Die Weltwoche
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Die Weltwoche | |
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| Type | Journal |
| Format | Magazine |
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| Owner | Weltwoche Verlag AG |
| Editor | Roger Köppel, publisher and editor-in-chief since November 2006 |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Political allegiance | Classical liberalism, conservatism |
| Language | German |
| Headquarters | Zürich |
| Circulation | 91,213 (2005) |
| ISSN | 0043-2660 |
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| Website: www.weltwoche.ch | |
Die Weltwoche ("The World Week") is a Swiss weekly magazine based in Zürich. It is privately owned by Roger Köppel. The magazine's regular columnists of note include the former president of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, Peter Bodenmann, as well as Christoph Mörgeli MP, a leading figure of the right wing of the nationalist Swiss People's Party.
[edit] History
Founded 1933 as a weekly newspaper in the mold of French weeklies, it started off somewhat sympathetic to the Nazi government of Germany, but soon joined the other Swiss media in vigorously opposing it. After the war, it remained a fixture of the intellectual environment in Switzerland, publishing articles, columns and interviews on a wide range of topics, including politics, the economy, culture and science, generally from a center-left perspective.
In 2002, flagging sales prompted a shift in format from broadsheet to magazine, and a shift in political orientation from center-left to conservative.
In 2006, Roger Köppel bought the title from the former owner, the publisher Jean Frey AG (which was itself taken over by the German publisher Axel Springer).
[edit] Profile
Already distinguishing itself somewhat from the generally center-left Swiss media by its general orientation, the magazine is now especially noted for its interviews with controversial public figures and for the diversity of opinion represented in its pages, with a dominant right-wing view however. For instance, virtually alone among Swiss publications, Die Weltwoche in 2003 and 2004 printed lengthy articles mainly arguing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq or the reelection of George W. Bush to the U.S. presidency.
In 2004 and 2005, sales began to flag again after the editorial line, particularly as relating to Swiss domestic policy, was perceived to be approaching the positions of the right-wing Swiss People's Party. This also led to unrest among the magazine's politically diverse staff and to the replacements of several editors-in-chief.
On January 12, 2006, Die Weltwoche was the first German-speaking publication to reprint some of the controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad originally published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
