New patron or MBO
Magazines Tamedia can only give away its loss-making prestige title Du. The only question is to whom.
Magazines Tamedia can now only give away its loss-making prestige title Du. According to insiders, Tamedia's cultural flagship cost its long-standing patron and advocate Hans Heinrich Coninx around two million francs in 2002 alone. The brand value also suffers as a result, even if it is a noble journalistic brand like Du. In view of Du's long-standing negative balance sheet, however, more than the brand is not really for sale in this case, and Kurt W. Zimmermann puts its current value at "one franc" when asked. "The markets don't currently pay goodwill for loss-making brands," says the ex-Tamedia manager. The current management consultant considers the traditional title to be "absolutely impossible to commercialize", which is why serious major publishers would have to turn down such an offer with thanks.
Not an issue for G+J eitherIn fact, the question arises as to which publisher can or wants to afford such a cultural commitment. The Swiss competitors all have money worries of their own, to which - as recently at Ringier - their own magazine projects sometimes fall victim. And for potentially interested German companies such as Gruner + Jahr, "such a foreign investment is certainly not in the cards at the moment", explains press spokesman Kurt Otto to Werbewoche.
There are only two options for securing the existence of the "cultural encyclopaedia" (self-defined), which is now in its 62nd year: Either it
a wealthy du-enthusiast is quickly found who continues to subsidize the magazine with seven-figure annual contributions. Or the editorial and publishing management may decide on a management buyout (MBO) - along the lines of the architecture magazine Hochparterre, for example, which Curti Medien handed over to the staff in 1991 for a symbolic penny and the assumption of the divestment costs.
For Du editor-in-chief Christian Seiler, patron and MBO scenarios are at best a "second and third priority". He would prefer to embed his magazine "in a sensible new publishing environment". At the same time, Seiler leaves no doubt that he and his team are only available for a product "that really deserves the name Du". Together with designer Wendelin Hess, they have spent the last few months designing such a product. Whether the relaunch will take place as planned in September, however, is still uncertain and depends on whether a new sponsor has been constituted by then.
Drastic redimensioning
Not an issue for G+J eitherIn fact, the question arises as to which publisher can or wants to afford such a cultural commitment. The Swiss competitors all have money worries of their own, to which - as recently at Ringier - their own magazine projects sometimes fall victim. And for potentially interested German companies such as Gruner + Jahr, "such a foreign investment is certainly not in the cards at the moment", explains press spokesman Kurt Otto to Werbewoche.
There are only two options for securing the existence of the "cultural encyclopaedia" (self-defined), which is now in its 62nd year: Either it
a wealthy du-enthusiast is quickly found who continues to subsidize the magazine with seven-figure annual contributions. Or the editorial and publishing management may decide on a management buyout (MBO) - along the lines of the architecture magazine Hochparterre, for example, which Curti Medien handed over to the staff in 1991 for a symbolic penny and the assumption of the divestment costs.
For Du editor-in-chief Christian Seiler, patron and MBO scenarios are at best a "second and third priority". He would prefer to embed his magazine "in a sensible new publishing environment". At the same time, Seiler leaves no doubt that he and his team are only available for a product "that really deserves the name Du". Together with designer Wendelin Hess, they have spent the last few months designing such a product. Whether the relaunch will take place as planned in September, however, is still uncertain and depends on whether a new sponsor has been constituted by then.
Drastic redimensioning
As part of the "fundamental realignment" of its loss-making magazine division, Tamedia intends to concentrate all its publishing efforts on the trio of titles Facts, annabelle and Schweizer Familie. While the line extensions annabelle business (effective immediately) and annabelle wohnen (effective end of August) will be discontinued, the Tamedia Board of Directors officially put the culture magazine Du and Spick up for sale last week. The commercial web offset printing division is also to be closed by mid-2005. These measures will lead to the loss of 140 jobs. (oc)
Oliver Classen
