"Nothing but an anecdote"

Le Matin boss Peter Rothenbühler feels completely acceptedThe only vote that counts for me takes place at the newsstand," comments Peter Rothenbühler on the internal vote of confidence, which did not exactly turn out rosy for him as editor-in-chief of Le Matin (WW 25/02). But he can be comforted: With the launch of the new formula, the tabloid's circulation increased by two percent within a year. For Rothenbühler, the events surrounding this vote are an anecdote that did not affect him personally, but had a negative PR effect for Edipresse externally, he told WerbeWoche. He does not feel that he has been called into question, as a basis of trust is created in joint discussions during daily work and not through votes of a consultative nature. He adds that he finds the majority of journalists to be motivated and cooperative. He is also aware that tabloid journalism is one of the most difficult areas. That is why he also trains his employees so that they can grow with this task. Rothenbühler also has the full backing of Pierre Lamunière in his position as Editor-in-Chief. The patron of Edipresse, who describes Peter Rothenbühler as a competent and experienced editor-in-chief, is personally opposed to such internal editorial votes. He was shocked that a strictly internal matter had been made public. However, he does not want to deprive the editorial teams of the opportunity to express themselves freely.
Perhaps the voting procedure, which is unusual for Swiss editorial offices, will soon be quietly abolished. After all, 20 employees abstained from voting and another 30 didn't even bother to give their opinion on the editor-in-chief's working style. Anita Vaucher