“We reach more people than Google”

Posted by Anna-Maria Mende on June 5, 2006 at 12:04 AM

These were the words from Eugen Russ, Managing Director of the Austrian company Vorarlberger Medienhaus, at the Annual Digital Media Round Table that took place in Moscow this morning. On Monday the 13th World Editors Forum and the 59th World Newspaper Congress will start in Moscow.

With his provocative words Russ referred to the fact that the website of its newspaper Vorarlberger Nachrichten reaches more people than Google in the region around Vorarlberg.

According to Russ, 70 percent of the Internet users in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg (population 360,000) access the website several times a year. Google holds a close second place. Russ underlined that the website is successful with all age groups. So what is the secret of the success? “The local market is the key to our strategy,” said Russ. And you have to connect to the ordinary people, e.g. through bringing them into the newspaper. “My imagination is that to come into the newspaper you have to be a murder. The other possibility is that you are the murder,” Russ said. The Vorarlberger Nachrichten wants to change that: So you can find all the baptisms, the weddings and party photos in the newspaper and in the online version as well. And they include a lot of user-generated content in print and online. The Vorarlberger Nachrichten is therefore offering a discussion platform at the community level.

The goal of this Citizen Forum is not to discuss about international politics, but rather about “small” topics. Russ reported from a mother, who complained about unsafe ways to school. As a consequence the mayor of the school supported her and there were some speed limits reduced and a mirror was installed and so on. For Russ his newspaper is “making that small world a better world.”

He also said that newspapers have to change and seize the opportunities that the online media are offering: “Web 2.0 is a threat and an opportunity. I think we should join the online party, rather than fight it.” Then newspapers can become “the ultimate browser”.

Vorarlberger Medienhaus is a small Austrian private owned media company. It publishes two daily newspapers in Austria (circulation 90,000) and is based in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It also owns newspapers and websites in Hungary, Germany and Rumania, e.g. it holds 75% of the market share in the German national classifieds paper market.

For news from the World Editors Forum stay tuned to the Editors Weblog. For news from the World Newspaper Congress go to www.moscow2006/com.

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