AZ Medien launches daily newspaper BZ Basel
Starting in January 2012, the independent daily newspaper for the city and metropolitan area of Basel will be published under the title BZ Basel. The new newspaper is a sister publication of the BZ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung.
The Basel editorial office of the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung has been significantly expanded in recent months, according to a statement. It already reports comprehensively on Basel. The increase in subscription orders for the BZ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung and the great interest on the part of readers and advertisers in an independent daily newspaper for Basel have strengthened AZ Medien in this decision, it continues. In addition, there have been positive reactions to the two Basel projects that have already been realized: In September the Basel edition of the newspaper Der Sonntag launched, and in November, the weekly BZ-Grossauflage.
Other title with the same content
For the time being, the BZ Basel and the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung will only differ in title, but not in content, said Christoph Marty, managing director of the AZ media association, in response to an inquiry from SDA. However, the city and region of Basel should be given more weight in the newspaper in the future. In the medium term, however, two different editions are also conceivable, Marty added. That would depend on the success of the project. For the time being, BZ Basel is to appear in a circulation of 9'000 copies. Basellandschaftliche Zeitung has a circulation of 13'500 copies.
According to Marty, no further expansion of the workforce is planned for the time being. However, such an expansion would be possible on a selective basis if the market success continues. At present, the editorial offices of Der Sonntag and BZ responsible for Basel, with a total of ten employees, are being consolidated at a joint location in Basel.
