Docking is the order of the day

Even if the Metropool replaces the Swisspool on January 1, 2005 and the St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT) and the Neue Luzerner Zeitung (LZ) are left behind, they are looking to join a national combined newspaper, which is why they are working with other titles on a modular pool (see WW 41/04). But until this comes to fruition, they are continuing the Swisspool philosophy and from 2005 are offering existing Swisspool customers a six percent discount if they book SGT or Neue LZ for the Metropool. This is called the "Swisspool loyalty discount" in Lucerne and the "docking model" at SGT. Module 8 of the Bern newspaper pool (Walliser Bote, Bieler Tagblatt, Freiburger Nachrichten) is also "docking": It has already docked with the Swisspool and will also try to do so with the Metropool (with a 14.65 percent discount). And even the Mittelland Zeitung has a docking variant in its quiver as one of several options for its future market presence, according to Ueli Eckstein of AZ Medien. Südostschweiz, on the other hand, has no docking plans, according to reports from Chur.
(mk)