New free weekly newspaper in the Bernese Oberland
A new free weekly newspaper called Beo Zeitung is set to launch in the Bernese Oberland at the end of October. It will be distributed to over 120,000 households throughout the region. The paper devotes one page to the neighboring canton of Valais.
The first issue is due to appear on October 31, as Editor-in-Chief Matthias Mast confirmed on Wednesday in response to reports in various media. Mast was editor-in-chief of the Bernese free newspaper Berner Bär for many years. The paper was known as a people and event newspaper. The Beo Zeitung is not to become a Berner Bär for the Oberland, Mast emphasized on Wednesday when asked. The free newspaper will be more of a classic newspaper with news from the region as well as entertainment and various reader campaigns.
There are already a large number of different newspapers in the Bernese Oberland, such as the Thuner Tagblatt, the Berner Oberländer, the Jungfrau Zeitung or smaller papers such as the Frutigländer, the Simmental Zeitung or the Anzeiger von Saanen. Many of these newspapers are limited to a small area, such as a valley, emphasized Mast. With the new Beo newspaper, he wants to address a pan-Oberland identity.
The neighboring region of Valais is also to be included with its own page. After all, this region has moved much closer since the opening of the Neat base tunnel on the Lötschberg, explained Mast. With the free newspaper, Mast hopes to appeal in particular to readers who cannot afford an expensive newspaper subscription. According to Mast, he is currently in the process of setting up the editorial team. It comprises a core team of four people and works with around eight freelancers in the various regions. According to Mast, the idea for the newspaper project came from the Bernese Oberland telephone directory provider Jürg Künzle. A publishing family from the Baden region in Germany is also on board. According to Mast, the Beo Zeitung will also be printed there in future. (SDA)
Image: Rro.ch
