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“A threat arose for us”: Basler Zeitung in Baselbiet

With its own regional association and weekly large circulation against the BZ competition from Liestal and Aargau

From Peter Knechtli

With a massively improved coverage of the agglomeration belt, the “Basler Zeitung” (BaZ) will be able to meet the competition that it will face from next September with the cooperation between the “Basellandschaftliche Zeitung” (BZ) and the “Mittelland-Zeitung” in the Basel area. In addition, the BaZ is planning a large weekly circulation, which promises attractive advertising rates.

The news disappeared like a bomb last April: from September 16, the BZ (circulation 98,500) will not be teaming up with the BaZ (circulation 98,500), as had been believed with decreasing seriousness for years, but with the Mittelland-Zeitung of the Baden multimedia publisher Peter Wanner. BaZ board chairman Matthias Hagemann responded immediately that this cooperation was “the start of a newspaper war that we did not want, but which is being forced upon us”. At the same time, Hagemann announced a “quite clear response”.

Local section in two alliances

This answer has been known since Monday. The core of the reaction strategy is the massive editorial expansion in the so-called “suburbs” of the agglomeration – Baselbiet, Schwarzbubenland and Fricktal – where the BaZ already has the strongest subscriber penetration or sees potential for expansion. From August 18, the BaZ local section will consist of two sections, each with five to eight pages of text. The first regional newspaper section (title: “region”) will, as before, devote the first one or two pages to the most important topics of interest to the entire region. In addition, it will primarily deal with events in Basel-Stadt and, according to the official announcement, “take a look at the relevant topics in southern Baden and Alsace”.

The second local section (“region.land”) is new and the real battle vehicle: It reflects current events and topics in the Baselbiet and the neighboring districts of the cantons of Solothurn and Aargau. There are local pages for each region: for the lower Baselbiet, for the upper Baselbiet, for the Laufental and Schwarzbubenland as well as for the Fricktal. With this innovation, the BaZ appears in its normal edition as a five-section newspaper with a daily culture magazine.

Regional business and sports reporting is also being expanded. The respective pages “wirtschaft.region” and “sport.region” are published daily.

Ten additional positions for regional reporting

The expansion of the editorial offering is linked to a massive expansion of human resources, which were previously cut. According to the publisher, “around ten additional positions for permanent and permanent editorial freelance employees” have been created for this reason.

The presence will be increased, especially in the Basel metropolis of Liestal. From there, as well as from Rheinfelden and Laufen, 14 media professionals will report for the BaZ in the future – around twice as many as before. In total, the BaZ regional editorial team comprises 30 journalists, almost a third of the 100-strong editorial team. The regional department is grouped into three teams and works at two editorial locations. The city and agglomeration teams are located at Aeschenplatz in Basel, and the country team has its base at Kasernenstrasse in Liestal.

Large circulation as a new advertising medium

Surprisingly, the large circulation that the “Basler Zeitung” distributes every Friday to 90,000 additional households in addition to its almost 100,000 subscribers. The free edition will “not include all services, unlike the subscription newspaper.” In particular, the daily “culture magazine” will remain reserved for paid subscriptions. What is striking about the distribution plan is that the large circulation is not distributed in the core area of ​​the Sissach “Volksstimme.” The distribution area of ​​the municipalities and districts covered could change if necessary.

The large circulation is not only an appetite whetter for those who have not yet subscribed. It is also set to hit the BZ hard as a hot competitor, particularly in the advertising business: In the regional association of the new, additionally free BaZ Friday editions, advertisers pay “only around half of the usual advertising prices in comparable local print media. Interesting combination options and flexible, needs-based services offer an attractive advertising environment for all market segments.

No more joint “Stellefant”

BaZ CEO Beat Meyer made no secret to OnlineReports that his offensive was more a sign of a struggle for survival than a return to peaceful coexistence. However, the new advertising vehicle, due to the large circulation, was not immediately associated with profits that could immediately recoup the investment in expansion of around 2.5 million francs (according to OnlineReports' estimate). Meyer: “In the first phase, we are happy if the result is a zero-sum game.” Meyer also explained that after the relaunch almost two years ago and a painful round of savings, “the breadth of the subject areas, especially in Laufental and Dorneck, had been somewhat neglected.” Therefore, a “correction” in the direction of a more in-depth editorial offering would have been necessary even without the “threat” of the BZ cooperation.

However, a joint connection with the BZ will remain in place for the time being: early delivery by the BaZ distribution organization Prevag. However, the end of the joint job advertisement “Stellefant” is in sight: the contract expires next November. Meyer to OnlineReports: “Then we will look for a new solution – without the BZ.”

Agglo readers benefit from competition

With its dual strategy – significantly more editorial services and attractive advertising prices in large print runs – the Basler Zeitung is taking the BZ in a tight spot. This is something that can already be said to be good news for newspaper readers in the Basle area, who will be targeted by advertising in a way that has never been seen before in the history of the two half-cantons. Whether the BaZ will also gain an editorial profile depends on what the regional department and especially the newly hired media professionals are able to present in terms of topics. Their task will be to outdo the competition with first-time stories and surprising reports.

The BZ in Liestal, which has so far been spared in the battle for territory, is likely to face a harsher wind. This paper and its strong partner Mittelland-Zeitung are also unlikely to remain idle and will also use their more professional front page as a selling point.

BZ publisher speaks of “label fraud”

BZ publisher Mathis Lüdin told OnlineReports that he was “not surprised” by the BaZ's package of measures: “It's more or less what one would expect.” The BZ is not reacting immediately, however, but is continuing to pursue its “improved project” undeterred. The BZ publisher has not yet revealed whether reporting from Basel-Stadt will be expanded. “We will maintain the standard or build it up if possible.” However, there are no major reserves for expansion because, unlike the BaZ, the BZ has never cut editorial staff. In this respect, the BaZ is “almost a bit of misleading” because it used to employ more local editors than it does now after the expansion.

7 August 2006