To the point: upheaval and departure
The motto of this year's Swiss Media Conference invites wordplay. For example, I heard "Umbruch, Aufbruch, Abbruch" a few times. It sounds quite funny, but it's not really funny. I say that because I am still so willing to make an ironic or even cynical remark. After all, it's about the industry in which we work. It's been known for at least ten years that the daily newspaper business model no longer works the way it used to. Strategies? None.
First came the free newspapers, which were ridiculed in turn ("short fodder, info tidbits"), then - when they began to compete with the established newspapers not only for readers but also for advertising - regarded with suspicion. Counter-strategies? None. After all, one was better! 20 Minuten was then bought by Tamedia, the other free titles went under. Things turned out well for Tamedia, leaving the other publishers with free competition.
Then came the fall from grace with the Internet. Virtually all publishers put the news from their daily newspapers online for free. "Net culture", "that's the way it has to be", they said. The reasoning was as simple as it was wrong: If as many users as possible click on the free news on the Internet, then the advertising will also come. In theory, that's true. But only if you're number 1 or 2. And it never compensates for the decline in print. From rank 3 on, very little happens in Franconia.
The triumph of tablets led to app hype. That way, you could sell additional content. And, of course, advertising. Or so they thought.
New hype: paywall. Countless variants (metered, freemium, social) are being thought up. The success - if it is introduced at all and not postponed for the umpteenth time - is referred to as "encouraging", which means "doesn't really bring anything".
The current trend is mobile hype. More and more people are using smartphones to access websites. The advertising will come then. One hopes.
It is striking that for at least ten years, most of the strategies of the media companies have been pure reaction strategies. Someone - usually someone from outside the industry - did something and then they reacted. There was rarely any truly groundbreaking strategic thinking. They saved on the product and hoped for better times. Or they diversified into other areas outside the industry.
A radical change is needed. And it needs to happen quickly. Only then can the change succeed. But to do so, it is necessary to throw entrenched, traditional ways of thinking overboard. Quickly and thoroughly.
Other industries facing a similar crisis have shown the way. This is the only way. Otherwise, there is a risk of termination.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief [email protected]
