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.
The magazine's ideological slant today is considered to range between economic liberalism and right-wing populism along the lines of the Swiss People's Party.[1][2]
Contents |
[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.
[edit] Positions Today
The accession of Switzerland to the European Union is rejected by the editorial staff, as was Swiss acceptance of the Schengen Agreement.[3] The Weltwoche also represents the view that welfare and other state-administered assistance programs are inherently flawed. It is, therefore, entirely pointless to hold a discussion concerning "abuse of the welfare state," as these flaws cannot be removed from the system. The system itself is unreformable.[4]
The magazine is vehemently against legally-mandated maternity leave and represents an extremely tradionalist view of the family. It argues in favor of traditional gender-based marital roles – with men being the primary income earners and women remaining at home as homemakers and mothers.[5] With this in mind, it also rejects state-subsidized nurseries and childcare.[6][7].
In keeping with its conservative positions, the Weltwoche is also skeptical of global warming and has denounced recent "alarmism" surrounding environmental issues.[8] Internationally – outside of Europe – the Weltwoche often represents pro-American and pro-Israeli positions.
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ "In der Heimat wie im Ausland sorgt freilich vor allem die publizistische Unterstützung der 'Weltwoche' für die rechtsliberale Schweizer Volkspartei (SVP) unter ihrem Chef Christoph Blocher regelmäßig für Aufregung." / "At home as well as abroad the Weltwoche often creates controversy, above all else, for its support of the right-wing, economically-liberal Swiss People's Party under the leadership of Christoph Blocher." Der Standard, 5 March 2008[[1]]
- ^ "'Weltwoche' stürzte unter Köppel ab", NZZ am Sonntag, 21 July 2006[[2]]
- ^ Weltwoche, issue 16/04[[3]]
- ^ Weltwoche, issue 14/07[[4]]
- ^ Weltwoche, issue 02/07[[5]]
- ^ Weltwoche, issue 12/07[[6]]
- ^ Weltwoche, issue 46/06[[7]]
- ^ Topic: Global Warming[[8]]
