Modern aunt
NZZ: The response to the renovation of the old building has been positive.
overnight. The modernization of the layout of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung -
the makers are aggressively shying away from the term lifting or even relaunch -
seems to have succeeded. At least that is the verdict of a number of
letters and verbal statements of opinion from readers on the
new appearance. "We are very satisfied," says
NZZ Head of Marketing Christoph Bauer. The reader-friendliness was
and at the same time to strengthen the identity of the time-honored
preserve. Sales Manager Vincenzo Vito confirms the predominantly
positive reactions from the readership.
For a smaller proportion of NZZ readers, the final page of the
first federal, where under the page title Compact the reader can find a
overview of the contents of the entire issue, whereas
still takes some getting used to. For example, you miss the former
table of contents in the left-hand column on the front page and must be
instead find their way around an entire page. Also
the uniqueness of the old layout.
Apparently some readers have noticed the difficulties in locating
Article overflows all too dear.
Expression of strong reader loyalty
"Two thirds of the reactions are positive," explains Beat Brenner,
Coordinator at NZZ, who has been involved in the project from the outset.
For him, the reactions are an expression of strong reader loyalty. The
negative feedback would have focused more on details and not on the
in terms of the overall impression. On the compact side, Brenner sees
on the other hand, structural difficulties in the editorial
Handling. Should a legal article about regulations in the
connection with the fighting dog problem under Background or under
Be placed up-to-date? At first glance, the page could still
seem somewhat chaotic, especially as individual categories are
Actuality situation appears twice in the third and fourth column
can. What may also irritate the readership is the
People section on the site. Of course, this is not about gossip and
Gossip.
"We have to take a close look at these things and analyze them," says
Brenner. He also believes that the team responsible for the task
to summarize the entire newspaper. One
Another difficulty is that the compact team is under
works under great time pressure. This is mainly due to the fact that the
compact page also appears in the international edition of the NZZ.
This is structured differently, i.e. the pagination is the same except for
perhaps two or three pages need to be redone. Furthermore
the supplements are not published internationally on the same day, and the
Edition has to leave the house at 10.30 pm. "It is a
Wifelibüez of the first order," says Brenner. The intention of using Kompakt to create a
To provide an overview of the entire content of the newspaper, Brenner
as a success. Of course, there are always discussions about whether the
correct premises. Reactions to the
corresponding advertising, with which the NZZ refers to the
Commuter newspaper 20 Minuten alludes to, none were received.
The modernization of the NZZ has taken place in several stages. With a
new layout was planned for January 2005, to coincide with the
225th anniversary of the old aunt. A first attempt together with
Newspaper designer Simon Esterson between 2003 and the fall of 2004
two drafts, one radical and one very modest.
The radical version would have used completely new fonts. From
time pressure and because the concerns were not clarified down to the last detail.
the organizers decided not to start on the 11th.
We didn't want to launch a flop," says Brenner.
A new, smaller team set to work and has already made
proposals last summer. The non-working first of January
The makers then used the opportunity to print the corresponding
make adjustments. "At the moment, we are making sure that we
out on time every day and that the processes are slowly changing.
grind in," says Brenner. The editorial team's stance on the new
layout is difficult to assess, but he assumes that it will be
is similar to the reader reactions.
René Worni
