Imprint and Syndicom appalled by discontinuation of L'Hebdo

It is a disgrace that a media company as large as Ringier Axel Springer is putting 37 people out on the street, writes Impressum. The association appeals to the company's social responsibility and demands that all alternatives be examined to prevent redundancies. Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland must enter into a dialogue with politicians and civil society, impressum writes in a statement on Monday. In the view of the association, the disappearance of L'Hebdo represents an immeasurable loss for the diversity and quality of the media landscape in French-speaking Switzerland.

For Urs Thalmann, the managing director of Impressum, "the weekly magazine L'Hebdo is an important platform for investigative journalism in the region. We are dismayed by the announcement of its closure. And the job cuts in the joint newsroom also endanger the quality of the reference medium Le Temps. We will cooperate in the deliberations of civil society and politics to find solutions to save the magazine and the jobs, and we demand that Ringier Axel Springer openly participate in this dialogue."

One cannot accept the disappearance of a title like L'Hebdo.

Dominique Diserens, Central Secretary, adds: "This is a sad day. One cannot accept the disappearance of a title like L'Hebdo. It plays a very important role in the social and political discourse of Suisse Romande. Media diversity is suffering enormously."

Syndicom calls for search for buyer

In a statement, Syndicom calls the closure of L'Hebdo "another blow". The media release from Ringier Axel Springer does not even mention the consequences for capacity utilization - and thus the employees - at the printing center in Zofingen, the union criticizes.

Following the layoffs at the end of 2016 at the Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures newspapers of the Tamedia Group, Syndicom regrets "that the two German-speaking Swiss media groups can decide in this way whether important titles of the French-speaking Swiss press are to be or not to be." By expanding advertising platforms on the Internet and refusing to invest profits from the commercial online sector in the print sector, the two publishers would have cannibalized their own printed titles.

...cannibalizes its own printed titles.

The union calls on RAS to do everything possible in the consultation process to prevent layoffs. For this, the group would have to actively look for a buyer for L'Hebdo in particular. Syndicom is also skeptical about the announced investments in the "conference business", which no longer has much to do with journalism. (hae/pd)