Süddeutsche Zeitung reduces local reporting in the Munich area!

Süddeutsche Zeitung reduces local reporting in the Munich area!

The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ) significantly reduced its reporting from the Munich area on June 1st. In the future, the large daily newspaper will only report on the regions in four editions instead of eight. News from the districts around Munich are now presented on integrated pages in the local section, which represents a noticeable change for many readers. This restructuring is a significant step in a changing media environment.

The new editions cover the districts of Fürstenfeldbruck and Dachau, Ebersberg as well as Erding and Freising, Starnberg and Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, as well as Munich itself. The reporting from the city and region remains unchanged, but the number of pages for this reporting is reduced from twelve to at least ten per edition. This is part of a comprehensive plan to increase efficiency in the newspaper's production. In addition, the number of newspaper layers will be reduced from three to two.

Bigger stories in focus

Ulrike Heidenreich and René Hofmann, who head the “Munich, Region, Bavaria” department, emphasized in their statement that the focus should be on bigger stories in the future. Instead, the aim is to publish fewer articles from all districts on a topic. However, according to Hofmann, there will still be rapporteurs for all districts to ensure that important local issues are not completely overlooked.

The reasons for these adjustments are complex. In addition to increased efficiency, the SZ also wants to respond to the changing needs of readers. In times of home offices, it is difficult to justify high rental costs for external offices, as Hofmann explained in an interview.

The pressure on the industry

The changes in the SZ are also a reflection of a larger trend in the German media market, which has been suffering from a decline in circulation for years. According to a study, newspaper sales in Germany have fallen from 18 million per day to just 11 million. This development particularly affects local and regional newspapers and could have negative effects on democracy, experts warn. Wiebke Möhring, professor of journalism, sees the decline in local journalism as a potential threat to voter turnout.

The economic pressure is also evident among other publishers. The Funke media group reports massive losses in circulation and is planning cost-cutting programs and staff cuts. Some publishers are even considering selling their regional newspapers, while others are trying to establish digital offerings to compensate for losses in print business. The change towards digital content is increasingly being demanded by readers, which is resulting in a change in strategy by publishers.

While the need for local journalism is there, the challenges facing the industry are palpable. However, platforms like Merkurist.de offer new opportunities for citizen participation and interactive reporting, which represents a glimmer of hope for the future of local journalism.