Head of the week: "The free newspaper is the future".
Pascal Fleury, new director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités, on the value of information
Pascal Fleury, new director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités, on the value of informationHead of the week "The free newspaper is the future" /
The 29-year-old director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités was born into the publishing industry. As the son of a Geneva publisher, Pascal Fleury also had a brief taste of banking, first as an apprentice and later in the marketing department. He trained as a "généraliste de la communication" at Sawi. He learned the finer points of media planning at MQI, Lausanne. He then quickly moved into publishing. At Edipresse, he was most recently in charge of marketing for Le Matin.
With Lausanne Cités, he wants to get even closer to local events. The free newspaper is to become the "eye of Lausanne", and its inhabitants are to wait impatiently every Thursday for the newspaper to appear, providing them with information from their immediate surroundings.
Lausanne Cités aims to differentiate itself from the daily newspapers in the editorial section by being close to its readers. Pascal Fleury is not bothered by the fact that his newspaper is free: "The future belongs to the free newspaper, because people are less and less willing to pay for information that they can get for free elsewhere."
According to Fleury, the fact that information is becoming ever more ephemeral and increasingly losing its material value cannot be stopped. Perhaps this is why he enjoys reading history books and is interested in archaeology in his spare time. He also argues that the so-called free newspaper has long since moved away from the former style of the official gazette and developed into an attractive platform.
Lausanne Cités underwent a facelift last year, which is entirely in line with the wishes of the new director. The fact that the free newspapers have shed their cheap image can also be seen in the profile of advertising clients. Today, renowned companies also advertise in free newspapers. For the advertising client, the sales price of a newspaper is not decisive anyway. They make their selection based on the criteria of target audience, reach and circulation figures.
So if he is specifically looking for a local audience, he will advertise in Lausanne Cités and not in a national daily newspaper. Today, a free newspaper also reaches people from all social classes. Fleury also sees a major development in the editorial area. Lausanne Cités has an editorial share of 35 percent, and he expects journalists who work for a local paper to have a special affinity for local events.
Fleury is mortally unhappy when he hears that someone has simply thrown "his" newspaper away without reading it. In general, he is close to the daily events in his newspaper and doesn't just sit isolated in the management office. He wants to know exactly what the customer wants. So it can happen that he intervenes personally when a customer complains loudly at reception. Anita Vaucher
The 29-year-old director of the free newspaper Lausanne Cités was born into the publishing industry. As the son of a Geneva publisher, Pascal Fleury also had a brief taste of banking, first as an apprentice and later in the marketing department. He trained as a "généraliste de la communication" at Sawi. He learned the finer points of media planning at MQI, Lausanne. He then quickly moved into publishing. At Edipresse, he was most recently in charge of marketing for Le Matin.
With Lausanne Cités, he wants to get even closer to local events. The free newspaper is to become the "eye of Lausanne", and its inhabitants are to wait impatiently every Thursday for the newspaper to appear, providing them with information from their immediate surroundings.
Lausanne Cités aims to differentiate itself from the daily newspapers in the editorial section by being close to its readers. Pascal Fleury is not bothered by the fact that his newspaper is free: "The future belongs to the free newspaper, because people are less and less willing to pay for information that they can get for free elsewhere."
According to Fleury, the fact that information is becoming ever more ephemeral and increasingly losing its material value cannot be stopped. Perhaps this is why he enjoys reading history books and is interested in archaeology in his spare time. He also argues that the so-called free newspaper has long since moved away from the former style of the official gazette and developed into an attractive platform.
Lausanne Cités underwent a facelift last year, which is entirely in line with the wishes of the new director. The fact that the free newspapers have shed their cheap image can also be seen in the profile of advertising clients. Today, renowned companies also advertise in free newspapers. For the advertising client, the sales price of a newspaper is not decisive anyway. They make their selection based on the criteria of target audience, reach and circulation figures.
So if he is specifically looking for a local audience, he will advertise in Lausanne Cités and not in a national daily newspaper. Today, a free newspaper also reaches people from all social classes. Fleury also sees a major development in the editorial area. Lausanne Cités has an editorial share of 35 percent, and he expects journalists who work for a local paper to have a special affinity for local events.
Fleury is mortally unhappy when he hears that someone has simply thrown "his" newspaper away without reading it. In general, he is close to the daily events in his newspaper and doesn't just sit isolated in the management office. He wants to know exactly what the customer wants. So it can happen that he intervenes personally when a customer complains loudly at reception. Anita Vaucher
