The editorial offices of the two newspapers were merged back in 1996. The joint news portal Arcinfo.ch on the Internet was added in 2008. It is therefore not a new brand, as the Société Neuchâteloise de Presse announced on Wednesday. The merger will not result in any job losses, the company added. The editorial site in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Neuchâtel Jura will also be retained. The first edition of the new newspaper will be published on January 23. The merger of the two newspapers was already announced in August 2017 (Werbewoche.ch reported). (hae/SDA)
Photo: Arcinfo.ch/Leo Duperrex
This was reported by the regional radio RTN on Thursday. According to the report, the new newspaper will be called "Arcinfo". According to an internal communication, a plan for early retirements is ready. The owner, Société neuchâteloise de presse, would not confirm the information when asked by news agency SDA. A Opinion but was published in the Friday editions of both papers.
"We are in a difficult economic situation, characterized by a sharp decline in advertising and sales revenues," reads the internal memo obtained by SDA. Therefore, it says, there were no alternatives but a solution that would have an impact on employees.
The early retirement plan affects employees who would have retired in the next few years. Their retirement is now to be brought forward by a maximum of 24 months between 2017 and 2021. This could save ten jobs, it said. (SDA/hae)
The canton of Neuchâtel and the publishing house "Société neuchâteloise de presse (SNP)" stated in a joint press release on Tuesday that the new location of the editorial office has not yet been decided. Following the closure of the printing plant last year, the SNP decided to sell the building. As the rotary press has already been removed, large areas are currently unused. The building is of strategic importance to the canton because it is located near the Microcity innovation center. No details of the sale price were given. (SDA)
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However, all partners retain their layout. The content is to be supplied by an editorial team from Fribourg. The journalists will be under the responsibility of La Liberté newspaper. The joint editorial team will be launched in the first quarter of 2016, the Saint-Paul group (publisher of La Liberté) and the ESH Médias group (publisher of the other titles) wrote in a joint statement on Tuesday. The collaboration increases the editorial resources dedicated to these topics. The joint pages reach about 400'000 readers in French-speaking Switzerland. In an initial reaction, the professional association Imprint expressed its "perplexity" about the merger. It was regrettable that in the course of this concentration, the diversity of the press in French-speaking Switzerland would decrease, it said in a media release. (SDA)
]]>The municipality had resorted to the unusual measure of boycotting the event after journalists named municipal councillor Claude-Henri Schaller (FDP) as the author of controversial alcohol tests for administrative staff. The entire municipal council had decided on the alcohol tests, confirmed municipal president Anne-Christine Pellissier (FDP) to French-speaking Swiss radio station RTS on Wednesday evening. In the view of the executive, the relationship of trust had been shaken as a result. However, in the interests of peace, the municipal council has decided to lift the boycott. The Neuchâtel newspaper L'Express/L'Impartial had already announced on Wednesday that it did not intend to adhere to the measure. The municipality could not choose at its own discretion which journalists it wanted to work with. The professional association Impressum had also strongly condemned the boycott and denounced it as a violation of press freedom (Werbewoche.ch reported).
]]>The background to the dispute is the introduction of alcohol tests for employees of the municipal administration. The measure, which was announced at the end of May, was not well received by the staff associations. The tests are currently suspended because both parties are waiting for a report from the Neuchâtel data protection authority. In the articles and commentaries of 23 and 26 May, the newspaper described Claude-Henri Schaller (FDP), the municipal councillor responsible for personnel, as the author of the alcohol tests. However, the decision to carry out these tests is a matter for the entire council, the municipal executive defends itself. It is a thorn in their side that one person is being played. The municipal council therefore no longer wants to answer questions from the two journalists.
Newspaper does not give in
They are a journalist responsible for the region and the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper. They are also no longer allowed to attend the municipality's media events. Nicolas Willemin, editor-in-chief of L'Express, wrote that the municipal council wanted to silence media professionals because of a "lèse majesté".
L'Impartial, in a commentary on Wednesday. However, the newspaper will not adhere to the boycott. The local council cannot choose journalists to work with at its own discretion.
The professional association Impressum described the boycott as absurd and condemned it in the strongest possible terms. Considering female journalists as "persona non grata" violates the freedom of the press, Impressum stated in a press release on Wednesday. (SDA)
]]>To celebrate this extraordinary history, all published issues of the Express and its sister paper L'Impartial, which was founded on 1 January 1881, have been digitized. All issues of the two titles from their foundation until February 2013 are publicly accessible online. The new issues will be continuously digitized and gradually put online. With the 275 years it covers, this project is a milestone in the history of the Swiss press. No fewer than 1.5 million pages are available at the click of a mouse.
According to the press release, it took the cooperation of several partners to make the project a success. Under the leadership of the publisher of the two titles, the société neuchâteloise de Presse (SNP), the Bibliothèque publique et universitaire de Neuchâtel, the Bibliothèque de la Ville de La Chaux-de-Fonds and the Swiss National Library were involved. The project was financially supported by the Loterie romande and the Banque cantonale neuchâteloise.
