Educational province
Noted: Away from the media hubs, newspapers are still a basic part of people’s political and personal lives. A company outing to the heartland of Swiss press culture.
Column Away from the media metropolises, newspapers are still part of the basic political and personal supply. An excursion into the heartland of Swiss press culture.
Anyone marketing media today is operating in saturated, even overcrowded markets. Your customers are like people who have already eaten three times that day and are being led to the buffet again. The necessary increase in appeal is costly and sometimes comes across as somewhat artificial. Ringier has allegedly invested six million in Sie & Er in order to be better positioned with advertisers with a magazine on Sunday. (The result is nice and, hopefully, long-lasting.) At the other end, at the local and regional media, such project budgets would make up half the annual bill.
I recently attended the general meeting of the Willisauer Boten. It was a balmy spring evening - and yet over 200 members of the cooperative came to the stuffy hall because they wanted to discuss the fate of their newspaper. People seem to love the Willisauer Boten in the Lucerne hinterland, where it is known by the nickname "de Böttu".
The paper expanded in the direction of Wiggertal, which required investment, so the account only just broke even. The publishing director talks about branding. The former managing director grumbles a little and warns, but nobody really gets upset. After all, people know each other here. A new president is elected unanimously, a local entrepreneur. His predecessor was the general agent of an insurance company and had managed the company for 17 years.
The message of this evening is that the newspaper world is still in order in Willisau and Schötz. Here they know what the paper, which is published twice a week, is needed for. It is part of the local infrastructure, like the water and electricity utilities. The days of the (Catholic-conservative) party paper are long gone. "De Böttu" presents itself as an open platform - with around seven editorial positions, by the way, and the people who fill them have repeatedly won local journalism awards. The investors in Willisau believe in the mission of their newspaper: they want it and they need it as it is. To achieve this, they accepted a structural change last year that also affected the local self-image. Printing was given up and outsourced to Lucerne, at great personal cost. There are also redundant printers in the room: entrepreneurial decisions are still communicated and accounted for at eye level here.
Something particularly noteworthy was not even emphasized in the annual report: The fact that subscriptions and advertising revenue remained stable even in the poor year 2004. The guest from the big city learns that the local regional advertising business runs differently than in the metropolitan areas: more calmly and predictably. In these times, it is gratefully described as "stable"; in better times, it may be derided as "sluggish" again. And who are the advertisers? The commercial providers from the entire trade circle, the municipalities and public bodies, the clubs and event organizers. Obituaries also enliven the paper; they are a strong argument for its twice-weekly publication. This is because the advertisement must appear in the paper before the funeral is scheduled.
Newspapers such as the "Böttu" reflect federalist direct democracy by providing it with news on an ongoing basis. This is public service, but without concession fees. Even if the years get better again, they will never pay their cooperative members a fat dividend. On this balmy April evening, everyone received tortellini, a cordon bleu and a dessert with coffee. The share certificate is worth 140 francs. Such a "Böttu" share would actually be an excellent investment ...
> Karl Lüönd is a journalist and head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.
Anyone marketing media today is operating in saturated, even overcrowded markets. Your customers are like people who have already eaten three times that day and are being led to the buffet again. The necessary increase in appeal is costly and sometimes comes across as somewhat artificial. Ringier has allegedly invested six million in Sie & Er in order to be better positioned with advertisers with a magazine on Sunday. (The result is nice and, hopefully, long-lasting.) At the other end, at the local and regional media, such project budgets would make up half the annual bill.
I recently attended the general meeting of the Willisauer Boten. It was a balmy spring evening - and yet over 200 members of the cooperative came to the stuffy hall because they wanted to discuss the fate of their newspaper. People seem to love the Willisauer Boten in the Lucerne hinterland, where it is known by the nickname "de Böttu".
The paper expanded in the direction of Wiggertal, which required investment, so the account only just broke even. The publishing director talks about branding. The former managing director grumbles a little and warns, but nobody really gets upset. After all, people know each other here. A new president is elected unanimously, a local entrepreneur. His predecessor was the general agent of an insurance company and had managed the company for 17 years.
The message of this evening is that the newspaper world is still in order in Willisau and Schötz. Here they know what the paper, which is published twice a week, is needed for. It is part of the local infrastructure, like the water and electricity utilities. The days of the (Catholic-conservative) party paper are long gone. "De Böttu" presents itself as an open platform - with around seven editorial positions, by the way, and the people who fill them have repeatedly won local journalism awards. The investors in Willisau believe in the mission of their newspaper: they want it and they need it as it is. To achieve this, they accepted a structural change last year that also affected the local self-image. Printing was given up and outsourced to Lucerne, at great personal cost. There are also redundant printers in the room: entrepreneurial decisions are still communicated and accounted for at eye level here.
Something particularly noteworthy was not even emphasized in the annual report: The fact that subscriptions and advertising revenue remained stable even in the poor year 2004. The guest from the big city learns that the local regional advertising business runs differently than in the metropolitan areas: more calmly and predictably. In these times, it is gratefully described as "stable"; in better times, it may be derided as "sluggish" again. And who are the advertisers? The commercial providers from the entire trade circle, the municipalities and public bodies, the clubs and event organizers. Obituaries also enliven the paper; they are a strong argument for its twice-weekly publication. This is because the advertisement must appear in the paper before the funeral is scheduled.
Newspapers such as the "Böttu" reflect federalist direct democracy by providing it with news on an ongoing basis. This is public service, but without concession fees. Even if the years get better again, they will never pay their cooperative members a fat dividend. On this balmy April evening, everyone received tortellini, a cordon bleu and a dessert with coffee. The share certificate is worth 140 francs. Such a "Böttu" share would actually be an excellent investment ...
> Karl Lüönd is a journalist and head of the Media Institute of the Swiss Press Association.
