Convergent Media Quality? Comparing the Content of Online and Offline Media in Switzerland

Abstract

This chapter examines the effects of the convergence of the online and offline news offerings in the digital age on the diversity of the media market, its financial resources and journalistic quality in Switzerland. Under the influence of the euphoria surrounding the internet, many authors have stressed the advantages of online journalism over its conventional counterpart. The empirical findings show that this does not hold for Switzerland yet. Indeed, the convergence of the media in the digital age appears to have particularly negative consequences with regard to the financing capability and contents quality of the news media and to the diversity of the digital news offer. The digital news market is characterized by a few providers with wide reach. Purely digital brands are still very rare.