Biel Bienne will end its print run after nearly 50 years

Free bilingual newspaper Biel Bienne will publish its final edition at the end of the year, ending a nearly 50-year run. Its 86-year-old founder, Mario Cortesi, says he plans to keep writing. SRF reported on the newspaper’s history and closure.

Cortesi founded the weekly in 1978 with several others. Their aim was to challenge the dominance of the Gassmann publishing house in Biel by delivering a free newspaper in German and French to every letterbox.

“We started with courage and a goal, but without money,” Cortesi said. The first five years were particularly difficult, he recalled, and the journalists were poorly paid as the team struggled to stay afloat. The paper eventually became an established part of the region’s media landscape.

In the early 1990s, the newspaper’s founders and Gassmann reconciled. They went on to build the Telebielingue television station and Canal 3 radio station together.

Cortesi also made films and wrote film reviews. In the 1980s, he made an anti-smoking film that won several awards but angered the tobacco industry. Philip Morris stopped advertising in Biel Bienne in 1980, causing a significant financial loss, Cortesi said. He said he did not regret making the film.

The newspaper never went digital. Cortesi, who says he does not own a mobile phone, said the editorial team had always decided to remain in print and stop if that was no longer viable.

Gassmann Media announced the closure in late September. The newspaper has been hit by falling advertising revenue, changing reading habits and rising distribution costs. Cortesi said he was sad that it could not continue, but also glad it had lasted so long. He does not yet know what comes next, but says he will keep writing.