Circulation and readership have declined over the past years (see Fig. 1). Subscriptions have been stagnating, especially in Olten. In addition, the internet is increasingly used for retrieving current events.

In order to learn the reasons for dwindling subscriptions, a survey was conducted which resulted in the analyses of the ‘Stadt Olten’ and ‘Region Olten’ section of the ‘Oltner Tagblatt’ as well as various online news-sites.

Based on the main discoveries, suggestions for attracting new subscribers have been prepared. Firstly, the ‘Stadt Olten’ and ‘Region Olten’ section should be enlarged as it is considered to be underrepresented. Secondly, the respondents think that the majority of the articles are merely transferring information with barely any elaboration. Hence, more comprehensive articles as well as weekly columns would enhance this part of the newspaper. Furthermore, an increase in staff-produced articles is advisable as currently only about 40 % are own contributions. Thirdly, an ‘Oltner Tagblatt’ news-site could gain a new audience and give the possibility for a paid content concept for special features. The site would have to contain value-added features and services such as news ticker, ability to comment on articles, archives, RSS-Feeds, social media as well as Apps. Lastly, the e-paper should be offered independently of the print edition and at a cheaper rate.