To the point: Pipe burst
Blocher is making headlines once again. What happened? The NZZ am Sonntag broke the story: Robinvest has been awarded a consulting contract by Tito Tettamanti, the majority shareholder of the Basler Zeitung, and Martin Wagner, the minority shareholder and chairman of the board of directors.
The aim is to bring the currently loss-making company to a return of ten percent next year. So far, a normal process. But the Chairman of the Board of Robinvest is none other than Christoph Blocher.
The whole thing was not exactly a clever move. The two main shareholders can go on for a long time stating in a press release that "they had decided to seek the advice of persons with sufficient industry experience. With this in mind, Dr. Tito Tettamanti recommended Robinvest as advisor. Dr. Tettamanti has had excellent experience with Christoph Blocher in industrial investments." The statement "that BZM is in a turn-around phase and it is quite common that external consulting services are obtained in connection with the strategic and operational management of the industrial portfolio" also goes unheard. The irritant word Blocher drowns out everything. Now there is outrage in the competitor press.
"New strategy: Blocher takes power at "BaZ"" headlines 20 Minuten online, "Blocher determines course of "Basler Zeitung" writes NZZ online. Politicians are also outraged. Christine Wirz-von Planta, a member of the Basel parliament, fears that the newspaper is being "remote-controlled" and that "Basel could lose its local newspaper. FDP National Councilor Peter Malama thinks that BaZ could mutate into a daily Weltwoche. But popular sentiment is also boiling: By Monday evening, over 400 comments had been counted on Bazonline.ch, "Blocher Zeitung Nein Danke!" badges are being sold in Basel, and the Facebook group "Eine neue Zeitung für Basel ohne Tettamanti, Wagner, Somm und Blocher" already has 980 members.
The editorial staff also reacted: In an open letter, it wrote that the "political influence" on BaZ alluded to in the NZZ am Sonntag was endangering credibility and journalistic independence, and thus the highest good of a newspaper. However, the editors' protest is also directed against the unloved editor-in-chief Markus Somm. In a conversation with the editorial staff, Wagner guaranteed journalistic independence.
The chaos has been created. Whether this is conducive to the desired return on investment is doubtful. And another thing: Blocher may be a good entrepreneur, but whether he knows anything about the media is questionable: In 1996, his attempt with the Bündner Tagblatt ended after high losses in a closing of ranks with the competitor Bündner Zeitung.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
The whole thing was not exactly a clever move. The two main shareholders can go on for a long time stating in a press release that "they had decided to seek the advice of persons with sufficient industry experience. With this in mind, Dr. Tito Tettamanti recommended Robinvest as advisor. Dr. Tettamanti has had excellent experience with Christoph Blocher in industrial investments." The statement "that BZM is in a turn-around phase and it is quite common that external consulting services are obtained in connection with the strategic and operational management of the industrial portfolio" also goes unheard. The irritant word Blocher drowns out everything. Now there is outrage in the competitor press.
"New strategy: Blocher takes power at "BaZ"" headlines 20 Minuten online, "Blocher determines course of "Basler Zeitung" writes NZZ online. Politicians are also outraged. Christine Wirz-von Planta, a member of the Basel parliament, fears that the newspaper is being "remote-controlled" and that "Basel could lose its local newspaper. FDP National Councilor Peter Malama thinks that BaZ could mutate into a daily Weltwoche. But popular sentiment is also boiling: By Monday evening, over 400 comments had been counted on Bazonline.ch, "Blocher Zeitung Nein Danke!" badges are being sold in Basel, and the Facebook group "Eine neue Zeitung für Basel ohne Tettamanti, Wagner, Somm und Blocher" already has 980 members.
The editorial staff also reacted: In an open letter, it wrote that the "political influence" on BaZ alluded to in the NZZ am Sonntag was endangering credibility and journalistic independence, and thus the highest good of a newspaper. However, the editors' protest is also directed against the unloved editor-in-chief Markus Somm. In a conversation with the editorial staff, Wagner guaranteed journalistic independence.
The chaos has been created. Whether this is conducive to the desired return on investment is doubtful. And another thing: Blocher may be a good entrepreneur, but whether he knows anything about the media is questionable: In 1996, his attempt with the Bündner Tagblatt ended after high losses in a closing of ranks with the competitor Bündner Zeitung.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
