Eat and dine
Column: Sometimes Cheap, Sometimes Gourmet: Josefa Haas on the parallels between media culture and food culture.
Column Sometimes cheap, sometimes gourmet: Josefa Haas on the parallels between media and food culture. Something is happening in food culture: in addition to budget brands, retailers are launching gourmet lines, the restaurant around the corner is trying to give the lunch menu some zing, and cooking shows are experiencing a revival. Some conclusions can be drawn from food culture for media culture. As is so often the case, there is not just an "either or", but also a "both and". The exciting things take place in the gray areas. And those who want to stand out from the crowd must pay particular attention to the subtle differences. This shows that the cheap can certainly sharpen the sense of quality.
Doing one thing and not the other. The Armani suit combined with the H&M T-shirt is a matter of course today, the Ikea table next to the designer sofa is presented in home magazines without hesitation, and budget crackers with champagne are no longer a hosting faux pas.
Consumers combine bargains with luxury offers as they please. They are less and less willing to be pigeonholed. The choice in front of the yogurt rack becomes a game with every purchase: should it be budget or luxury?
Rigid role models are a thing of the past. Not so long ago, it was possible to determine precisely who thinks, does and buys what based on one or two characteristics. Today, people like to play with different identities, side by side or as a kind of stage of life. Individualization is now lived as a form of emancipation.
This also applies to the media: the free newspaper on the streetcar, the daily newspaper at lunchtime, the radio in between, a look at the internet at the same time, and after "10 to 10" it's off to bed. There, depending on your mood, you flick through Du, Playboy or Bolero. Even hunters and fly fishermen can indulge their passion.
Everyday media life is as colorful as the offerings. Those who leaf through 20 Minuten in the morning are not yet lost to the rest of the media offerings. For some, the free paper even acts as an appetizer for further information, entertainment and background information. Even if it is "only" comics and Bravo for teenagers. But hand on heart: most of the older generations were also curious about more interesting things in their youth than just the material in the daily newspapers.
But there's not a lot of money to be made here, according to those who are looking for big profits. The figures recently published by Tamedia prove this: Free commuter newspapers are profitable. A banal realization that comes as no surprise. Even the classic general gazettes and advertising papers were and are cash cows, and in good years the job advertisements generate large profits. Media managers know the simple math: editorial offices generate costs, advertising departments generate revenue.
And yet there are always people who spend money on good stories and strong images. Apparently, even sophisticated products can occasionally earn money. In addition to information fast food, an exciting story with surprising ideas is a special treat that people indulge in. Carefully produced media content is a treat that people are happy to invest time and money in.
Josefa Haas heads the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.
Doing one thing and not the other. The Armani suit combined with the H&M T-shirt is a matter of course today, the Ikea table next to the designer sofa is presented in home magazines without hesitation, and budget crackers with champagne are no longer a hosting faux pas.
Consumers combine bargains with luxury offers as they please. They are less and less willing to be pigeonholed. The choice in front of the yogurt rack becomes a game with every purchase: should it be budget or luxury?
Rigid role models are a thing of the past. Not so long ago, it was possible to determine precisely who thinks, does and buys what based on one or two characteristics. Today, people like to play with different identities, side by side or as a kind of stage of life. Individualization is now lived as a form of emancipation.
This also applies to the media: the free newspaper on the streetcar, the daily newspaper at lunchtime, the radio in between, a look at the internet at the same time, and after "10 to 10" it's off to bed. There, depending on your mood, you flick through Du, Playboy or Bolero. Even hunters and fly fishermen can indulge their passion.
Everyday media life is as colorful as the offerings. Those who leaf through 20 Minuten in the morning are not yet lost to the rest of the media offerings. For some, the free paper even acts as an appetizer for further information, entertainment and background information. Even if it is "only" comics and Bravo for teenagers. But hand on heart: most of the older generations were also curious about more interesting things in their youth than just the material in the daily newspapers.
But there's not a lot of money to be made here, according to those who are looking for big profits. The figures recently published by Tamedia prove this: Free commuter newspapers are profitable. A banal realization that comes as no surprise. Even the classic general gazettes and advertising papers were and are cash cows, and in good years the job advertisements generate large profits. Media managers know the simple math: editorial offices generate costs, advertising departments generate revenue.
And yet there are always people who spend money on good stories and strong images. Apparently, even sophisticated products can occasionally earn money. In addition to information fast food, an exciting story with surprising ideas is a special treat that people indulge in. Carefully produced media content is a treat that people are happy to invest time and money in.
Josefa Haas heads the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.
