The new podcast «Elektrogeflüster» has been available on Handelszeitung.ch and Blick.ch since Thursday. The show addresses current issues surrounding electric mobility in Switzerland and focuses on topics relevant to everyday life, such as range, charging infrastructure, and planning longer trips with an electric car.

The podcast is hosted by Wilma Fasola and Andreas Engel. Fasola is a longtime journalist for the Specials section at the Handelszeitung, Engel writes as an automotive journalist for various publications by Ringier Medien Schweiz. Both bring experience and a personal connection to the subject.

In the premiere episode, titled «A Vacation Trip in an Electric Car: Unrealistic or Feasible?», the two hosts discuss the challenges and opportunities of traveling in electric cars. Topics include range management, charging planning while abroad, and common misconceptions about electric vehicles.

The production is supported by Porsche. Benjamin Bieber, head of marketing at Porsche, describes the podcast as «the ideal format for conveying knowledge in a credible and authentic way» and emphasizes the importance of educational efforts for the transition to e-mobility.

«Elektrogeflüster» is released every two weeks on both Ringier Media Switzerland platforms as well as on popular platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. The first season runs through the end of September.

Balance is planning a comprehensive digital relaunch: from mid-2025, the business magazine will have its own online platform in addition to the print edition. Exclusive business stories, rankings and background reports will appear on Bilanz.ch in future. In terms of content, the website will focus on well-known focal points such as the great personalities of the Swiss economy, luxury topics and the "300 Richest" list.

The Handelszeitung is adjusting its publication frequency and will now be published every two weeks from March 20, 2025. The print and e-paper edition will have an expanded scope and focus even more on the background of the national financial industry. According to Editor-in-Chief Markus Diem Meier, the new frequency will allow economic developments to be analyzed in greater depth. The change will be accompanied by a revised layout and savings in production, printing and distribution.

There are also changes at HZ Insurance, the digital platform for the insurance industry: Andrea Hohendahl is taking over as editor-in-chief from Karin Bosshard, who is leaving the company. Hohendahl was previously at NZZ, the View and the Weltwoche active. At the same time, Vertical HZ Banking will be discontinued. As part of the realignment, three jobs will be cut at Ringier Media Switzerland.

According to Chief Content Officer Steffi Buchli, Ringier Media Switzerland wants to focus strategically with these measures: "With Balance, Handelszeitung, Cash and View With RMS, we are the strong force in Swiss business journalism."

In March 2025, Karin Bosshard will leave her position at Handelszeitung's specialized content hubs, HZ Insurance and HZ Banking, at her own request. Since joining Ringier in February 2020, she has played a key role in the transformation of the printed Swiss insurance company into two digital platforms. As Editor-in-Chief, she not only built up both verticals, but also made them relevant points of contact for experts from the insurance and financial sector.

With the introduction of the HZ Insurance Forum, she created an industry event that has since established itself as an indispensable networking and knowledge platform. Ladina Heimgartner, CEO of Ringier Media Switzerland, praised Bosshard's achievements: "Karin has done pioneering work and paved the way for a future-oriented verticalization of content. We are very grateful to her for this and wish her all the best for the future."

The search for a successor has been initiated to ensure the continued success of the platforms.

"We are extremely pleased to receive the Best Employer award for the second time in a row," CEO Christoph Zweifel told the Handelszeitung. "It makes me personally enormously proud to be able to run this company."

Behind Zweifel, the Schindler elevator company ranks ahead of the two watch brands Rolex and Breitling. They are all well-known favorites as best employers. However, a castling took place in the subsequent ranks: Newly represented in the top ten are the Swiss Southeast Railway, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne EPFL and the sanitary company Geberit.

The Handelszeitung and Statista select the 250 best employers in Switzerland every year. The ranking is based on an independent survey of Swiss employees via online access panels as well as via the website of the Handelszeitung. More than 1500 employers employing at least 200 people in Switzerland were identified for the survey.

The newly launched Handelszeitung app is designed to provide readers with even faster and more individual access to daily facts and news from the Swiss business world. A chronological news feed on current events offers a compact overview. With additional functions such as push, no important news will be missed. In addition, the new HZ app can be personalized using watch lists and configurable topic alerts.

Refreshed HZ e-paper

In addition, the e-paper app of the Handelszeitung was renewed. In addition to optimized performance, a read-aloud function, customizable font sizes, night mode, and the comment function were introduced. In-app purchases are also possible.

"With the new HZ apps, we are creating user experiences that are geared to the needs of users. We will continuously and consistently optimize the apps based on user feedback," says Mike Herter, Head of Product Management Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland.

Holger Alich starts in November as deputy editor-in-chief alongside the two previous deputies Marcel Speiser and Tim Höfinghoff.

Alich is currently deputy head of the business department of Tamedia newspapers (including Tages-Anzeiger, SonntagsZeitung, Basler Zeitung, Der Bund, Berner Zeitung), focusing on the banking and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, the economist and graduate of the Cologne School of Journalism was a correspondent for the German Handelsblatt in Paris and Zurich.

"With Holger Alich, the Handelszeitung a very experienced and renowned business journalist who is particularly convincing with his management experience, his expertise in the field of banking and his digital know-how and thus ideally complements the editorial team," says Markus Diem Meier, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Handelszeitung.

"I am looking forward to working with my colleagues at Handelszeitung to expand the online offering of the Handelszeitung and to offer readers intelligent, opinionated business journalism both online and in the weekly newspaper," says Holger Alich.

Stefan Barmettler remains for special tasks

The new addition to the Editor-in-Chief's team is made in view of the planned change at the top of the HandelszeitungMarkus Diem Meier becomes sole editor-in-chief. Stefan Barmettler has agreed to remain with Handelszeitung as a writer and for special assignments. Barmettler was Editor-in-Chief of Handelszeitung from August 2013 to 2021 and has been leading Handelszeitung together with Markus Diem Meier since the beginning of 2022.

"Stefan Barmettler has Handelszeitung I am delighted that his expertise will remain with us. I am delighted that he will continue to be with us with his expertise.we have planned his succession prudently: With the new editors-in-chief around Markus Diem Meier and his deputies - now also including Holger Alich - we are optimally positioned for the further expansion of the Handelszeitung as the leading business medium in Switzerland," says Michael Moersch, Chief Digital Officer and Managing Director Business Media & Observer Group of Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland.

41-year-old Peter Rohner joins the company from Finance and economy to Handelszeitung and will become the new Chief Economist in October. In this role, he takes over from Ralph Pöhner and will be responsible for macroeconomic topics as well as the financial sector and market developments. The trained economist started in 2011 as an editor at Finance and economyBefore moving into journalism, he worked in asset management at Bank LGT for four years. Born in Appenzell, he studied economics in Bern and Lund and holds a CAS in data journalism.

Fabienne Kinzelmann, currently foreign editor at View and SonntagsBlicktakes over her new tasks at the Handelszeitung in September and will be covering international developments in politics and business for the readership from now on. The 29-year-old has been working for the Blick Group since 2018, including the last four years as foreign editor. In this role, she reported from the USA, among other places, and was responsible for cross-channel planning of foreign topics. Kinzelmann has an interdisciplinary master's degree in religion, economics and politics.

Michael Hotz, most recently Head of Digital at the Winterthur weekly newspaper 84XO, is moving to the online producer Handelszeitung and will join the editorial team in July. Before his engagement at 84XO The 33-year-old spent around two and a half years as deputy editorial director for the Winterthur Newspaper and in the end also headed the editorial department of the Furttaler respectively Rümlanger. Hotz studied economics at the University of Zurich.

As part of its 160th anniversary celebrations, the Handelszeitung the new "Handelszeitung Students" offer. It is aimed exclusively at students and can be used free of charge for one year after graduation. The next generation of business students at Swiss universities will receive news, background reports and interviews from Handelszeitung and Balance also behind the paywall as well as access to the e-paper of the Handelszeitung.

Also part of the new "Handelszeitung Students" offering is the newsletter of the same name by editor Tina Fischer, which from now on will explain current business topics every week and classify them in a compact way. As a special feature, students can send their own questions to the editorial team, which will support them with its know-how and make answers of general interest available in the newsletter. This gives the newsletter an interactive character and is intended to make the business world even more accessible to students.

"Today's students are the business players of tomorrow," says Michael Moersch, Head of Business Media and Chief Digital Officer at Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland. "During the important years of their studies, we want to provide them with the Handelszeitung even more actively. We are eager to hear their input and look forward to fresh impetus for the editorial team's reporting."

The Handelszeitung brings further expertise on board. Dominic Benz, 44, has already worked as a business journalist at the handelszeitung.ch. After that he switched to 20 minutes to the business department, where he became deputy head in 2019 and has been responsible since April 2021. He studied German, journalism and communication at the University of Zurich.

Barbara Scherer, 32, has worked in various editorial departments, including the digital team at the NZZ on Sunday. Since 2019 she is business editor at 20 minutes and Deputy Head of Department since May 2021. She holds a master's degree in religion, economics and politics from the University of Zurich.

Markus Diem Meier, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Handelszeitung: "I am exceptionally looking forward to working with Barbara Scherer and Dominic Benz. With both of their experience in multimedia business reporting, they are an excellent addition to help Handelszeitung as Switzerland's leading business newspaper on all channels."

Moreover, the expansion of the editorial team has not yet been completed with this addition.

The project will be led by ADC Editor-in-Chief Sherin Kneifl, who will work closely with the editorial and publishing teams, as well as numerous authors from inside and outside the communications industry, to produce a high-quality and inspiring product.

The first 500 copies of the ADC Trade Newspaper will be distributed hot off the press to the illustrious crowd of guests from the communications industry on the evening of the ADC Award Night & Party, which will take place on Saturday, June 18, 2022.

Among SMI companies, Novartis is leading the way. The Basel-based pharmaceutical group wants to become climate-neutral as early as 2030, across the entire value chain, which is a particular challenge. 90 percent of CO2 emissions come from suppliers.

The Handelszeitung According to the survey, SMI companies scored an average of 53 out of 100 points. This represents a slight improvement of 2.4 percentage points compared with the previous year. However, this is mainly due to the fact that the Swatch Group, which is notoriously low on the environment, climate and society, dropped out of the SMI and was replaced by Logitech (49.9 points), which performed significantly better. The watchmaker scored just 16.9 points in 2020.

"Speaking plainly means saying things openly and getting to the point in an understandable way," says Stefan Barmettler, editor-in-chief of the Handelszeitung. "In this way, we offer our users orientation and thus a basis for decision-making in a business world that is becoming increasingly complex. On the other hand, 'plain speaking' also means having an attitude and showing strength of character."

Revised print layout

The print edition is given a revised layout that takes up this approach and anchors it visually in the reading experience. The printed edition comes across as newly tidier, with more calm and elegance as well as modernized typography. This look is rounded off by emotional image elements that break the grid and showcase the minds and topics of business. The Handelszeitung will focus strongly on the cover story in the future, while at the same time adjusting the mix of topics. The aim is to create added value for readers in the areas of investment and leadership. The investment section and tech reporting will also be expanded.

"The new branding as well as the modernization of the print edition is a consistent step in our 'digital first' strategy, with the print edition of the Handelszeitung will remain an integral part of our product portfolio and brand," says Michael Moersch, Chief Digital Officer and Head of Business Media at Ringier Axel Springer Switzerland. "With a new logo, claim and fresh print layout, we are now also signaling to the outside world the departure that we launched internally a few months ago."