Now Tachles talks
The new Jewish weekly magazine will be published on April 6
The new Jewish weekly magazine will be published on April 6By Markus KnöpfliBoth the Israelitisches Wochenblatt and the Jüdische Rundschau have suffered losses in the last two years. This is why both titles are now being merged to form the new magazine Tachles (WW 5/01). The publisher is the newly founded Jüdische Medien AG, which is owned equally by the Basler Mediengruppe (BMG) and Serenada-Verlag.
The publishing house Manfred Marx AG, which belongs to BMG, and Jüdische Rundschau Medien AG are currently being merged to form Jüdische Medien AG (JM) and will launch the new weekly magazine Tachles (Hebrew: aim, purpose) on April 6. In return, the Israelitisches Wochenblatt (IWB) and the Jüdische Rundschau (JR) will be discontinued. The IW's sister publication Revue Juive is also transferred to the JM and is continued.
There are economic reasons for the merger: Both publishers have been in the red for the last two years. "A consequence of the Holocaust debate," says Yves Kugelmann, JR editor-in-chief and designated editor-in-chief of Tachles. The JR alone had to accept a 30 percent drop in advertising. The majority of bookings had always come from non-Jewish advertisers, who had bailed out of the two independent titles when Switzerland was under international pressure. However, Kugelmann does not want to see this as anti-Semitic behavior. "This reaction was understandable from a human point of view, although perhaps not the right one," says Kugelmann. After all, the JR was very critical of the World Jewish Congress at the time.
However, the merger also makes sense for other reasons, says Kugelmann. For one thing, the Holocaust debate in particular showed that it is "important for Swiss Jews to speak with an independent voice". In addition, almost 50 percent of IW and JR subscribers are double readers. A merger of the two titles has therefore been a recurring theme in the past.
Jewish Media AG relies on the Braginsky connection
Nevertheless, the merger alone will not get Tachles off the hook. But Kugelmann is confident: the magazine has a strong sales team under publishing director Bruno Guggenheim, and JM now has two publishers behind it: BMG and Serenada-Verlag. The latter publishes a guide to Jewish organizations and only recently took over JR from its owner family Ungar and then conducted the merger talks - incidentally on the initiative of BMG. The Chairman of Serenada is Susanne Braginsky, the wife of René Braginsky, who wants to take over and restructure the Sulzer Group with his InCentive Capital AG.
The Braginskys also sit on the Board of Directors of the new Jüdische Medien AG - he as Chairman - and hold two thirds of the voting rights. Also represented on the Board of Directors are BMG Chairman Matthias Hagemann, Peter Urs Naef, Chairman of the Executive Board of Jean Frey AG, Esther Girsberger, former Editor-in-Chief of Tages-Anzeiger, as well as former IW Managing Director Joseph Wormser and lawyer Björn Bajan.
Tachles will be published in tabloid format every Friday with a circulation of 5000 copies. The magazine, which will have at least 64 pages, will contain background reports as well as separate articles on Switzerland, Israel, International, Culture and Life. The Inside section also offers services and information for Jewish organizations and communities in Switzerland. Kiosk distribution is currently being considered. The subscription costs 164 francs, a full-page, four-color advertisement 5010 francs.
The publishing house Manfred Marx AG, which belongs to BMG, and Jüdische Rundschau Medien AG are currently being merged to form Jüdische Medien AG (JM) and will launch the new weekly magazine Tachles (Hebrew: aim, purpose) on April 6. In return, the Israelitisches Wochenblatt (IWB) and the Jüdische Rundschau (JR) will be discontinued. The IW's sister publication Revue Juive is also transferred to the JM and is continued.
There are economic reasons for the merger: Both publishers have been in the red for the last two years. "A consequence of the Holocaust debate," says Yves Kugelmann, JR editor-in-chief and designated editor-in-chief of Tachles. The JR alone had to accept a 30 percent drop in advertising. The majority of bookings had always come from non-Jewish advertisers, who had bailed out of the two independent titles when Switzerland was under international pressure. However, Kugelmann does not want to see this as anti-Semitic behavior. "This reaction was understandable from a human point of view, although perhaps not the right one," says Kugelmann. After all, the JR was very critical of the World Jewish Congress at the time.
However, the merger also makes sense for other reasons, says Kugelmann. For one thing, the Holocaust debate in particular showed that it is "important for Swiss Jews to speak with an independent voice". In addition, almost 50 percent of IW and JR subscribers are double readers. A merger of the two titles has therefore been a recurring theme in the past.
Jewish Media AG relies on the Braginsky connection
Nevertheless, the merger alone will not get Tachles off the hook. But Kugelmann is confident: the magazine has a strong sales team under publishing director Bruno Guggenheim, and JM now has two publishers behind it: BMG and Serenada-Verlag. The latter publishes a guide to Jewish organizations and only recently took over JR from its owner family Ungar and then conducted the merger talks - incidentally on the initiative of BMG. The Chairman of Serenada is Susanne Braginsky, the wife of René Braginsky, who wants to take over and restructure the Sulzer Group with his InCentive Capital AG.
The Braginskys also sit on the Board of Directors of the new Jüdische Medien AG - he as Chairman - and hold two thirds of the voting rights. Also represented on the Board of Directors are BMG Chairman Matthias Hagemann, Peter Urs Naef, Chairman of the Executive Board of Jean Frey AG, Esther Girsberger, former Editor-in-Chief of Tages-Anzeiger, as well as former IW Managing Director Joseph Wormser and lawyer Björn Bajan.
Tachles will be published in tabloid format every Friday with a circulation of 5000 copies. The magazine, which will have at least 64 pages, will contain background reports as well as separate articles on Switzerland, Israel, International, Culture and Life. The Inside section also offers services and information for Jewish organizations and communities in Switzerland. Kiosk distribution is currently being considered. The subscription costs 164 francs, a full-page, four-color advertisement 5010 francs.
