In order to continue in the information business and survive all the problems they face newspapers have a few other solutions as well. One of them would be to diversify their activities. The goal is to find other sources of revenue in order to finance the information side and be able to offer quality contents. An article in the Australian newspaper The Age approaches this problematic.(77) The writer gives different examples of people who think newspapers cannot be satisfied of being just newspapers. He gives the example of Michael Gawenda who says that “they need to be reinvented and to do this editors need to spend less energy trying to fix perceived weaknesses, such as reaching the unreachable “young reader”, and more on building their strengths.” Newspapers should use these strengths to find other domain where they can be competitive.
To illustrate that diversifying of information is important and what kind of products can be created the example of the group of press Edipresse can be used. Edipresse is a big group of press based in Lausanne that has merged with Tamedia in March 2009. Their main activities were historically newspapers but now they have chosen to diversify to stay profitable on this though economic market. In addition of all the newspapers and magazines here is a look at the different online products they offer(78):
– Edicom.ch: The information and service portal for French-speaking Switzerland
– Homegate.ch: The Swiss real estate portal
– Jobup.ch: The online recruitment portal for French-speaking Switzerland
– Swisster.ch: an Anglophone online daily
– Swissfriends.ch: The number one website for meeting people
– Polki.pl: The portal for women
– Wizaz.pl: The portal for beauty and health products
– Worldtempus.com: The luxury watchmaking portal
Those sites help the group by providing funding that was lost in part in the newspapers business. Additionally Edipresse has developed a section of the group called Edipresse Luxe. This section “is dedicated to those passionate about the world of high-end watchmaking, luxury and fashion. This international multimedia entity offers integrated solutions through high-end magazines, websites and events.”(79)
That example shows that there are ways for newspapers and their editors to fight the problems they face through diversifying. The challenge is to develop these new products so they can be successful enough to help the divisions that struggle financially.
77 http://www.theage.com.au/business/newspapers-diversify-to-stay-ahead-of-the-game-20081007-4vw1.html
78 http://www.edipresse.com/products_and_activities/online_activities/all/Top%20Brand
79 http://www.edipresse.com/category/menu/products-and-activities/edipresse-luxe
Page suivante : 8.2. The future of newspapers in Switzerland