Corriere del Ticino and Giornale del Popolo end cooperation
After 14 years of collaboration, the Ticino daily newspapers *Giornale del Popolo* (GdP) and *Corriere del Ticino* will go their separate ways starting in 2018. The publisher of the GdP, Bishop Valerio Lazzeri, cited, among other things, differing visions for the future as the reason for the split.
The cooperation had existed since 2004 and was mainly for advertising and some editorial content, said the editor-in-chief of the Giornale del Popolo, Gregorio Schira, when asked by SDA on Tuesday. His newspaper had, for example, obtained reports from Corriere del Ticino for its sports and justice coverage.
The catholic Giornale del Popolo wants to stand on its own two feet from next year. According to Schira, differences of opinion came to light in the course of negotiations with Corriere del Ticino about a new partnership.
Divorce instead of downsizing?
Specifically, Schira said that the Corriere had demanded cuts in editorial staff. The newspaper currently employs around 30 journalists. In 2004, the Giornale del Popolo was saved from going under by money from the Corriere Foundation. It was then the publisher and owner of the GdP, Bishop Valerio Lazzeri, who decided to end the cooperation.
According to Schira, no other collaborations - such as with the daily newspaper La Regione - are planned for the future. The Giornale del Popolo receives money from the Curia in Ticino via foundations. This is also partly reflected in the editorial focus: the medium regularly reports on faith-related topics under the "Catholica" section.
Corriere: No room for three
The president of the Corriere del Ticino Foundation, Fabio Soldati, wrote in a commentary in his paper on Tuesday that although the Corriere had always been close to the GdP, there was no room for three daily newspapers on the Ticino market in future.
It was now time to "change the structure of the Giornale del Popolo". But as the newspaper wanted to continue as before, all that remained for him to do was to wish it all the best for the future, said Soldati.
The director of La Regione, Matteo Caratti, recalled in his comments on Tuesday that the Corriere del Ticino has so far been able to benefit from the cooperation in the advertising market because it has the most readers overall. The Giornale del Popolo, on the other hand, had decided to prescribe a diet for itself instead of having it prescribed by others, Caratti said. (SDA)
