Three slaps in the face for Martin Kall
Newspapers: By acquiring a stake in the *Zürcher Oberländer*, the NZZ pulled off a masterstroke—after all, Tamedia also holds a stake in that paper. But the NZZ has more say in the matter.
Newspapers NZZ has pulled off a stroke of genius by acquiring a stake in Zürcher Oberländer, where Tamedia also has a holding. When NZZ and PubliGroupe announced the planned NZZ investment in Zürichsee-Zeitung and Zürcher Unterländer six months ago, Tamedia CEO Martin Kall is said to have become very angry. If this was indeed the case, then Kall must now be even more furious about the latest coup by NZZ subsidiary Freie Presse Holding (FPH). The fact that FPH is taking over 37 percent of Zürcher Oberland Medien (ZOM) is tantamount to a real humiliation of Tamedia. In two respects. In the mid-1980s, Tamedia (then still under its old name) took over a majority stake in Anzeiger von Uster (AvU), but never managed to get the title out of the red. Things became even more difficult when the Zürcher Oberländer (ZO), which had been in existence since 1852, became active in Uster from Wetzikon and gained more and more market share there.
The tide only turned when Tamedia placed its regional newspaper in other, more experienced hands in 1996 by bringing ZOM on board with its regional know-how. Since then, ZOM has held 76 percent of AvU and all publishing rights, integrated it into the ZO as the lead newspaper and also took over the management, while Tamedia withdrew to the second tier with a 10 percent share. The remaining shares are shared by around 40 small shareholders. Tamedia's influence was then reduced to one member of the Board of Directors "without signing authority", as stated in the commercial register. Since August 2003, this has been Martin Kall himself. The fact that the Tamedia CEO personally took a seat on the AvU Board of Directors shows the great importance he attached to the cooperation with this regional newspaper. Michel Favre, Kall's predecessor as Tamedia CEO, was still represented by Patrick Eberle.
The fact that the NZZ subsidiary FPH is now taking over almost 40 percent of the AvU parent company ZOM and therefore also has more say in AvU than Tamedia is a slap in the face for Kall. At least he will be spared an additional humiliation: he will not meet an NZZ representative on the AvU Board, because according to ZOM Managing Director Peter Edelmann, FPH will have a seat on the ZOM Board, but not on the AvU Board. But this is likely to be little consolation for Kall.
What's more, ZOM is by no means afraid of the threat of a Tagi split. "We pay respect to the potential competition and are arming ourselves by working on the product, planning a relaunch for the fall and expanding regional reporting," says Edelmann. At the same time, however, he confidently refers to the AvU story. "Tamedia has already been active in our region once without success," he says - the second slap in the face.
But why does ZOM prefer NZZ to its long-standing partner Tamedia? Edelmann: "We trust the NZZ's promises to leave the regional newspapers independent more." Although the AvU Board had come to know Kall as a "friend of the company", "the different political orientations of the ZO and Tagi editorial teams made it impossible to join forces", says the ZOM Managing Director.
Clapping - the third slap is also on target.
Tamedia did not succeed with the Anzeiger von Uster - today it is under Oberländer control.
Markus Knöpfli
The tide only turned when Tamedia placed its regional newspaper in other, more experienced hands in 1996 by bringing ZOM on board with its regional know-how. Since then, ZOM has held 76 percent of AvU and all publishing rights, integrated it into the ZO as the lead newspaper and also took over the management, while Tamedia withdrew to the second tier with a 10 percent share. The remaining shares are shared by around 40 small shareholders. Tamedia's influence was then reduced to one member of the Board of Directors "without signing authority", as stated in the commercial register. Since August 2003, this has been Martin Kall himself. The fact that the Tamedia CEO personally took a seat on the AvU Board of Directors shows the great importance he attached to the cooperation with this regional newspaper. Michel Favre, Kall's predecessor as Tamedia CEO, was still represented by Patrick Eberle.
The fact that the NZZ subsidiary FPH is now taking over almost 40 percent of the AvU parent company ZOM and therefore also has more say in AvU than Tamedia is a slap in the face for Kall. At least he will be spared an additional humiliation: he will not meet an NZZ representative on the AvU Board, because according to ZOM Managing Director Peter Edelmann, FPH will have a seat on the ZOM Board, but not on the AvU Board. But this is likely to be little consolation for Kall.
What's more, ZOM is by no means afraid of the threat of a Tagi split. "We pay respect to the potential competition and are arming ourselves by working on the product, planning a relaunch for the fall and expanding regional reporting," says Edelmann. At the same time, however, he confidently refers to the AvU story. "Tamedia has already been active in our region once without success," he says - the second slap in the face.
But why does ZOM prefer NZZ to its long-standing partner Tamedia? Edelmann: "We trust the NZZ's promises to leave the regional newspapers independent more." Although the AvU Board had come to know Kall as a "friend of the company", "the different political orientations of the ZO and Tagi editorial teams made it impossible to join forces", says the ZOM Managing Director.
Clapping - the third slap is also on target.
Tamedia did not succeed with the Anzeiger von Uster - today it is under Oberländer control.
Markus Knöpfli
