Further developments 186

The above-mentioned conservative tendencies within the editorial offices and

publishing houses seem at first glance to be acceptable. Use of the traditional media shows a rather high degree of stability compared with the prior year, states the Univox Study of the Institut für Markt- und Sozialforschung gfs Zürich (Institute for Market and Social Research, Zurich) (Bonfadelli 2006). Yet, apart from the freesheet 20Minuten, some major daily newspapers have either been steadily losing readers for some time or have been unable to significantly increase circulation figures350_{. In contrast, there}

has been a noticeable increase in Internet use over the past few years. The Univox

Study shows a daily use quota of 20 per cent for 2004. On the other hand, newspapers – according to the Institute – fell to below 70 per cent. The survey revealed that 10 per cent of users already surf the Internet for information as a first or second line of

approach. A year earlier, well under 10 per cent of those questioned assigned the same importance to the Internet. Growth is probably around 30 per cent. Newspapers are indeed read to gain information by 58 per cent of those questioned. The print media are still not only more popular than the Internet, but also more popular than other electronic media such as television, radio or local television as a means of obtaining information. As far as credibility is concerned, however, the Baromédia survey (last carried out in 2002) showed Teletext at the top of the list with an astounding rating of 90 per cent, even though it is one of the least-used media. The public broadcasting service SRG took second place with 86 per cent, followed by the daily newspapers with 84 per cent. Information magazines were considered reliable sources of information by 78 per cent of respondents, while 74 per cent considered television to be credible. Private radio stations were also rated credible by 74 per cent of respondents. Only 65 per cent of participants in the survey considered the Internet to be a reliable source of information (Zimmermann and Cretton 2002).

But the figures for Internet use and its credibility rating may well change in the near future. The Internet has only just begun to catch up. Particularly the younger generation, and those age groups of 14-49-year-olds who interest the advertising industry, seem to be turning more and more to the Internet (Trappel and Wölk 2005, p.48).

However, the prognoses for Internet advertising remain cautious. In 2004 Internet advertising in Switzerland accounted for 22 million francs, or 0.5 per cent of the total advertising market (ibid, p.63). The online share may well increase by the year 2009. Prognos estimates yearly growth of 16 per cent, whereby the online advertising share could increase to 1 per cent.

The online providers are attempting to boost their advertising revenue by levying charges for subject matter. Positive comments are also being uttered about the readiness of users to pay for subject matter. Nevertheless, the editorial offices are reluctant to charge for journalistic material. If need be, free access to archives and dossiers may be blocked in the mid-term.

The potential offered by the Internet with regard to interactivity and diversity of offers is currently nowhere near fully exploited and, as long as the leading Swiss Internet sites are controlled by parent print companies, a certain level of sluggishness can be expected. After all, with Radio 24 and Tele Zürich, the Tages-Anzeiger had the opportunity of accessing voice- and video-streaming offers, without the need to purchase them for large sums of money. Appropriate plans have been drawn up, although they have not yet been implemented.

Television could start things moving on the online scene. Since the beginning of December 2005 an online news editorial office has been in operation, presenting news on the net under such familiar television headings as Tagesschau (The News). Initially only Radio DRS (Radio of German- and Romansch-speaking Switzerland) had an Internet platform which was targeted principally – in several languages – at Swiss living abroad and was really intended as a replacement for short-wave programs, but now SF DRS (Television of German- and Romansch-speaking Switzerland) has entered the arena in clear competition with the existing sites of the publishing houses.

This led to immediate protests and complaints. The publishers accused SF DRS of failing to act in good faith, especially as the initial mention had only been of added content on the site, not news, and certainly not advertising. With a complaint to the Federal Office of Communications and a letter to Federal Councillor Leuenberger requesting that the online activities of television be stopped, the publishers have clearly opted for confrontation.

Whether this offensive of Swiss Television will succeed in ousting the newspapers from their top positions in the user statistics remains to be seen. It may be assumed,

however, that the SF DRS website will soon offer an increasing number of moving images, as BBC Online or CNN have been doing for ages. Technical progress, with its trend towards moving pictures and spoken language too, could encourage this

development. Podcasting already enables the receipt of such news, both spoken and visual, at any time on the Net. Last September, Radio DRS launched the Swiss

premiere with a Podcast broadcast of the Echo der Zeit (Echo of our Time) programme. In the first month, contributions were downloaded 34,000 times (Settele 2005).

After the cyber bubble burst, the excessively euphoric plans experienced a setback. However, the IT branch has recovered and has extricated itself from this stagnation. The iPod generation will certainly appreciate other forms of media consumption than

those of their parents. Even the advocates of a service that concentrates on the written word will have to reconsider. In order to keep up with technical developments,

however, investment is necessary. The market winner will also depend on this readiness to invest and on the available resources.