E-Media Tidbits

AZ Medien Gruppe of Switzerland, which owns radio, TV, and a range of newspaper interests, announced that it has restructured and introduced a crossmedia department. Led by Christoph Marty, who successfully was running the newspaper until now, the new entity will combine all online activities with all classified activities.

That in itself is a nice structural move, as we have known for years that the two belong together but rarely have we seen newspapers admit it -- and reorganize their departments accordingly.

In addition, Marty will be responsible for further developing some very successful crossmedia topics such as health and cooking, which already are proving to be sustainable revenue sources engaging TV, radio, online, and newspaper audiences.

The news has prompted a set of other news organizations to look closely at their media skills and strategies. Ringier announced a "new media project" which intends to look at digital business models across the various countries where Ringier is involved.

To make the distinction between old and new media is so 1994. As if reality -- and mainly newspapers' main sponsors, the advertising world -- have not long abandoned such trivial distinctions and arrived at intention-driven, not media-driven, business decisions.