Constantin Seibt blogs for Newsnet

The requirements for the job have changed considerably, writes Newsnet in a press release on Wednesday. Newspapers used to sell something sure-fire: a habit. The public felt restless without coffee, a cigarette or a newspaper. This audience is increasingly a thing of the past. Today, media and journalists - whether printed or online - have to fight for attention like never before. The question is how to wage this battle without losing attitude. The answer: journalism needs to become more sophisticated in its craft. Routine and run-of-the-mill articles are not enough to keep readers coming back for more.

Deadline is to become a blog for professionals, as it says. A "how-to-do-it blog" on the daily questions of the trade: how to set punchlines, how to polish dialog, how to be deadly in a tear-jerker, how to praise without embarrassment, how to make complex facts amusing and how not to make columns look bland. Then there are the questions of attitude: How do you survive in a brutal economic environment? What strategies can a newspaper and a journalist use to become a brand? How do you attract attention without exaggerating? And finally, the question of how a newspaper or an online editorial team could position itself differently in today's market in order to win over an increasingly disloyal audience.

The author of Deadline is Constantin Seibt, a reporter at the Tages-Anzeiger since 2006. He was previously editor for politics and economics at the weekly newspaper Woz and wrote columns for the NZZ-Folio, Basler Zeitung, Annabelle and Weltwoche. In 2007, he was voted Journalist of the Year for his reporting on the Swissair trial.

The new Newsnet blog launches on May 2. And, according to the press release, "with what is guaranteed to be the longest post that will ever appear there": a 15-thesis manifesto on journalism in the 21st century. "Deadline" is available on all German-language Newsnet titles, i.e. on Tagesanzeiger.ch, Bazonline.ch, Bernerzeitung.ch and Derbund.ch.