Hattrick has a future after all

Despite its affiliation with the Mittelland Zeitung, the bz is not isolated in its home region of Baselbiet.
The hat trick, the combo between Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (bz)
Sissacher Volksstimme and Neuer Fricktaler Zeitung (NFZ), is apparently
despite the bz connection to the Mittelland Zeitung also in 2007
continued. This was the outcome of an initial meeting that the three
publishers before Easter. "We agreed to find a solution
how the Hattrick, which was terminated by bz as a precautionary measure, will be maintained
can be realized," says Walter Herzog, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NFZ.
"That's the case, we'll probably stick to the hat-trick," confirms
also bz publisher Mathis Lüdin. However, he does not rule out "that
there could be "background noise from Basel". This refers to the Basel
Zeitung Medien (BZM), which holds a 21 percent stake in NFZ, and
after the bz connection to the Mittelland Zeitung countermeasures
had announced. The BZM could, for example, influence the NFZ,
thus definitively canceling this hat trick and making the bz regional
isolated. However, Herzog makes it clear that the BZM representatives on the NFZ Board of Directors
would not have demanded punitive action against the bz. And he leaves
that he would not accept such a request "after 35 years of
cooperation between the three newspapers". Continue
One thing is certain: if BZM actually refrains from using the NFZs for its own
interests, this would undermine the still young partnership.
between Rheinfelden/Frick and Basel.    
Markus Knöpfli