Quality newspapers have a future
Interview with BT Editor-in-Chief Catherine Duttweiler on the future development of a regional newspaper.
Catherine Duttweiler: We
want to provide readers with more background information and added value.
offer. Boxes have been a trend for some time, but new for daily newspapers
is that we consistently equip the main articles with them - without
that this is at the expense of the running text. Thanks to the redesign
we have gained space. So in future we will offer more information per page and
more white space, which enhances the BT both visually and in terms of content.
WW: You
previously worked for major media outlets - SonntagsZeitung, Basler Zeitung,
Radio DRS - what about the willingness to innovate in a
small local newspaper?
Catherine Duttweiler: I
I am positively surprised. Of course, we don't have the same
Support with reader research, for example, as with a large
Publisher. Most people are open to making the decisions.
unbureaucratic. I was careful not to make the same mistakes.
like the Basler Zeitung and at the same time turning everything on its head.
place. Our renewal process is ongoing and is also
not yet completed. Since I took over as editor, we have
introduced something new almost every month.
WW: One of the wishes expressed several times by your readers was to find out more about the Bernese Jura.
Catherine Duttweiler: Yes,
The interest is great. It is our task to discuss sensitive issues of
reunification as well as about the great
local recreation area. We work closely with our sister publication,
the French-language Journal du Jura. In the editorial office
we do not work separately by language, but by department.
Information flows freely from one language to another. That is
stimulating.
WW: Do you feel the pressure from Espace Media Groupe?
Catherine Duttweiler: Less.
Every week we offer 75 pages about Biel and the Seeland, so we are
unbeatable. The Confederation tried to gain a foothold in Biel, it had to
close his office again. We are feeling the pressure from
Businesses and interest groups that do not advertise and
to the editorial section. We receive an average of
77 invitations and 86 communiqués per day. But we clearly focus on
according to the interest of the readers and meet our
Selection of topics according to journalistic criteria.
WW: How do you see the future?
Catherine Duttweiler: We
have to stay in the big commercials. But I am convinced,
that independent regional newspapers can survive if they are
enter into cooperations, focus on their core business, the region,
and promote additional interactive offers on the Internet. It
will continue to publish daily newspapers with a complete range of information
that create an overview and contribute to the cohesion of a region.
contribute. The aim of our relaunch is to continue as a quality newspaper.
to pass.
Interview: Helen Brügger
