Former editor-in-chief: Neue LZ owes its success to its independence
Readers remain loyal to the Neue Luzerner Zeitung primarily because of its journalistic independence. Thomas Bornhauser, who is stepping down as editor-in-chief after 20 years, is convinced of this. He reports numerous attempts at blackmail.
The claim to editorial independence is and remains a prerequisite for credibility. And credibility, in turn, is at the beginning and at the core of the newspaper's success story, writes the 60-year-old newspaperman in a full-page article on page 2 of Saturday's edition to mark his departure. There have been several attempts at pressure and blackmail on the only remaining regional daily newspaper in Lucerne, Bornhauser reports. Even in the recent past, when party politicians from Zug tried to bypass the editorial office and head straight for the management headquarters of the NZZ parent company in Zurich. The attempts to exert pressure have repeatedly come from "office holders, party supporters and professional politicians," Bornhauser writes. However, advertisers and occasional representatives of the administration also wanted to exert influence.
When in doubt, a reader-oriented newspaper is not on the side of authorities, but on the side of "normal" people, Bornhauser said. These people, he said, are most of the customers, the thousands and thousands of subscribers who have no press officers but form the basis of the business model of a regional quality newspaper. Bornhauser is confident that the Central Switzerland newspaper will not lose its independence, even if it is part of a group based in Zurich. "Who would be so stupid as to tell an editorial department off via corporate hierarchy in such a way that you risk the coveted profits in the long run?"
Thomas Bornhauser steps down as Editor-in-Chief of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung and its four regional editions after 20 years (Werbewoche.ch reported). The reason is a reorganization by the parent company NZZ. It wants to merge the Neue Luzerner Zeitung with its sister paper, the St. Galler Tagblatt. Pascal Hollenstein is now the journalistic director of both papers. However, both newspapers will continue to have a regional editor-in-chief. Thomas Bornhauser intends to continue working as a writer in Lucerne. Bornhauser had been at the helm of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung since 1996. It had emerged from the merger of Luzerner Neuste Nachrichten and Luzerner Zeitung. The newspaper generated annual profits over the past two decades. Readership rose in that time from 286'000 (1997) to 302'000 (2016), or by 5.6 percent. (SDA)
