Der Sonntag: View downhill "dramatic
Der Sonntag reports on a historic decline for the tabloid Blick: for the first time in 45 years, the Ringier publication is selling fewer than 200,000 copies. There is speculation about an imminent parting of ways with the German editors-in-chief of the Blick Group.
After peaking in 1987 with 375,288 certified copies, Blick circulation has almost halved 25 years later, writes Der Sonntag. In a single year, Blick lost 8.3 percent of its circulation, which experts consider "dramatic. Der Sonntag suspects, based on insider reports, that the "experiment" with the German editors-in-chief of Blick and Sonntags Blick has failed and that a successor for Sonntags Blick boss Karsten Witzmann is already being sought. This is denied by the managing director of the Blick Group to Der Sonntag: The editors-in-chief are all excellent paper makers and are consequently not up for discussion.
However, Der Sonntag suspects that Ringier CEO Marc Walder does not seem to share this view, because he is holding talks with potential candidates. Walder did not want to comment on this when asked - Der Sonntag sees parallels to the separation from Schweizer-Illustrierte editor-in-chief Nik Niethammer a few months ago with regard to this type of Ringier communication.
Ringier press spokesman Edi Estermann explains the slump in circulation to Der Sonntag with the abandonment of foreign sales in favor of digital channels. The Blick Group is pursuing a "total audience strategy". 2.8 million readers per week is an impressive figure. In addition, the reach of the Blick titles is higher than ever, which is not reflected in the circulation figures.
Der Sonntag sees the problem in the setting of topics and the specifically German tabloid language. The German Blick journalists would not infrequently write past the Swiss audience with their German point of view. As an example, Der Sonntag cites the daily lead story of Steinbrück's appointment as the Social Democratic candidate for chancellor. Der Sonntag sees this assumption supported by a statement by Roger Schawinski. In a column, the latter wrote that the "Hors-sol-Blick bosses" are basically disinterested in Switzerland. Titles like "Katie Price breit wie Buddha" would not be understood in this country, since "breit" is a slang synonym for totally drunk only in Germany.
Teaser image: Screenshot front page Blick, issue September 29, 2012
