The progression and development of our site since its inception
In the final months of 1989, as East Germany began its transition towards democracy, the WAZ newspaper group sought opportunities to establish a presence in Thuringia. This quest for expansion led to significant changes in the region's media landscape.
Initial agreements were made to bring a small editorial system to Weimar, a city off the Comecon list. However, it was Gera that eventually became the hub of these new endeavours, with the WAZ newspaper group agreeing upon a model with many positive effects for all three titles involved.
The switch to the Thuringia Newspaper Group's own distribution in Gera was not without challenges. The postal service held an absolute distribution monopoly, making the transition a difficult process. Yet, the Thuringia Newspaper Group persevered and gradually collected all the readers in Gera and Gera-Land.
Postmen in Gera played a crucial role in this transition, providing the names and addresses of readers to the Thuringia Newspaper Group. The group also made agreements with the post on how to obtain subscriber addresses via the post's distribution system in Berlin.
The Ostthüringer Nachrichten in Gera and the Thuringian General in Erfurt initially proved resistant to joining the Thuringia Newspaper Group due to strained relationships between them. However, the group's determination and the promise of a unified editorial system eventually won them over.
The Thuringia Newspaper Group, now known as Funke Media Thuringia, officially launched on June 6, 1990, in Weimar. The founding hour of the newspaper group Thuringia, as it was then known, was at the group's newspaper in Weimar.
The editorial boards of TA, OTZ, and the Thuringian newspaper were initially not very enthusiastic about each other. However, they achieved unity through cooperation and events like cabbage evenings. Wilfried Goosmann, former CEO of Media Group Thuringia, credited this unity as a key factor in the group's success.
Goosmann also spoke about the redesign of the newspaper landscape in Thuringia in 2015, ensuring that Thuringian newspapers that had to close down came to the Thuringian newspaper, such as the Thuringian Latest News, the Thuringian Daily Post, and the Middle German General with Eisenach Press and Eichsfelder Tagesblatt.
Goosmann passed away at the age of 72 just a few weeks after the interview was published on September 24, 2015. His leadership played a crucial role in shaping the media landscape in Thuringia during a time of significant change.
Despite the challenges faced, the Thuringia Newspaper Group's strategy proved successful, leading to a unified and stronger media presence in the region. This story serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and cooperation in the face of adversity.
The WAZ newspaper group, in their quest for expansion, agreed upon a model that incorporated new technology to streamline distribution in Gera and Berlin. This technological innovation proved essential in overcoming distribution challenges posed by the postal service's monopoly.
With this advancement in technology, the Thuringia Newspaper Group, now known as Funke Media Thuringia, was able to seamlessly collect reader data and distribute their titles more efficiently, ultimately contributing to their unified and stronger media presence in the region.
