Syndicom/Impressum react to Tamedia takeover of the Landbote

Today's news that Tamedia is taking over the Winterthur media company of the Landbote (Werbewoche.ch reported), finally brings clarity for the affected workforces after months of uncertainty, Syndicom said in a communiqué on Tuesday. However, the takeover is also a cause for concern: With Tamedia, the largest Swiss media group is continuing to expand in the print and online sectors. This publishing house is known for its disproportionate profitability pressure and constant cost-cutting measures. This would threaten jobs in the editorial department and in the printing plant. The fact that the Landbote is also obliged to cooperate in terms of content with the other Zurich regional newspapers and with the Berner Zeitung would lead to the loss of an independent journalistic voice and endanger media diversity.

This view is also held by Impressum: Imprint writes that purely economically motivated synergies are thinning out the diversity of information and opinion. This has been shown by the takeovers of the Zurich regional newspapers as well as the Bund and the Berner Zeitung by Tamedia. A media plurality is feigned that exists less and less.

Therefore, both demand that the Landbote be retained as an independent newspaper. In the opinion of Imprint, a binding commitment from Tamedia is necessary "that after this new takeover, the journalist positions and thus the diversity of information will be preserved". In order to maintain quality, no jobs should be reduced in the editorial department, writes Syndicom. In addition, Tamedia is called upon to continue the Ziegler printing plant without job cuts. A decisive contribution to this is that the weekly magazine Schweizer Familie continues to be printed in Winterthur and that Tamedia brings the printing contract for the Friday supplement of 20 Minuten, Friday, and the women's magazine Annabelle back to Switzerland from Germany as quickly as possible.