Scramble for north-eastern Switzerland
Newspapers The tussle between NZZ and Tamedia over regional newspaper titles enters the next round
Tamedia at Landbote in Winterthur (20%) and with the entry of NZZ
the Zürcher Oberländer has set an important course in the struggle for the
The company's supremacy in Zurich's extended catchment area has fallen. The
has led to a temporary stalemate.
Now it's time for the next round. This will be held in north-eastern Switzerland
in Schaffhausen. There, both Tamedia and NZZ are vying for the Schaffhauser
Nachrichten (SHN) and the Thurgauer Zeitung (TZ).
to everyone," confirms Norbert Neininger, CEO and Editor-in-Chief
of the SHN.
TZ, on the other hand, currently has a vital problem: Urs Lüdi,
Delegate of the Board of Directors of Thurgauer Medien AG, publisher of the
TZ, laments the loss of a lucrative advertising combination in advance with
SHN and with the Landbote, which provides Frauenfeld residents with an annual
million advertising francs. "The loss of the Kombi I affects
directly affects our immediate economic area," says Lüdi. He also fears
the connection to the national advertising business, which until now has been
Publicitas was in charge. Is the advertising alliance with SHN and Landbote coming?
again - the negotiations are to begin in the first half of the year.
September week will bring positive results, Frauenfeld will be the
The next step would be cooperation with, for example, the
Tages-Anzeiger is conceivable. "We are examining the question of cooperation" explains
Lüdi.
We can only speculate about the modalities. A plausible model
would be for advertisers to combine the three papers together with the
Tages-Anzeiger could book. Whether Tamedia, in return
Frauenfeld is currently unclear. After all, the
company recently reported rising sales for the first half of the year and
Positive operating results for all divisions for the first time
presented (see p. 21). Participation in Frauenfeld must be
for the Tamedia strategists, because Lüdi is
at the same time with the St. Galler Tagblatt, and thus with the NZZ,
in talks about possible collaborations.
For now, Frauenfeld at least has the pressure problem
solved: The TC runs over the rollers of a single rotation. But
In the longer term, we could also consider cooperating in the printing sector with
to one or other of the big players. Both Landbote and SHN
are already doing this with Tamedia. Lüdi makes no secret of the fact that
a cooperation, whether with Tamedia or with the NZZ.
René Worni
Now Tamedia is getting serious
The recently communicated personnel decisions at Tamedia bring something
Shedding light on the strategic considerations at the Zurich
Werdstrasse. What is certain is that the change in the publishing management of the
Tages-Anzeiger is to be given a new lease of life. With the hitherto little
effective regional strategy, things should now finally get serious
(see interview on page 17). When and, above all, where Tamedia will
local editorial offices of its flagship, however, remains to be seen.
The subject of speculation. According to reports, within Tagi the
change in the publishing house management is hardly communicated. There is also
Concerns that the editorial content could be published under "Mister 20 Minuten"
commercialized, i.e. contributions linked to advertising business,
be
In contrast, the generational change at the top of the publishing house with Pietro
Supino, who as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors and Publisher replaces Hans
Heinrich Coninx at the beginning of 2007.
Observers view the change positively: "Supino is starting from a
good position, but he has to prove himself first," says Klaus I.
Stöhlker. For the management consultant, it is clear that Tamedia has major
integration and quality enhancement processes. In view of the
positive business results (see p. 21), it is clear that the
assume that many employees would like to have one again after years of
Inflation compensation in the pay packet. (rw)
For subscribers only: Interview with Rolf Bollmann
