2011 was a year of high points for Mediafin
The best result is the growing sales of our two financial newspapers. Besides this, L’Echo celebrated a respectable milestone of 130 years, we prepared for the transition to Berliner format and created a buzz with our events.
De Tijd grew by 4% and L’Echo by 1.2%. In fact, L’Echo is the only newspaper with growing sales in French-speaking Belgium. I am certain that this growth is due to our digital initiative. Mediafin is the only media company with a payment model for viewing news sites. Many more digital subscriptions have been taken out for both tablets and websites as our readers want to have access to the newspaper whenever and wherever they wish. A digital newspaper also enriches the news: you can search archives, forward and save articles. This turns a newspaper into a source suitable for use in a professional environment. The paper version, that appeared in Berliner format at the beginning of 2012, is now also more accessible and more exciting.
L’Echo celebrated its 130th birthday in 2011. With guest of honour Gérard Mestrallet from GDF Suez and ministers in the room, it was not exactly a low-key celebration. Mediafin also created a buzz around its titles, including the Europe event in January and leading economist Raghuram Rajan in June. In 2012 we are carrying on in the same vein with Nobel prize-winner Paul Krugman.
We have the incredible luxury of being able to work with total focus. Whereas other media have to be masters of all areas, we can focus on financial news. This focus helps us to engage our passion for quality journalism. Another unique feature is that there are two women in charge of our newspapers: Martine Maelschalck at L’Echo and Isabel Albers, who as editor-in-chief of De Tijd is the first woman to lead the editorial team of a Flemish newspaper.
Financial crisis or not, Mediafin ended 2011 with very respectable figures. We are doing well because our content is often directly relevant to our readers. Thanks to new initiatives, such as the glossy magazine Sabato and Mediafin Content Publishing, we have managed to maintain our advertising revenue. We want to keep it like this. After all, our financial independence is the greatest guarantee of journalistic independence. That's why we continue to be concerned about results in 2012.
Dirk Velghe
General Manager Mediafin
