Payday comes later
For the first time, Thurgau readers can choose between the St.Galler Tagblatt and the Thurgauer Zeitung
For the first time, Thurgau readers have the choice between St.Galler Tagblatt and Thurgauer ZeitungBy Markus Knöpfli A year ago, the Thurgau newspaper landscape was plowed over. Now the top dog Thurgauer Zeitung - Die Neue is about to renew its subscription for the first time. Competitor Mittelthurgauer Tagblatt has smelled a rat and is stepping up its efforts to attract subscribers. The race is likely to be exciting.
For a year now, two daily newspapers have been facing each other in Thurgau: the Thurgauer Zeitung - Die Neue (TZ, circulation: 42,000 copies) of Thurgauer Medien AG, a merger of six regional newspapers, and the one-year-old Mittelthurgauer Tagblatt (MTT) and its older sister Bodensee Tagblatt (BT), both Thurgau splits of the St.Galler Tagblatt.
Today, the situation is far more exciting than it was twelve months ago, particularly in the Mittelthurgau region. Subscription renewals are due for the first time at TZ, because the paper, which is subscribed to by around 60 percent of the 26,000 households in the Kreuzlingen and Weinfelden districts, was able to retain most of the subscriptions of its predecessor titles on January 3, 2001. MTT is different: it was only able to take over around 50 BT subscribers and, after starting with 10,000 scattered copies, now has 1,000 annual subscriptions and around 1,000 current trial subscriptions. "However, I had expected more," says publishing director Daniel Ehrat.
So now Frauenfeld and St.Gallen are waiting for the reactions of subscribers from Weinfelden and Kreuzlingen. The result should be known by the end of January. "The payday is yet to come," confirms TZ publishing director Urs Bucher, who does not expect a significant slump. The main reason for people leaving TZ would be that the new newspaper was too extensive and too expensive. But the MTT offers no alternative. In addition, TZ will continue its large weekly circulation (90000 copies in total) in order to generate new trial subscriptions with this "marketing instrument that should not be underestimated". Bucher's motto for the next two years is therefore "keep it going".
Thurgauer Zeitung still below advertising budget
The "attacker" MTT, on the other hand, has launched an October offensive using posters and mailings. By the end of 2002, Ehrat hopes for an increase to 3000 subscriptions, 1000 less than the original target. However, MTT is also relying on cooperation with three municipalities that are still working with TZ. From January, their official gazettes will each become an integrated additional bundle at MTT - which means that it will reach all 2,970 households in the area in question once a week. "If this measure doesn't work, then we'll also have a hard time in the future," says Ehrat, who doesn't hide the fact that the MTT is "struggling with the St.Gallen stamp".
The latter is probably also evident in the advertising sector. Although the MTT is "slightly over budget" with around half a page of advertisements per issue, according to Ehrat, there are no obituaries from the Mittelthurgau region - an important indicator of acceptance - unlike in the Oberthurgau region, where the BT is ahead. However, Ehrat categorically rules out merging the MTT with the BT or even abandoning it in Mittelthurgau for next year.
Up to the middle of the year, the volume of advertisements in the TC exceeded the budgeted increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year's volume of the predecessor TC. There were more national and cantonal advertisements, also thanks to membership of Kombi 1 and Nordostschweiz. From July onwards, however, the slump in advertising was also felt at TZ. "Although we are still above the previous year's figure for the predecessor TZ, we are still below budget," says Bucher.
As far as the assessment of content is concerned, both sides are largely in agreement. TZ editor-in-chief Andreas Netzle, who gave his paper a new layout and a new journalistic concept this fall, puts it in a nutshell: "We are more comprehensive, especially at cantonal level, and MTT is (still) better here and there in terms of journalistic craftsmanship." However, this does not necessarily apply to Oberthurgau, where both papers often have the same correspondent reports. That shows: The current main battle is concentrated in Mittelthurgau.
St. Galler Tagblatt plans relaunch
For a year now, two daily newspapers have been facing each other in Thurgau: the Thurgauer Zeitung - Die Neue (TZ, circulation: 42,000 copies) of Thurgauer Medien AG, a merger of six regional newspapers, and the one-year-old Mittelthurgauer Tagblatt (MTT) and its older sister Bodensee Tagblatt (BT), both Thurgau splits of the St.Galler Tagblatt.
Today, the situation is far more exciting than it was twelve months ago, particularly in the Mittelthurgau region. Subscription renewals are due for the first time at TZ, because the paper, which is subscribed to by around 60 percent of the 26,000 households in the Kreuzlingen and Weinfelden districts, was able to retain most of the subscriptions of its predecessor titles on January 3, 2001. MTT is different: it was only able to take over around 50 BT subscribers and, after starting with 10,000 scattered copies, now has 1,000 annual subscriptions and around 1,000 current trial subscriptions. "However, I had expected more," says publishing director Daniel Ehrat.
So now Frauenfeld and St.Gallen are waiting for the reactions of subscribers from Weinfelden and Kreuzlingen. The result should be known by the end of January. "The payday is yet to come," confirms TZ publishing director Urs Bucher, who does not expect a significant slump. The main reason for people leaving TZ would be that the new newspaper was too extensive and too expensive. But the MTT offers no alternative. In addition, TZ will continue its large weekly circulation (90000 copies in total) in order to generate new trial subscriptions with this "marketing instrument that should not be underestimated". Bucher's motto for the next two years is therefore "keep it going".
Thurgauer Zeitung still below advertising budget
The "attacker" MTT, on the other hand, has launched an October offensive using posters and mailings. By the end of 2002, Ehrat hopes for an increase to 3000 subscriptions, 1000 less than the original target. However, MTT is also relying on cooperation with three municipalities that are still working with TZ. From January, their official gazettes will each become an integrated additional bundle at MTT - which means that it will reach all 2,970 households in the area in question once a week. "If this measure doesn't work, then we'll also have a hard time in the future," says Ehrat, who doesn't hide the fact that the MTT is "struggling with the St.Gallen stamp".
The latter is probably also evident in the advertising sector. Although the MTT is "slightly over budget" with around half a page of advertisements per issue, according to Ehrat, there are no obituaries from the Mittelthurgau region - an important indicator of acceptance - unlike in the Oberthurgau region, where the BT is ahead. However, Ehrat categorically rules out merging the MTT with the BT or even abandoning it in Mittelthurgau for next year.
Up to the middle of the year, the volume of advertisements in the TC exceeded the budgeted increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year's volume of the predecessor TC. There were more national and cantonal advertisements, also thanks to membership of Kombi 1 and Nordostschweiz. From July onwards, however, the slump in advertising was also felt at TZ. "Although we are still above the previous year's figure for the predecessor TZ, we are still below budget," says Bucher.
As far as the assessment of content is concerned, both sides are largely in agreement. TZ editor-in-chief Andreas Netzle, who gave his paper a new layout and a new journalistic concept this fall, puts it in a nutshell: "We are more comprehensive, especially at cantonal level, and MTT is (still) better here and there in terms of journalistic craftsmanship." However, this does not necessarily apply to Oberthurgau, where both papers often have the same correspondent reports. That shows: The current main battle is concentrated in Mittelthurgau.
St. Galler Tagblatt plans relaunch
The layout of the St.Galler Tagblatt, which belongs to the NZZ Group, will be revised as of September 2002. The contract was awarded to freelance media designer Katja Hösli, who was already responsible for the previous layout and also designed the publisher's own sports magazines Drive and Smash.
