"We have to go full throttle"
Interview with "Mr. 20 Minutes" Rolf Bollmann.
Tages-Anzeiger has the editorial office of a world newspaper, but is in fact
a regional newspaper. It needs to grow, but can it?
Rolf Bollmann: It would be
unfair to set out strategies already. I am still available until the end of the year for
20 minutes, but I'm already thinking about the future.
the Tagi. I have a concept in mind and I think I'm on good ground.
way. This must first be put to paper and then before management and
Board of Directors. I am convinced that, within a reasonable period of time, we can
will hear anything about it. After all, for half a year now, one has been collecting the first
Experiences on the left bank of the lake.
ww: There, the Tagi regional edition is currently flourishing at a loss for Tamedia.Bollmann: The Tages-Anzeiger is an incredibly strong brand. I can therefore guarantee that it will grow again.
ww:You will still support this strategy?
Bollmann: Absolutely.
It is by no means misguided. It is possible that some things will be corrected,
but I will make sure that it continues with giant strides.
ww:Gives
it towards Schaffhauser Nachrichten or Thurgauer Zeitung in the
Northeast growth potential? Tamedia already holds 20 per cent of the
Country messenger.
Bollmann: It
it is clear that the Tages-Anzeiger must grow in two-million-strong Zurich,
that's why we're looking at all options. However, the Tagi is strong enough,
to grow under its own steam, because it is a brand that goes far beyond
the canton, without me meaning to imply that there is a
national strategy.
ww: That already existed - and it didn't work.
Bollmann: Nevertheless:
200,000 readers live outside the canton. Why do they read the Tagi?
Zurich radiates out into the whole of Switzerland, even though Basel
or Bern doesn't like to hear. And you have to deal with that in the paper. The
there is no other way.
ww:So the Tagi is a regional newspaper after all, but with a supra-regional impact, like the much-cited Washington Post?
Bollmann: The
one does not exclude the other. I am convinced that you can create a
Driving a dual strategy. Some are afraid that with regionalization
the Tagi would become provincial. That will certainly not be the case.
ww: Another thought model, now that Tamedia is in the black: Would a stake in Basler Zeitung be a model?
Bollmann: I
have no authority to say that we now have to read all the newspapers.
buy all around. My task is to achieve inner growth -.
everything else follows by itself.
ww: Are you confident that you can find your way with Martin Kall and Peter Hartmeier?
Bollmann: I think so, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the job. They both know that I'm not a yes man.
ww: Company manager Kall has already experienced this.
Bollmann: When
I have something in mind, then I usually follow through with it. One has
a chance only with the team that shares your conviction. My
The mindset is heavily influenced by marketing, not always to the delight of the
Journalists who sometimes see it a little differently.
ww: When can you say more?
Bollmann: I hope that we will have the rough concept by the end of the year.
ww: The mood at the Tagi is not the best after the savings rounds. Do you sense a need for action?
Bollmann: I
feel a certain insecurity, that is not surprising. I see it
as one of my important tasks, that something more joy of life and
Heart and soul for the Tagi, because we have to go full throttle.