"Collaborations with other newspapers could become part of the BaZ relaunch"
Publishers Matthias Hagemann, publisher of Basler Zeitung, has not only appointed a new editor-in-chief for his flagship newspaper in Ivo Bachmann, but has also outlined a model for newspaper cooperations in north-western Switzerland.
Publishers Matthias Hagemann, publisher of Basler Zeitung, has not only appointed a new editor-in-chief for his flagship newspaper in Ivo Bachmann, but has also outlined a model for newspaper cooperations in north-western Switzerland.
WW A year and a half ago you deprived Ringier of the highly coveted Jean Frey publishing house, now you are snatching away from the Swiss media giant the very man who should have created a rival product to Beobachter or Weltwoche. Is the dispute between the Basler Mediengruppe (BM) and Ringier continuing? Matthias Hagemann On the contrary, the dispute is over - I can truly say that from my side - and Mr. Bachmann's move will take place on the best of terms with Ringier.
Will BM publish a consumer magazine sooner or later?
No, certainly not.
At the time, Mr. Bachmann did not appreciate the fact that you had sold Jean Frey AG to an initially unknown group of investors. He defected to Ringier in protest. So you're bringing an unruly horse into the stable.
I am of course aware that Mr. Bachmann is an edgy guy who doesn't put up with everything. But we discussed the subject of the past at length in our various talks and came to the conclusion that it was an extreme situation for everyone involved at the time.
Mr. Bachmann has no experience in the daily newspaper business. Why did you still choose him as the new BaZ editor-in-chief?
His leadership qualities, which I was able to observe in my role as publisher at the Beobachter at the time, are key for me: his calmness, his determination and his journalistic skills. And he also impressed me with his ideas for BaZ. That's why I really believe that he is the ideal editor-in-chief for us.
When Bachmann takes office on January 1, 2004, the BaZ can now be printed in four colors throughout. Will the relaunch announced in July also be on the agenda?
That's not quite right. The new printing press runs on
January 1 only in parts. However, the part on which BaZ is printed will not be operational until April at the earliest. The relaunch will therefore only be planned and implemented by Mr. Bachmann and the editorial team in the course of next year.
In July, editorial and publishing consultant Gerd Klinner was commissioned to analyze the BaZ. Are the results already available?
No, but we are expecting them this year.
Nevertheless, what is Mr. Bachmann's mission in view of the loss of circulation, decline in advertising and geographical constriction?
You mentioned two important factors for BaZ. I don't think you can change the geography, but BaZ still has potential in terms of circulation and reach. We have to think carefully about what readers want from their newspaper - and, above all, what (still) non-readers want. We already have ideas, but with Mr. Klinner's analysis we hope to be able to support ourselves even better.
"In future, BaZ will focus even more strongly on regional events", was the July press release. Is this wishful thinking, or is BaZ missing something?
It's more than just a general wish. Emphasizing the region will be a central point of the upcoming relaunch, because the region is the environment in which we can appeal to people most directly and hold our own against the competition in the long term. We need to exploit this USP even more.
But where exactly do you see the deficit? Is the BaZ lagging behind the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (bz), 20 Minuten or the regional electronic media with primeurs? Or even compared to the in-house Baslerstab?
It's also about primeurs, but even more about how and when you approach a topic and what questions you ask. For me, it's about a different mindset on the part of the editorial team: we have to want to get things moving in this region and at the same time be very close to our readers. I hope that Mr. Bachmann will bring this attitude to fruition. A lot has already happened in the region. But we want to use the change of editor-in-chief to comprehensively rethink our offering - and not just in the Regio-Bund.
Last week, at the Basel Area Business Day, you launched the idea of a cooperation model among the publishers in north-western Switzerland - as a bulwark against Tamedia, NZZ and Ringier.
I have deliberately not mentioned Ringier, which has no regional strategy and is therefore, in our view, the friendliest of the major Zurich publishers. In contrast, Tamedia and NZZ are in full swing in the regions. With my presentation, however, I wanted to signal that we are thinking about cooperation from our side and are not looking for takeovers. I envision something along the lines of Hanspeter Lebrument's cooperation model, because it takes into account the sensitivity of the smaller and larger publishing partners and also allows them to remain autonomous and independent.
Which publishers have you specifically approached?
Everyone in our region who publishes a subscription newspaper that is published several times a week and wants to continue to publish it as their newspaper in the long term.
Are you also thinking about publishers beyond the country's borders?
No. We are always talking to the Badische Zeitung and thinking about what we could do together. But so far we have had to realize that the national borders are also very high in the minds of the readers. Nevertheless, we have been publishing a joint regional page once a month since May. However, the cooperation model is aimed at publishers in north-western Switzerland. We will then see how far this extends.
I would like to be more precise: Fritz Schuhmacher, your Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, is the new Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vogt-Schild/Habegger. So with him you have a shoe in at Solothurner Zeitung - and therefore also at Verbund Mittelland Zeitung. Are you drawing the circle that wide?
I was just throwing a small stone into the water. I wanted to say: now that we are relaunching our newspaper, we are also thinking about possible collaborations in the back of our minds. They could already be part of the BaZ relaunch. We just want to make an offer. If someone is interested, we will talk to them.
You said in your presentation that you want to present a model to publishers. So you have at least some idea of how far this area extends and who you want to address. So once again: are you also thinking about Aarau, Solothurn and Olten?
I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage. But I wouldn't comment on any of these areas either.
When and in what form will you present the model to the other publishers?
We have not yet reached the stage where we can ask ourselves such questions.
BaZ has been taking care of the early delivery for bz for nine months now, and the Fricker family sold you a 50 percent stake in Fricktaler Boten in April. Is that more or less the range you envisioned for the
Imagine cooperations?
No. The special thing about the Südostschweiz model is its structure via the advertising market, which can then also lead to synergies in terms of content. That is our main focus. But of course we are also available for any other service that our company can offer. And if a publisher in our region wants to sell shares, we are naturally interested.
About Radio Basel One: How does the relaunch sound to you?
Such radios work to a large extent via music, and the selection has definitely improved. I can also see it in my two children, aged ten and twelve: They have now definitely switched to Basel One.
But why are you relying so heavily on NRJ's advice? In French-speaking Switzerland, this giant is showing that it cannot cope with the local market: its (still) high reach has been dwindling for two years.
NRJ owns around 300 local radio stations and has a turnover of over 350 million euros. So it seems logical to me that we should draw on their expertise. I'm very happy about this partnership, especially as we don't have a lot of local radio experience. I also believe that we have contributed enough of our own and local content. It's deliberately not called NRJ like in Zurich.
Trimming his Basel media group for growth: BaZ publisher Matthias Hagemann.
Fricktaler Bote: Board of Directors is completeThe Basler Mediengruppe has held a 50 percent stake in the publishing house Fricktaler Bote AG since April 1, together with the previous shareholder Binkert Druck AG. The new Board of Directors (BoD) is made up of Binkert Druck's Chairman Bernhard Binkert and Hans Jegge, while BM's CEO Beat Meyer and Ruth Ludwig-Hagemann, a member of the BM Board of Directors, are involved. Due to the equal number of votes, the BoD has also been expanded to include an independent fifth member, who has only recently been appointed: Peter Bircher, former CVP National Councillor, who will also take over the chairmanship of the BoD. (mk)
Change of editor-in-chief after 20 yearsThe Board of Directors of the National-Zeitung and Basler Nachrichten AG decided on September 10 to appoint Ivo Bachmann as successor to Hans-Peter Platz as the new editor-in-chief of the Basler Zeitung and member of the company management. Bachmann will take up his post on
January 1, 2004. Hans-Peter Platz, who has been BaZ Editor-in-Chief since the fall of 1983, will retire on December 31, 2003.
Ivo Bachmann (40) began his journalistic career in 1981 as an employee of Luzerner Neueste Nachrichten. He worked as a freelance journalist for the Tages-Anzeiger magazine, among others, before joining the editorial team of the Beobachter in 1986, where he was promoted to deputy editor-in-chief in 1988 and became editor-in-chief in 1996. In this function, he was also a member of the management of Jean Frey AG. In spring 2002, Ivo Bachmann left the Beobachter and moved to Ringier, where he has since been responsible for various projects in the management of the Magazines division. (mk)
Interview: Markus Knöpfli
WW A year and a half ago you deprived Ringier of the highly coveted Jean Frey publishing house, now you are snatching away from the Swiss media giant the very man who should have created a rival product to Beobachter or Weltwoche. Is the dispute between the Basler Mediengruppe (BM) and Ringier continuing? Matthias Hagemann On the contrary, the dispute is over - I can truly say that from my side - and Mr. Bachmann's move will take place on the best of terms with Ringier.
Will BM publish a consumer magazine sooner or later?
No, certainly not.
At the time, Mr. Bachmann did not appreciate the fact that you had sold Jean Frey AG to an initially unknown group of investors. He defected to Ringier in protest. So you're bringing an unruly horse into the stable.
I am of course aware that Mr. Bachmann is an edgy guy who doesn't put up with everything. But we discussed the subject of the past at length in our various talks and came to the conclusion that it was an extreme situation for everyone involved at the time.
Mr. Bachmann has no experience in the daily newspaper business. Why did you still choose him as the new BaZ editor-in-chief?
His leadership qualities, which I was able to observe in my role as publisher at the Beobachter at the time, are key for me: his calmness, his determination and his journalistic skills. And he also impressed me with his ideas for BaZ. That's why I really believe that he is the ideal editor-in-chief for us.
When Bachmann takes office on January 1, 2004, the BaZ can now be printed in four colors throughout. Will the relaunch announced in July also be on the agenda?
That's not quite right. The new printing press runs on
January 1 only in parts. However, the part on which BaZ is printed will not be operational until April at the earliest. The relaunch will therefore only be planned and implemented by Mr. Bachmann and the editorial team in the course of next year.
In July, editorial and publishing consultant Gerd Klinner was commissioned to analyze the BaZ. Are the results already available?
No, but we are expecting them this year.
Nevertheless, what is Mr. Bachmann's mission in view of the loss of circulation, decline in advertising and geographical constriction?
You mentioned two important factors for BaZ. I don't think you can change the geography, but BaZ still has potential in terms of circulation and reach. We have to think carefully about what readers want from their newspaper - and, above all, what (still) non-readers want. We already have ideas, but with Mr. Klinner's analysis we hope to be able to support ourselves even better.
"In future, BaZ will focus even more strongly on regional events", was the July press release. Is this wishful thinking, or is BaZ missing something?
It's more than just a general wish. Emphasizing the region will be a central point of the upcoming relaunch, because the region is the environment in which we can appeal to people most directly and hold our own against the competition in the long term. We need to exploit this USP even more.
But where exactly do you see the deficit? Is the BaZ lagging behind the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (bz), 20 Minuten or the regional electronic media with primeurs? Or even compared to the in-house Baslerstab?
It's also about primeurs, but even more about how and when you approach a topic and what questions you ask. For me, it's about a different mindset on the part of the editorial team: we have to want to get things moving in this region and at the same time be very close to our readers. I hope that Mr. Bachmann will bring this attitude to fruition. A lot has already happened in the region. But we want to use the change of editor-in-chief to comprehensively rethink our offering - and not just in the Regio-Bund.
Last week, at the Basel Area Business Day, you launched the idea of a cooperation model among the publishers in north-western Switzerland - as a bulwark against Tamedia, NZZ and Ringier.
I have deliberately not mentioned Ringier, which has no regional strategy and is therefore, in our view, the friendliest of the major Zurich publishers. In contrast, Tamedia and NZZ are in full swing in the regions. With my presentation, however, I wanted to signal that we are thinking about cooperation from our side and are not looking for takeovers. I envision something along the lines of Hanspeter Lebrument's cooperation model, because it takes into account the sensitivity of the smaller and larger publishing partners and also allows them to remain autonomous and independent.
Which publishers have you specifically approached?
Everyone in our region who publishes a subscription newspaper that is published several times a week and wants to continue to publish it as their newspaper in the long term.
Are you also thinking about publishers beyond the country's borders?
No. We are always talking to the Badische Zeitung and thinking about what we could do together. But so far we have had to realize that the national borders are also very high in the minds of the readers. Nevertheless, we have been publishing a joint regional page once a month since May. However, the cooperation model is aimed at publishers in north-western Switzerland. We will then see how far this extends.
I would like to be more precise: Fritz Schuhmacher, your Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, is the new Chairman of the Board of Directors at Vogt-Schild/Habegger. So with him you have a shoe in at Solothurner Zeitung - and therefore also at Verbund Mittelland Zeitung. Are you drawing the circle that wide?
I was just throwing a small stone into the water. I wanted to say: now that we are relaunching our newspaper, we are also thinking about possible collaborations in the back of our minds. They could already be part of the BaZ relaunch. We just want to make an offer. If someone is interested, we will talk to them.
You said in your presentation that you want to present a model to publishers. So you have at least some idea of how far this area extends and who you want to address. So once again: are you also thinking about Aarau, Solothurn and Olten?
I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage. But I wouldn't comment on any of these areas either.
When and in what form will you present the model to the other publishers?
We have not yet reached the stage where we can ask ourselves such questions.
BaZ has been taking care of the early delivery for bz for nine months now, and the Fricker family sold you a 50 percent stake in Fricktaler Boten in April. Is that more or less the range you envisioned for the
Imagine cooperations?
No. The special thing about the Südostschweiz model is its structure via the advertising market, which can then also lead to synergies in terms of content. That is our main focus. But of course we are also available for any other service that our company can offer. And if a publisher in our region wants to sell shares, we are naturally interested.
About Radio Basel One: How does the relaunch sound to you?
Such radios work to a large extent via music, and the selection has definitely improved. I can also see it in my two children, aged ten and twelve: They have now definitely switched to Basel One.
But why are you relying so heavily on NRJ's advice? In French-speaking Switzerland, this giant is showing that it cannot cope with the local market: its (still) high reach has been dwindling for two years.
NRJ owns around 300 local radio stations and has a turnover of over 350 million euros. So it seems logical to me that we should draw on their expertise. I'm very happy about this partnership, especially as we don't have a lot of local radio experience. I also believe that we have contributed enough of our own and local content. It's deliberately not called NRJ like in Zurich.
Trimming his Basel media group for growth: BaZ publisher Matthias Hagemann.
Fricktaler Bote: Board of Directors is completeThe Basler Mediengruppe has held a 50 percent stake in the publishing house Fricktaler Bote AG since April 1, together with the previous shareholder Binkert Druck AG. The new Board of Directors (BoD) is made up of Binkert Druck's Chairman Bernhard Binkert and Hans Jegge, while BM's CEO Beat Meyer and Ruth Ludwig-Hagemann, a member of the BM Board of Directors, are involved. Due to the equal number of votes, the BoD has also been expanded to include an independent fifth member, who has only recently been appointed: Peter Bircher, former CVP National Councillor, who will also take over the chairmanship of the BoD. (mk)
Change of editor-in-chief after 20 yearsThe Board of Directors of the National-Zeitung and Basler Nachrichten AG decided on September 10 to appoint Ivo Bachmann as successor to Hans-Peter Platz as the new editor-in-chief of the Basler Zeitung and member of the company management. Bachmann will take up his post on
January 1, 2004. Hans-Peter Platz, who has been BaZ Editor-in-Chief since the fall of 1983, will retire on December 31, 2003.
Ivo Bachmann (40) began his journalistic career in 1981 as an employee of Luzerner Neueste Nachrichten. He worked as a freelance journalist for the Tages-Anzeiger magazine, among others, before joining the editorial team of the Beobachter in 1986, where he was promoted to deputy editor-in-chief in 1988 and became editor-in-chief in 1996. In this function, he was also a member of the management of Jean Frey AG. In spring 2002, Ivo Bachmann left the Beobachter and moved to Ringier, where he has since been responsible for various projects in the management of the Magazines division. (mk)
Interview: Markus Knöpfli
