The printed word under pressure

Finding well-thumbed copies on the tables in Lyon, Tarragona, Vancouver, Invermay, Newcastle, Berlin or Hong Kong tells us that the printed edition passes through many pairs of hands, and often acts as a starting point for family discussions or is perhaps sometimes even a matter of dispute. It is also always a small and tangible piece of Switzerland. That is why we would like to ensure the long-term continuation of the “Review’s” printed edition. But printed matter is under pressure due to the costs.

Ironically, the future of the printed edition of the “Review” depends upon those readers who enjoy the benefits of the electronic edition. Those who access the contents of the “Review” online or via our – improved – app and unsubscribe from the printed edition, instead of tossing it into the waster paper basket without having read it, help reduce the high printing and shipping costs and thus help protect the future of the printed edition. Specific tips on this topic are provided in this edition.

Will the printed word survive? We took a closer look at how books, which have long been declared dead, are doing in Switzerland. It is astonishing. After years of decline, new bookstores are opening up again for the first time. The classic, printed book itself is doing much better than the book trade. It is conquering new markets. In 2017, 9,000 new books were published in Switzerland. That is almost twice as many as 50 years ago, at a time when the book was still entirely unrivaled. In addition, a feeling of “digital fatigue” can be observed in Switzerland, which helps the classic book: e-book sales are stagnating and do not even account for ten percent of sales in the book market.