Who asks, wins
Oliver Classen on reader feedback as the foundation for a revolutionary relaunch.
Oliver Classen on reader opinions as a revolutionary basis for the relaunch.Peter Hartmeier has long been an avowed fan of the Tagesspiegel. At every opportunity, the editor-in-chief praises the Berlin-based educational newspaper as "exemplary in both form and content" for his Tages-Anzeiger. When it comes to market research, however, the Tagesspiegel is unfortunately not (yet) a role model. Otherwise, the half-hearted Tagi retouching could have been turned into a genuine and, above all, audience-oriented relaunch. The Berlin capital's newspaper received a fantastic 15,000 responses to its avant-garde, 22-point "Tell us what you think" survey. And that with a current circulation of just under 150000 copies. In other words, one in ten subscribers or buyers willingly provided detailed information about "their" newspaper - both the real and the ideal one.
Distilling the latter from this soup of opinions as part of the planned relaunch is no easy task, and
nor can it be done efficiently according to modern management criteria. Nevertheless, it is much more promising and exciting than the usual market procedure of editorial self-questioning or self-congratulation. In addition, this
pilot experiment, which is particularly vital for traditional daily newspapers.
What Switzerland's largest subscription newspaper has criminally neglected, the competition has recently made its program. "400,000 editors-in-chief" would be involved in the reanimation of the Basler Zeitung, exults its new editor-in-chief Ivo Bachmann in the current edition of the newspaper. Of course, this figure is not based on survey results, but for the time being on pure but inspired wishful thinking.
Conclusion: When reinventing press products, the following alternative should apply in future - loosely based on Brecht: If you don't look your (newspaper) people in the mouth, sooner or later you'll fall on them.
Oliver Classen, Editor
Distilling the latter from this soup of opinions as part of the planned relaunch is no easy task, and
nor can it be done efficiently according to modern management criteria. Nevertheless, it is much more promising and exciting than the usual market procedure of editorial self-questioning or self-congratulation. In addition, this
pilot experiment, which is particularly vital for traditional daily newspapers.
What Switzerland's largest subscription newspaper has criminally neglected, the competition has recently made its program. "400,000 editors-in-chief" would be involved in the reanimation of the Basler Zeitung, exults its new editor-in-chief Ivo Bachmann in the current edition of the newspaper. Of course, this figure is not based on survey results, but for the time being on pure but inspired wishful thinking.
Conclusion: When reinventing press products, the following alternative should apply in future - loosely based on Brecht: If you don't look your (newspaper) people in the mouth, sooner or later you'll fall on them.
Oliver Classen, Editor
