on May 15. The pilot issue turned out a bit tame.
the launch of its commuter magazine Heute planned for the summer
and the time has already come on May 15. The editorial team
is rehearsing the emergency today (at the time this advertising week went to press) and
produces an act in real time, with real texts, real images
and a real deadline of 1 pm. "That can be a bit nerve-wracking
flutter," blogs editor-in-chief and Ringier newspaper boss Bernhard
Weissberg on heute-online.ch. "Group Red has already done the groundwork
achieved. (...) Group Blue - the current ones - will have to wait a little longer",
it says in military-style diction. Red and blue are
are not under siege, however, but stand alongside yellow and
Green for the color differentiation of the departments. A first
Zero number with 32 pages has already been sent to advertising and media agencies.
and provides concrete impressions of the paper, which is published daily from
4 p.m. in the cities of Bern, Basel and Zurich
will. Initial print run: 200,000 copies.
Visually calm layout
The zero number with a four-column layout is a little different from the
five-column competitor newspaper 20 Minuten from Tamedia
restrained and somewhat low-contrast. "A calm layout was
deliberately chosen," explains Bernhard Weissberg. Test readers and
The majority of test readers from focus groups had opted for the visual
the calmest of three versions. "In the afternoon, the readers are
no longer just focused on news," says Weissberg. Today is
therefore more magazine-like than 20 Minuten and does not understand itself
as a "narrative newspaper", but as a supplementary city magazine.
Nevertheless, the news section has probably become somewhat more extensive than
originally planned. This is because the focus was initially primarily on
on content that is directly related to an enterprising and
evening audience. The sheet now splits roughly
divided equally into a news section (blue) with sports (green) and a
Magazine and entertainment section (red) with background and knowledge pages (yellow).
The color coding of the departments is already visible on the
Title page declared, with corresponding outline of the respective
most important story. Running right through the news section are
a kind of school television for print with the title "Good to know" -
short info boxes with background information on the various topics.
The front page is dominated by a cover story. Next to it is a
column with "latest news", "good news" and two small
Weather diagrams "Weather tonight" and "Weather tomorrow morning". On the
Pages 2 to 7 are followed by six news pages (blue). These are divided into
the sections People, News, Economy, Regional News as well as
a photo double page "Pictures of today". With the basic color green
followed by two pages of sport, then one page each of background and knowledge
(yellow). This is followed by seven pages dedicated to nightlife
are overwritten. They are the actual vessel for the
the evening paper's outgoing target audience and offer a series of
Tips for going out, concerts and events, lifestyle content,
Singles, dating, TV tips and program as well as a page at
The title "Networked" with interactive content.
The best MMS reporters come forward - citizen journalism light
and reporters with pictures and text. The right column of the page is dedicated to the
dedicated to "daily blogging". Heute-online.ch will also be published among others
include a weblog. Whether texts from it find their way into the
will be found in the same way as in the French-speaking Swiss Edipresse commuter paper Le Matin
Bleu with its BleuBlog, is open.
On the further networking of the newspaper with electronic media
the makers are still shrouded in silence. On the nightlife pages
followed by more pages in yellow: two pages of Play with reports and
Innovations from the world of electronic gadgets, computer games and
and so on. One Life page is reserved for topics such as travel. Then
is followed by a double page with puzzles and cartoons (Titeuf and Hägar)
and the last one with a short portrait, organic weather and weather map.
Despite the color differentiation, the rubrication of the
Marginal columns with section titles highlighted in black are somewhat confusing,
because it is not applied consistently. "There will still be certain
There will be innovations and further developments," says Bernhard Weissberg.
The newly formed editorial team comprises around 20 people, one of whom
is based in Berne. In Basel, a freelance journalist takes care of
the daily situation in terms of news and going out on
Rhine bend.
René Worni
