Display in a kiosk in Cologne (archive photo)
Photo: A3250 Oliver Berg/ dpa
Magazine publishers in Germany are pushing for rapid state support for press houses.
"If we wait a long time now, then we will have a different, poorer press landscape in Germany because many editorial offers will not make it," said the chief executive of the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ), Stephan Scherzer.
State funding for newspaper and magazine publishers was already planned in the last legislative period of the grand coalition.
Several options for millions in aid were examined.
In the end, however, the project was withdrawn.
Traffic light coalition wants to examine funding opportunities
Publishers are asking for state aid, among other things, because the circulation of printed press products has been declining for many years.
They point to increased delivery costs, especially in rural areas.
The aim is to ensure that printed press is still available everywhere.
The traffic light coalition agreement states: "We want to guarantee the nationwide supply of periodical press products and examine which funding options are suitable for this."
Scherzer emphasized that the basic requirement is to promote magazines and newspapers in a non-discriminatory manner. "We're getting signals from politicians that work is being done on it, but funding is a question of implementation speed right now." He is promoting a discussion in the first quarter and then immediate implementation.
At the beginning of the year, the president of the newspaper publishers' association BDZV, Mathias Döpfner, expressed optimism about state stimuli. He emphasized one point: "First and foremost, the financing of our delivery structures, which after years of lethargy that can be felt on this topic finally needs a powerful political design." Döpfner, who is also CEO of the media group Axel Springer, had added: "After initial discussions , which I led to this with representatives of the new government, I am more optimistic than ever.«
When asked what press funding could look like, VDZ Managing Director Scherzer said: "It has to be very clear in terms of regulatory policy." It is therefore not possible to separate newspapers and magazines.
The funding standards must be neutral and objective.
"They must not be derived from editorial content, it must affect everyone - from magazines, denominational, specialist and popular titles to daily newspapers." The scale of the copies delivered is easy to manage, as already planned for 2020.
"You could have a premium factor for magazines with small print runs, and the same for daily newspapers in rural areas," Scherzer added.
»We have to reckon with numerous title discontinuations this year and in the years to come«
Stephan Scherzer, General Manager of the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ)
According to the association, magazine houses are concerned about several factors in the midst of the digital transformation.
Scherzer said: Paper has become more expensive by up to 100 percent in the past year and is so scarce that the publication of titles in the coming months is no longer guaranteed.
He cited rising energy costs relevant to transportation and printing.
»The postal delivery costs will also continue to rise due to wage payments, which will again be well above the minimum wage.«
Another aspect of the corona pandemic: "There is already concern in retail - because employees are infected with corona - that shops could be closed.
And conversely, we see that due to the corona, readers no longer go shopping very often.« Sales are also declining for this reason.
If the situation for the publishers does not change, Scherzer predicted: »In this and the coming years we have to expect numerous titles to be discontinued, especially small and medium-sized trade journals, popular titles and also titles from the denominational press.
We're not just talking about hiring the printed magazine, we're talking about the entire brand.« That means entire editorial offerings would disappear.
mamk/dpa