"Fusion light" in French-speaking Switzerland
Regional Press: The Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures are combining sections rather than merging completely.
Regional press The titles Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures are combining sections instead of merging completely Pierre Ruetschi is the new editor-in-chief of the Tribune de Genève. Since the beginning of 2006, the 47-year-old former deputy has been responsible for the project group working on the reorganization of the Edipresse regional newspapers Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures (in Lausanne) under management member Eric Hoesli. The first visible stage of this renovation will be realized by the end of the year: the merging of the three sections Switzerland, Economy and International. The management of the Switzerland section will move to Lausanne, while that of the Business and International sections will move to Geneva. "Both editorial teams will retain their editorial freedom and two or three specialists in their respective areas," Ruetschi emphasizes. There will therefore be no joint pages.
Expansion of online presenceSince Edipresse bought the Geneva-based newspaper in the 1990s, the feared merger of the national newspaper has repeatedly caused a stir in the editorial offices. There were fears of massive job losses. The reasons for the uncertainty were once again the strict secrecy surrounding the plans for the multimedia orientation of the two titles. What is now coming is a "gentle" merger limited to individual sections.
Ruetschi, who is Hösli's favorite to guarantee the implementation of the multimedia strategy at Edipresse, was the Washington correspondent for both newspapers in the second half of the 1990s. He experienced the Internet boom there and was fascinated by the new multimedia possibilities. The next stage in the reorganization process has already been determined: the creation of a joint online editorial team for the two newspapers. This ambitious project will employ an additional 22 to 23 people from March 2007. This largest online editorial team in French-speaking Switzerland will develop various activities, such as continuous news production and its distribution via various multimedia channels.
The first stage in the reorganization of the editorial offices has already been completed: Employees at the two daily newspapers had until the end of August to take voluntary redundancy or reduce their working hours under financially attractive conditions. Numerous employees took up the offer. According to information from the editorial offices, this resulted in a combined reduction of around 18 jobs. "The convergence of the sections will free up further resources for the online editorial team," estimates Ruetschi. "However, our aim is in no way to reduce the print offering."
Helen Brügger
Expansion of online presenceSince Edipresse bought the Geneva-based newspaper in the 1990s, the feared merger of the national newspaper has repeatedly caused a stir in the editorial offices. There were fears of massive job losses. The reasons for the uncertainty were once again the strict secrecy surrounding the plans for the multimedia orientation of the two titles. What is now coming is a "gentle" merger limited to individual sections.
Ruetschi, who is Hösli's favorite to guarantee the implementation of the multimedia strategy at Edipresse, was the Washington correspondent for both newspapers in the second half of the 1990s. He experienced the Internet boom there and was fascinated by the new multimedia possibilities. The next stage in the reorganization process has already been determined: the creation of a joint online editorial team for the two newspapers. This ambitious project will employ an additional 22 to 23 people from March 2007. This largest online editorial team in French-speaking Switzerland will develop various activities, such as continuous news production and its distribution via various multimedia channels.
The first stage in the reorganization of the editorial offices has already been completed: Employees at the two daily newspapers had until the end of August to take voluntary redundancy or reduce their working hours under financially attractive conditions. Numerous employees took up the offer. According to information from the editorial offices, this resulted in a combined reduction of around 18 jobs. "The convergence of the sections will free up further resources for the online editorial team," estimates Ruetschi. "However, our aim is in no way to reduce the print offering."
Helen Brügger
