New newspaper for Northwestern Switzerland

Two journalists from the Basel region will take over the editorial management: Urs Buess and Remo Leupin. The new newspaper will be independent of political parties and advocate an open and tolerant society, according to a Bachmann Medien press release. The new newspaper follows a new concept that takes into account the development of the media and the change in media consumption: the increased access to information via online platforms and mobile devices, the strong increase in the use of social media and networks, but also the broad need for in-depth content in printed form.

An editorial team of around 30 people is planned. It will be headed by the two journalists Urs Buess and Remo Leupin. Buess was most recently deputy editor-in-chief of Basler Zeitung, while Leupin was a member of the Beobachter editorial team and editor-in-chief of Beobachter Natur.

The new newspaper is based on a concept developed by Bachmann Medien. It will be published by the newly founded Neue Medien Basel, of which Ivo Bachmann is a member of the Board of Directors. His consultancy firm will also support the project until operational responsibility is handed over to the editorial team and management. The consultancy firm of former BaZ editor-in-chief Ivo Bachmann was commissioned last year to investigate the possibility of an online newspaper in the wake of the turmoil surrounding a BaZ consultancy mandate from Christoph Blocher.

Neue Medien Basel will be owned by the newly established Foundation for Media Diversity in Basel. Andreas Miescher, a lawyer and notary from Basel, and Franz-Xaver Leonhardt, a member of the management of the Hotel Krafft in Basel, will be the first members of the foundation's board of trustees. This foundation is committed to a diverse media offering in favor of an open and tolerant society. The new newspaper is financed by the Levedo Foundation in Basel, set up by Beatrice Oeri.