Showing the flag again
Peter Hartmeier, the new editor-in-chief of the Tagi, was the one most surprised by the events themselves
The new Tagi editor-in-chief Peter Hartmeier was most surprised by the events themselvesBy Daniel Schifferle The new editor-in-chief of the Tages-Anzeiger, Peter Hartmeier, distances himself from the usual left-right scheme. The contemporary forum newspaper must address the specific problems and needs of city dwellers. Above all, however, the Tagi should have a higher profile in future.
More than three months ago, Peter Hartmeier expressed his views on the future of journalistic content in WerbeWoche (WW 28/02). At the time, he said that content would emerge stronger from the current crisis and that readers would benefit. Did he already know more about his appointment as Tagi editor-in-chief back then? "No," emphasizes Hartmeier. He found out exactly nine days before his appointment.
But he was not the only one surprised. Nobody had expected that the former Head of Corporate Communications would be catapulted so abruptly to the top of the Tamedia Group's flagship. Last but not least, the editorial team. In last Friday's edition, they expressed their shock at Philipp Löpfe's sudden departure. But the new editor-in-chief is not letting this worry him.
"Such a reaction is natural, because Löpfe was held in high esteem," says Hartmeier. The editorial team was shocked by the speed with which the dismissal took place. "And of course they are also wondering what new management style they will now face."
Another pressing question that arises concerns Peter Hartmeier's political line. How does his bourgeois stance fit in with the left-of-center Tages-Anzeiger? "It's not a question of left or right. The Tages-Anzeiger must be a reflection of the big city and its contradictory realities, that's the point," explains Hartmeier. One of his most important concerns will be to give the various social groups as equal a voice as possible. "At the same time, however, a newspaper like the Tages-Anzeiger must also have the courage to stand up for certain values - I think the era of 'anything goes' is coming to an end. But this requires many debates in the editorial office. And corresponding conflicts."
But what will Hartmeier do differently from Löpfe, who has been blamed for at least part of the massive loss of circulation in recent years? "We are in a phase in which the media landscape is changing dramatically - and in this context, new demands are also being placed on the editors-in-chief. The Tages-Anzeiger has to show its colors, and more intensively than before," explains Hartmeier.
"Tagi and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases"
Rumors are already circulating that the journalistic advisory board set up in the summer, the new shadow cabinet at Tamedia, has foreshadowed the installation of Hartmeier. Hartmeier waves it off. The advisory board, of which he himself was a member until his appointment as editor-in-chief, had only held two meetings. "We didn't say a word about the Tages-Anzeiger at either of them," Hartmeier asserts. The request for his appointment came directly from Martin Kall and his deputy Jürg Brauchli.
After the announcement of two changes of editor-in-chief within just one week - the first was ZürichExpress boss Markus Hegglin, for whom a replacement is being sought in connection with the conversion to the commuter newspaper Express - one now wonders who could be next. And: Are the two prominent departures possibly also an expression of a journalistic direction at Tamedia that has gotten out of kilter and now needs to be corrected? "No, that's certainly not the case," says Chairman of the Board Hans Heinrich Coninx to WerbeWoche. "Tages-Anzeiger and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases. The other titles in our company are healthy, which is why there are no reasons for changes to the editors-in-chief."
More than three months ago, Peter Hartmeier expressed his views on the future of journalistic content in WerbeWoche (WW 28/02). At the time, he said that content would emerge stronger from the current crisis and that readers would benefit. Did he already know more about his appointment as Tagi editor-in-chief back then? "No," emphasizes Hartmeier. He found out exactly nine days before his appointment.
But he was not the only one surprised. Nobody had expected that the former Head of Corporate Communications would be catapulted so abruptly to the top of the Tamedia Group's flagship. Last but not least, the editorial team. In last Friday's edition, they expressed their shock at Philipp Löpfe's sudden departure. But the new editor-in-chief is not letting this worry him.
"Such a reaction is natural, because Löpfe was held in high esteem," says Hartmeier. The editorial team was shocked by the speed with which the dismissal took place. "And of course they are also wondering what new management style they will now face."
Another pressing question that arises concerns Peter Hartmeier's political line. How does his bourgeois stance fit in with the left-of-center Tages-Anzeiger? "It's not a question of left or right. The Tages-Anzeiger must be a reflection of the big city and its contradictory realities, that's the point," explains Hartmeier. One of his most important concerns will be to give the various social groups as equal a voice as possible. "At the same time, however, a newspaper like the Tages-Anzeiger must also have the courage to stand up for certain values - I think the era of 'anything goes' is coming to an end. But this requires many debates in the editorial office. And corresponding conflicts."
But what will Hartmeier do differently from Löpfe, who has been blamed for at least part of the massive loss of circulation in recent years? "We are in a phase in which the media landscape is changing dramatically - and in this context, new demands are also being placed on the editors-in-chief. The Tages-Anzeiger has to show its colors, and more intensively than before," explains Hartmeier.
"Tagi and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases"
Rumors are already circulating that the journalistic advisory board set up in the summer, the new shadow cabinet at Tamedia, has foreshadowed the installation of Hartmeier. Hartmeier waves it off. The advisory board, of which he himself was a member until his appointment as editor-in-chief, had only held two meetings. "We didn't say a word about the Tages-Anzeiger at either of them," Hartmeier asserts. The request for his appointment came directly from Martin Kall and his deputy Jürg Brauchli.
After the announcement of two changes of editor-in-chief within just one week - the first was ZürichExpress boss Markus Hegglin, for whom a replacement is being sought in connection with the conversion to the commuter newspaper Express - one now wonders who could be next. And: Are the two prominent departures possibly also an expression of a journalistic direction at Tamedia that has gotten out of kilter and now needs to be corrected? "No, that's certainly not the case," says Chairman of the Board Hans Heinrich Coninx to WerbeWoche. "Tages-Anzeiger and ZürichExpress were two isolated cases. The other titles in our company are healthy, which is why there are no reasons for changes to the editors-in-chief."
