First Sunday edition of the Basler Zeitung published

The Hildebrand affair provides the lead story on the front page. Under the title "Die Geschniegelten" ("The cut and dried"), the SNB Chairman is presented as the "prototype of a new generation in power" and placed in a row with the German ex-Defense Minister zu Guttenberg, the German Federal President Christian Wulff and the former Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser. In the inside section, former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher also comments on the Hildebrand case in an interview. A second major interview was conducted by the Baz with the President of the Basel government, Guy Morin, who will return to work on Monday following cancer surgery and plans to run for re-election in the fall.

Layout hardly differs

In terms of layout, the Sunday edition of the Baz hardly differs from the others, but the design is more generous and "magazine-like". However, the Sunday version is clearly different in terms of its structure: it is published as a two-volume newspaper, whereas the Baz comprises four volumes during the week. Baz editor-in-chief Markus Somm, who is also responsible for the Sonntagsblatt, does not see it as a weekly magazine, but as a "seventh edition". However, this will be geared towards the special reading needs on Sundays with more time and leisure.

Circulation of 230,000 copies

The Baz had announced the project for a Sunday edition even before the most recent change of ownership at the end of November 2011. Contrary to what was stated at the time, the additional edition does not have to be realized with the same number of staff. According to editor-in-chief Somm, the Sunday edition will require five to ten additional jobs. The Sunday edition of the Baz will be published in the first twelve weeks with a circulation of around 230,000 copies. These will be distributed free of charge to households in the greater Basel area and can be obtained free of charge from boxes, as publishing director Paul Herzog told the news agency SDA when asked.

Free of charge until the end of March

The Sonntagsblatt will become chargeable from April 1. Baz subscribers will receive the seventh issue at a reduced surcharge. Herzog is hoping for 20,000 to 30,000 subscribers. The publishing director assumes that the new project will achieve a "black zero" financially relatively quickly. In any case, the advertising industry has reacted positively to the Sunday edition.

In the Basel region, AZ Medien, which owns the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung, has already expanded its Sunday offering: Since the end of August 2011, Der Sonntag has been published with a regional bundle for both Basel instead of just Baselland. AZ Medien also plans to launch the daily newspaper BZ Basel for Basel and the surrounding area this month. This is a sister paper to the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung. (SDA).

> Moritz Suter describes Sunday edition of Baz as financially viable