Open letter to Doris Leuthard
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2025 3:42 am
Dear Federal Councillor, if you were a publisher, you would abolish free newspapers immediately, you said at the 2018 Journalism Day of the Association for Quality in Journalism in Winterthur a few days ago. We as the Association of Swiss Free Newspapers VSGZ feel addressed by this, as you are denying us, as the highest representative of the Swiss media industry, our right to exist. Not only are you offending a large number of publishers of free newspapers who create hundreds of jobs across Switzerland and contribute their part to added value in our country, but your naive statement also discriminates against millions of readers who can get good things out of free newspapers. Despite compulsory contributions, they not only consume state-supported media, but also enjoy south africa rcs data reading an information sheet that is free to them. This is demonstrated by a readership that has been stable for years and whose consistency is unique in the print landscape.
This loyalty is based on reporting from the local area, which will continue to be valued in the future. Perhaps it is the lack of political opinion-forming in our newspapers that led you to your verdict that as a politician you want to be in the spotlight as much as possible, as you revealed at the conference mentioned. In any case, we remain connected to everyday life and continue to write about the wishes and concerns of household managers, which they expect from our media genre. What we expect from you is a more respectful approach to free newspapers. you when you return from the political stage to everyday life, as your interest in local events will increase.
Then go ahead and pick up a free newspaper, we are convinced that you will get rid of your negative attitude. Because even the free papers produce quality journalism. I would be happy to prove this to you personally and invite you to our publishing house in the Zurich Oberland, where both paid and free newspapers are produced under the same roof, texts and images that often first appear on the online platform "zueriost" because - contrary to your fears - we have been operating digitally for several years. And we also offer free content and paid content on the web because we cannot just charge fees, but have to clarify exactly what the users of our information services are prepared to pay for.
This loyalty is based on reporting from the local area, which will continue to be valued in the future. Perhaps it is the lack of political opinion-forming in our newspapers that led you to your verdict that as a politician you want to be in the spotlight as much as possible, as you revealed at the conference mentioned. In any case, we remain connected to everyday life and continue to write about the wishes and concerns of household managers, which they expect from our media genre. What we expect from you is a more respectful approach to free newspapers. you when you return from the political stage to everyday life, as your interest in local events will increase.
Then go ahead and pick up a free newspaper, we are convinced that you will get rid of your negative attitude. Because even the free papers produce quality journalism. I would be happy to prove this to you personally and invite you to our publishing house in the Zurich Oberland, where both paid and free newspapers are produced under the same roof, texts and images that often first appear on the online platform "zueriost" because - contrary to your fears - we have been operating digitally for several years. And we also offer free content and paid content on the web because we cannot just charge fees, but have to clarify exactly what the users of our information services are prepared to pay for.