The Philanthropist and Seniorweb are entering into a new partnership. They will start by collaborating on content, developing articles relevant to readers of both portals that will then be published across both channels. The partnership will allow both Seniorweb and The Philanthropist to expand the range of topics they cover.
Journalism is redefining itself. This change is driven by digitalisation. New formats, new channels and new narrative forms are opening up new possibilities. But digital transformation comes with certain challenges. Back in 1998, a group of older people recognised the increasing importance of electronic media for the older generation, and launched Seniorweb in response. They developed the website seniorweb.ch, a platform that introduces the older generation to the internet.
Professionalisation around 15 years ago
Linus Baur joined Seniorweb in 2007. Now aged 77, he still runs the editorial department today. ‘I was asked if I wanted to help make the editorial department more professional and improve the quality of the content,’ Baur recalls.
‘I developed an editorial concept that met with general approval, and was soon made head of the department.’ The editorial team is still made up of volunteers, as it was back then. The department currently consists of eleven members: five women and six men. Then there are around ten or twelve freelance writers, most of whom have an editorial or journalism background. Baur is pleased to have been able to maintain an editorial team with a fairly good gender balance thus far.
Coronavirus can’t stand in the way of this dedicated team
Nothing has changed since the coronavirus pandemic, stresses Linus Baur. The editorial team still meets every month – though this now takes place on Zoom, and the topics they choose have been adapted to the circumstances. The team is very busy, publishing two to three online articles a day. In 2020, they published well over 800 articles on society, culture, lifestyle, health and digital topics, as well as opinion pieces.
Broadening the variety of content through collaboration
‘The collaboration will open up lots of new opportunities for The Philanthropist,’ enthuses Claudia Dutli, the magazine’s Publishing Director.
‘In the course of the first meeting, it quickly became clear that we had a lot of crossover,’ she states. ‘It’s definitely a media partnership with potential.’ ‘Our content is currently somewhat culture-heavy,’ reflects Linus Baur. His goal for 2021 is to broaden the range of topics covered. He is confident that they will achieve this aim, as they are in the process of growing the editorial team and staff.
Seniorweb
The project owner of seniorweb.ch is Pro Seniorweb, which operates Seniorweb AG (Chairman of the Board of Directors Anton Schaller). Seniorweb is run by a management team made up of seven members. The charity has around 60 members of staff, all of whom are volunteers. The head office is located near the Stauffacher junction in Zurich, and includes a training room for digital topics.
Furthermore: Seniorweb publishes a weekly newsletter with information about the latest articles and offers at seniorweb.ch, which currently has around 11,000 subscribers. It also co-publishes the quarterly print magazine seniorin, which has a circulation of around 17,000.
