That is a good start: "I have a lot of the written down of what you could write as NZZ-employees never could," says Friedemann Bartu. This break", 269 liquid-written pages to become "the radical change of the "old aunt" NZZ of the economy, free-minded Institution to a media company with an uncertain economic future.

Bartu, who joined in 1978 for the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung", experienced the best years of the sheet. To be so the time, as the legendary foreign editor of Christoph announced the mill man – without in the Least red: "The reader doesn't know: If it's not in the NZZ, then it is also important." After five years of Research and dozens of interviews with In - and outsiders Bartu can also draw a differentiated current image of the now digital, in terms of personnel and financially by substantial Institution NZZ.

And so, what is his judgment about the NZZ after the upheavals of the last few years? "A newspaper such as the NZZ has only the permission to your existence, if you can RUB her," says the 70-Year-old. He says the political. Under your today's editor-in-chief Eric Gujer and his legal civil rate Bartu sees this requirement is met.

From Goa, India

As a "Print-Goth" has Bartu joined the digital pirouettes of his employer, with mixed and negative feelings. His conclusion: "The demolition is done, the break in full swing, but the riser is still to come."As for the crash, writes Bartu is not only about the NZZ, but all the Swiss Newspapers, as they worked once: The advertising flushed so much money in the coffers of publishers, not just the NZZ that you could not afford to staff, who wrote in the year, more than two, three articles. It was generous, too generous probably. Since then, the digital Revolution has eaten away at the revenue for all publishers radically.

The economic cancer response of the NZZ-a painful cutting of the umbilical cord accompanied. In the good old days is a direct wire from the leadership of the FDP, big Finance and big industry, had led in the NZZ editorial team. Not always this was the same consistently of the collection. Detail and anecdotes rich Bartu describes the following turbulent alienation. The low point was the downfall of Swissair, whose Chairman of the Board at the same time also the President of the NZZ.

After 37 years as a correspondent on the outside of the post 2015 conclusion in the case of the NZZ was for Friedemann Bartu. He moved to India. In Goa, he was herding goats. He had time to browse in the books and newspaper clippings. He began the anecdotes to write down that he had experienced himself, but also of colleagues. Finally, the respondents systematically former and current members of the house of NZZ. The result: "Neither the settlement nor the complacency of the plant," said Bartu. But, you may say, this is a gripping story.

"break. A critical portrait." Verlag Orell-Füssli. Book premiere on 17. In March, 18 at, in the Kunsthaus. Log on to franziska.suter@ofv.ch

Created: 06.03.2020, 21:25 PM