The ugly duckling became a radiant queen. Under the leadership of Jaques Pilet, «L'Hebdo» became the flagship publication for a left-green, pro-European and urban audience they flirted with the «Spiegel» or the NZZ, on the other side of the Röstigraben they did it with «L'Hebdo».
But what people didn't know was that "L'Hebdo" had been in the red since 2002. The only time the magazine was still profitable was in 2007. In the last four years alone, the magazine has lost half of its advertising greece rcs data revenue and a third of its circulation. News magazines in particular were the first victims of the Internet and digitalization. "Newsweek," the mother of all news magazines, was only available online for a short time, and "Facts" ceased operations almost ten years ago. French-speaking Switzerland, with a population of two million, is also significantly smaller than German-speaking Switzerland.
Nevertheless, it is probably too simplistic to blame the failure of "L'Hebdo" solely on the advertising crisis and digitalization. Perhaps the magazine's demise also symbolizes a change in the zeitgeist. Even today, more critical of Europe and more pro-business tones are in demand in French-speaking Switzerland. From this point of view, the decision to close down "L'Hebdo" and focus entirely on the smart daily newspaper "Le Temps" is logical. It is certainly a shame. "Last sad act of a once great idea, DIE WOCHE/L'HEBDO. Chers collègues - old companions suffer with us," writes Ringier legend Fibo Deutsch on Facebook. He was a member of the editorial team at the time. But in addition to the sadness over the surprising closure, the entire industry is asking itself with concern: Who's next.