Bleak situation for the business newspapers
Financial and business press After a breather, readership figures plummeted in 2004.
Financial and business press After a breather, readership figures took a massive dive in 2004, and after the heavy losses in readership in 2001 and 2002, the downward trend in the financial and business press seemed to have been overcome last year. All titles were able to increase their readership slightly or at least no longer recorded any significant losses. However, this has not turned into a sustainable stabilization, as the current Mach-Basic figures now show. On the contrary, the German-speaking Swiss titles in particular slipped deep into the red once again, although this development is not surprising: the circulation figures from last April, which saw the financial and business press suffer massive slumps almost across the board, had already anticipated the losses in readership (see box).
Positive figures only for StocksOnly the HandelsZeitung publishing group managed to get by reasonably well. For Stocks, which announced a brutal loss of more than a quarter of its circulation last spring
even recorded a (non-significant) small gain of 5,000 readers (+8.8 percent), contrary to expectations. However, HandelsZeitung also held up comparatively well with a (likewise non-significant) loss of "only" 12,000 readers (-7.9 percent).
By contrast, the three German-speaking Swiss titles Bilanz, Cash and Finanz und Wirtschaft suffered a much more painful decline, losing a total of 13,000,000 readers. Bilanz made the biggest contribution to this with a drop of 58,000 readers (-12.2 percent). It was followed by Cash, which had to cope with the highest percentage loss among the business papers with 51,000 fewer readers (-14.7 percent). Finanz und Wirtschaft also suffered a massive drop, with 21,000 fewer readers (-13.5 percent).
On the other hand, Agefi in French-speaking Switzerland has held its own. However, the daily business newspaper has been stagnating for several years with a not exactly intoxicating 20000 readers.
Readership figures usually follow circulation figuresIf circulation figures fall in the spring, losses in readership figures in the fall are the logical consequence. At least this is usually the case.
However, Stocks is a major exception this year. The stock market and investor magazine was deep in the red when it was certified in April.
Minus: More than a quarter (-26.8 percent) of the circulation was lost. Despite this, the magazine now has a small increase in readership. (dse)
Tough times: The Swiss-German business newspapers in particular are still in the doldrums.
Daniel Schifferle
Positive figures only for StocksOnly the HandelsZeitung publishing group managed to get by reasonably well. For Stocks, which announced a brutal loss of more than a quarter of its circulation last spring
even recorded a (non-significant) small gain of 5,000 readers (+8.8 percent), contrary to expectations. However, HandelsZeitung also held up comparatively well with a (likewise non-significant) loss of "only" 12,000 readers (-7.9 percent).
By contrast, the three German-speaking Swiss titles Bilanz, Cash and Finanz und Wirtschaft suffered a much more painful decline, losing a total of 13,000,000 readers. Bilanz made the biggest contribution to this with a drop of 58,000 readers (-12.2 percent). It was followed by Cash, which had to cope with the highest percentage loss among the business papers with 51,000 fewer readers (-14.7 percent). Finanz und Wirtschaft also suffered a massive drop, with 21,000 fewer readers (-13.5 percent).
On the other hand, Agefi in French-speaking Switzerland has held its own. However, the daily business newspaper has been stagnating for several years with a not exactly intoxicating 20000 readers.
Readership figures usually follow circulation figuresIf circulation figures fall in the spring, losses in readership figures in the fall are the logical consequence. At least this is usually the case.
However, Stocks is a major exception this year. The stock market and investor magazine was deep in the red when it was certified in April.
Minus: More than a quarter (-26.8 percent) of the circulation was lost. Despite this, the magazine now has a small increase in readership. (dse)
Tough times: The Swiss-German business newspapers in particular are still in the doldrums.
Daniel Schifferle
