Looking ahead
Future-oriented opportunities for regional German publishers
The Problem
Declining subscription numbers in the print sector: Neither magazines nor weekly or daily newspapers seem to be sustainable formats. Although a large portion of the population still appreciates printed newspapers, consumption is increasingly shifting to the digital realm. Especially in rural areas, it is difficult to attract the younger generation with attractive offerings.
Causes
In our increasingly interconnected world, there is a multitude of diverse and constantly available offerings. As modern consumers, we have the freedom to pursue our personal interests at any time. As a publisher, you compete with the entire world for the scarcest and most valuable resource of our time: attention.
What to do?
It is crucial not to prioritize quantity over quality. Readers have many options to obtain information and news. If readers perceive that a publisher prioritizes generating a high volume of output at the expense of quality, they may feel that their time is being wasted. Loyalty, in this case, is only a short-term solution to an underlying problem. If readers don’t feel that they are receiving new, exciting, unique, and interesting information, they will abandon the publication. As a publisher targeting the German-speaking market, the focus should not only be on Germany, Austria, and Switzerland but should encompass the entire German-speaking region.
When creating content, it is helpful to consider: “What might interest someone who emigrated to New Zealand 30 years ago?” Here, an example from the public broadcasting sector can be cited. The Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation, for instance, has successfully created a unique selling point with its children’s program in the form of a podcast series. If you search for educational podcasts for children on platforms like Spotify, you can’t ignore the offerings from the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation.
Even the ”Die Zeit” has started publishing entire series of podcasts some time ago. In addition to new and unusual formats such as interviews with celebrities that can last up to 7 hours, there are also more ordinary but specialized formats such as solving criminal cases.
What both have realized is that one can shine on major platforms with their own high-quality and possibly unusual formats. Although “Die Zeit” as a widely circulated weekly newspaper may not necessarily serve as a fair comparison, a clear trend can be observed. Even though almost every online newspaper now offers a “Plus” subscription, there are numerous ways to bypass the paywall technically (for example, 12ft ladder). Often, one can obtain the pure information for free on another platform. However, it is important for the reader to hear or support the opinions of certain individuals. What matters today is to engage the reader through quality and the desire for more. A current example of this is “The Intercept” by Glenn Greenwald, a donation-funded platform for investigative journalism. Tilo Jung from “Jung und Naiv” disrupts the government press conferences on YouTube daily, and Mario Nawfal, found under the Twitter handle @MarioNawfal, is reinventing journalism these days. For example, he hosts “Twitter Spaces” for live events like the Ukraine war and has access to information that is much faster than what traditional media can provide. The fact that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News after decades and now appears as an individual also shows that the trend is shifting away from major publishers towards individual opinions.
So, what should one really do?
Find out what is truly interesting. Not just for people in the region, but also for people around the world. The task is not so much to report on daily events but rather to curate, summarize, and conduct research. What is unique to this place? What does a computer systems integration specialist in Swabia do? Which patents originate from here, and how are they utilized? What are some special words used within families that are not found elsewhere in the German-speaking world? What unique traditions and characteristics exist? Why is it worth taking a closer look at this particular spot on Earth? What does it actually mean to be a Schwabe (someone from the Swabian region)?
The goal of these inquiries is to generate international interest in the region. The readership is eagerly awaiting content that preserves the culture. In a world that is increasingly coming together, much is also being lost. As a regional publisher, this is precisely where your opportunity lies.
