Perplexed on Lac Léman

Edipresse regional newspapers Dissatisfied
readers lead to initial changes at 24 Heures. The
Tribune de Genève broods over savings plans and the regional newspaper
of the future. "This is the first time that readers have given us
say so clearly that they like the new content less than the
old," said Edipresse boss Tibère Adler in an interview with Le
Temps at the beginning of December. He spoke of the Lausanne daily newspaper 24
Heures, which has been available in four different split editions since last spring.
appears. The paper reacted quickly: from January 20
24 Heures will have a different face: Typographical changes
and a different structuring of the second, regional federation should
bring more clarity.

From the point of view of advertising customers, the four editions of 24 Heures
a success, as Publicitas director Georges von
Czernatony assures. From the readers' point of view, however, the balance
less clear. The merger of 24 Heures with the two
former local newspapers in Yverdon and Montreux, Les Presses, the
Target groups unsettled. Loyal readers of the former regional newspaper 24
Heures have the impression that their split edition no longer covers all the
developments in the canton. Supporters of the two
Local newspapers have "received a gift with the new full-length newspaper,
that they don't necessarily want," as Isidore Raposo, who until
recently editor-in-chief of the Split edition for the northern
canton, formulated: "You get three times more paper every day
than before, which is not to everyone's taste." Raposo has the
consequences and at the end of 2005, "after a year of
differences of opinion", as he says, he threw in the towel: "I am
disappointed by the poor implementation of the original project."
In his view, local information was neglected. The various
editions would have developed into local newspapers that were as independent as possible.
should develop. However, the planned adjustments were not in
gone in this direction.

"Local information is part of the newspaper, but not the whole thing
newspaper," counters David Moginier, the deputy editor-in-chief of
24 Heures, Raposo's criticism. Regionalization will not be called into question
and 24 Heures will continue to be published in the four split editions.
appear. The adjustments announced for January 20 were aimed at
to a better-structured structure of the second covenant. Here should,
Moginier, to distinguish more clearly between the actual local information, the
general information about the canton as well as the "best of" from the
three other split regions can be distinguished. "The typographic
Changes also bring greater clarity and strengthen the
the impression of greater order," believes Moginier. The order of the day is
"a small polish, not a revolution".

Competition from free titles
However, the revolution has only been postponed. Because both with
24 Heures and its sister paper Tribune de Genève
the editorial team is already thinking about further developments.
The aim is to find an answer to declining reader loyalty and
the competition with the free title Le Matin Bleu - in a few weeks
even through 20 minutes.

Although the initial effects of Le Matin Bleu on the two
daily newspapers is lower than feared, but vigilance is still required
announced. Unlike 24 Heures, the Tribune de Genève
but no immediate adjustments. However, it must make every effort to
to get a grip on the declining readership figures. "The
The decline has been slowed, but not stopped," says editor-in-chief
Dominique von Burg.

Since the fall of 2004, the Tribune de Genève has been taking on a
weekly newspaper the freedom to select and explore topics in greater depth: "All
Media do the same thing. They overwhelm the reader with a
An overabundance of information that nobody can categorize. We give
the keys to understanding," von Burg explained the new
concept. Subscribers went along with it, but the new formula failed to
It is hardly possible to attract enough new readers and especially young readers.

Today, von Burg says: "We think about how a newspaper could look in ten years' time.
years and derive our next steps from this."
The keyword here is multimedia. In concrete terms, the Tribune is thinking
de Genève - and at the same time also at 24 Heures - is considering
Part of the information via the Internet and other channels such as SMS or
large screen. In the newspaper, only those
Information appears for which paper is the best medium:
analyses, commentaries, in-depth information, but also photos and
graphics. This should be done without cutting staff if possible.
"Which is better, the manufacturing costs, i.e. the paper and the
pressure, or with human intelligence?" For von
Burg is a leading question.

Thinking about the multimedia future at both daily newspapers
has only just begun. "We are at the stage of general
brainstorming session, in which other options are also examined," says
von Burg. Nevertheless, both newspapers are assuming that they will already
next fall with new "nouvelles formules". It will
will show whether the circle is being squared here, because the
The Edipresse management's guideline is: "More with less."

Helen Brügger