To the point: provocation
Four major daily newspapers have given themselves a new look in the last four weeks. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung gave the starting signal, shortly followed by the Tages-Anzeiger, then the Blick and finally the Bund.
Four major daily newspapers have given themselves a new look in the last four weeks. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung gave the starting signal, shortly followed by the Tages-Anzeiger, then the Blick and finally the Bund.
The NZZ has become a bit more reader-friendly and younger. It seems modern and yet as competent as ever. The Tagi relaunch is well crafted and attempts are being made to provide more background and more surprising stories in many areas. Somehow, however, the big hit is missing. One expected more, more courage to be independent and perhaps also more pizzazz. Blick has found its way back to its old values, or rather it tries to do so. It's big again, colorful and follows a harder tabloid course. But somehow the whole impression is still rather staid and somehow soft. This may also have something to do with the many "fresh" colors that the new layout brings with it. The Bund has given itself a new face; it looks tidy and serious and is now Tagi-compatible, which was also a clear goal of the relaunch.
It would be premature to draw definitive conclusions at this stage. With every print relaunch, it only becomes apparent after a certain amount of time and in day-to-day work where there is still room for improvement and where you may have overshot the mark.
But one thing can already be said for sure: The relaunches are all evolutionary rather than revolutionary. In my opinion, such a cautious approach is understandable. An all too abrupt change or even a revolution is not well received by existing readers in most cases. There is always room for improvement. This is also necessary, because all four newspapers need new readers.
Political campaigners have it much easier. The anti-minaret initiative operates with pure provocation. The much-maligned poster was featured in all the media even before it was posted for the first time, with pages of commentary. The ban on posting in certain cities increased the level of attention even more, and the online game, which Georg Kreis, the president of the anti-racism commission, described as inhumane, increased the effect even more. Just try to imagine what such advertising would have cost if it had had to be paid for.
That's probably what the Young Socialists thought, too, who want to jump on the free provocation bandwagon with a poster depicting Doris Leuthard as a butcher with bloodied hands.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
The NZZ has become a bit more reader-friendly and younger. It seems modern and yet as competent as ever. The Tagi relaunch is well crafted and attempts are being made to provide more background and more surprising stories in many areas. Somehow, however, the big hit is missing. One expected more, more courage to be independent and perhaps also more pizzazz. Blick has found its way back to its old values, or rather it tries to do so. It's big again, colorful and follows a harder tabloid course. But somehow the whole impression is still rather staid and somehow soft. This may also have something to do with the many "fresh" colors that the new layout brings with it. The Bund has given itself a new face; it looks tidy and serious and is now Tagi-compatible, which was also a clear goal of the relaunch.
It would be premature to draw definitive conclusions at this stage. With every print relaunch, it only becomes apparent after a certain amount of time and in day-to-day work where there is still room for improvement and where you may have overshot the mark.
But one thing can already be said for sure: The relaunches are all evolutionary rather than revolutionary. In my opinion, such a cautious approach is understandable. An all too abrupt change or even a revolution is not well received by existing readers in most cases. There is always room for improvement. This is also necessary, because all four newspapers need new readers.
Political campaigners have it much easier. The anti-minaret initiative operates with pure provocation. The much-maligned poster was featured in all the media even before it was posted for the first time, with pages of commentary. The ban on posting in certain cities increased the level of attention even more, and the online game, which Georg Kreis, the president of the anti-racism commission, described as inhumane, increased the effect even more. Just try to imagine what such advertising would have cost if it had had to be paid for.
That's probably what the Young Socialists thought, too, who want to jump on the free provocation bandwagon with a poster depicting Doris Leuthard as a butcher with bloodied hands.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
