Now comes the SP party newspaper that provides members and sympathizers with first-hand informationLinks.ch, the new members' paper of the SP Switzerland (SPS), was definitely launched on June 20. The circulation of the 24-page paper, which appears eleven times a year, is around 50,000 copies. However, following the departure of SPS spokeswoman Ursula Dubois, who came up with the concept, the monthly still has no editor-in-chief. On an interim basis, SP National Councilor Hans-Jürg Fehr, who publishes the Schaffhausen AZ in his main job, is responsible for the content of the members' magazine. According to Jean-Philippe Jeannerat of the SPS Central Secretariat, the SPS was "disappointed" with the zero number, which is why Links.ch had to be revised again. The paper was to be more journalistic and less text-heavy. In addition, the SPS insisted that the front page be designed in four colors.
According to Dubois' concept, Links.ch was also supposed to appeal to people outside the SP party borders. But this is now being dispensed with. "Links.ch is primarily intended to inform SP members and sympathizers. The paper is not a second weekly newspaper," Jeannerat clarifies.
Links.ch is looking for advertising. The agency Kretz AG, Verlag & Annoncen, in Feldmeilen ZH was commissioned with the acquisition. Links.ch has a total of five advertising pages, two of which are printed in four colors. A full page in black and white costs 4000, in four colors 4900 Swiss francs.
The content in the jacket of Links.ch comes from the SPS, four pages in the center of each issue are written in the various regions - in place of member sheets of the regional parties. An issue for western Switzerland is in preparation. (mk)

For better communication: Swiss Socialists launch a monthly party magazineBy Markus KnöpfliAfter mishaps, bad luck and breakdowns, the SPS is tinkering with its communication. For example, it is currently adopting a new communication concept. This includes the scrapping of the press service and various member information. Instead, a new monthly magazine will be published from May 1.
Today, every child knows that the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SPS) is not a party of workers, but of the (upper) middle class. But thanks to market research, the SPS knows it even better: 31% of members and supporters have a higher income, 28% a middle income (such as a teacher's salary). In terms of education, 58% of members and 48% of supporters have a high school education. Almost as many sympathizers, namely 47%, are younger than 40, compared to 27% of members.
No wonder, as SPS spokeswoman Ursula Dubois concludes: "SP members and
-sympathizers are a very interesting target audience for advertising." The SPS is therefore only a small step away from being able to market to such a strong purchasing power.
Specifically: from May 1, the SPS wants to publish a monthly newspaper, partly financed by advertising, called SPlinks.ch or links.ch - and in return will discontinue all cantonal and internal party member information. All SPS members and regular donors will automatically receive the new paper with a circulation of 60,000 copies. However, it is also intended to appeal to a wider group of people. Even distribution via newsstands has not been ruled out.
SPS expects "acceptable" advertising revenue
links.ch should be "self-critical and not an ideological party newspaper", says Dubois. The paper should also give a voice to internal party opinions that differ from the views of the party leadership. "The aim is to reflect where the internal party debate stands on a particular topic," says Dubois. This should be done in a journalistic form, links.ch will not simply consist of a series of texts by SPS National Councillors.
On the other hand, Dubois says that the SPS, as publisher, will also bear some of the costs, because "links.ch is also a PR tool for the party to communicate with its members". In addition, the SP spokeswoman will be editor-in-chief of the new newspaper in an initial phase. It will therefore be exciting to see how Dubois will manage the balancing act between announcements and journalism.
The party spokeswoman does not yet want to say anything about the budget or the business plan for the SPS title in tabloid format. But apart from the SPS, the cantonal parties and some subscribers are also expected to contribute their mite. And of course the advertisers. "Even in the first phase, we are expecting an acceptable income," says Dubois. However, the rates have not yet been set. However, she stresses that it will be possible to advertise in four colors, even if links.ch will only be in two colors.
Resuscitation attempts
on a newspaper corpse
The party press has been dead for years. But why does Dubois still believe in the chances of links.ch? She evades the question and explains why the SPS wants its own organ: most forum newspapers, which allow different positions to be heard, are under pressure. Most of them are apolitical monopoly papers that "only present extreme positions". For this reason, parties around the world must once again rely on their own information channels.
But what impact will links.ch have on the Schaffhausen AZ, the WochenZeitung (WoZ) or the SP intellectual paper Rote Revue? "The AZ is too local and therefore hardly affected. Rote Revue will have the chance to reposition itself. And the WoZ will at best be stimulated by an additional debate," says Dubois. WoZ publishing director Verena Mühlberger does not sense any danger from the Red Review either. "A little competition is good for us. But I don't fear that we will lose subscribers or advertisers," she says.