Heidi.news

Heidi Media SA, the company that publishes Heidi.news, was registered in Geneva in October 2017 as a public limited company active in publishing and related services.^[6] A Medium post by founding editor Serge Michel set out the concept in December 2018, presenting Heidi.news as a new Swiss digital media brand that would offer two main products: daily thematic "Flux" of news and analysis, and multi episode narrative investigations called "Explorations".^[4]

The site was launched on 2 May 2019. Four months later the Swiss news agency Keystone ATS reported that the outlet had already passed its target of 2,000 founding members, with more than 2,500 paying subscribers and a newsroom of about fifteen people based in Chêne-Bourg near Geneva.^[9] A company press release issued the same day described the first phase of development as successful and announced expansion into health coverage and new newsletters.^[10]

In December 2019 the Fondation Aventinus, a Geneva-based philanthropy created to support high quality autonomous media in French speaking Switzerland, subscribed 500,000 Swiss francs to a capital increase of Heidi Media SA. Coverage of the transaction in Blue News and other outlets emphasised that Heidi.news was independent, funded by readers, partnerships and philanthropic support, and operated without advertising.^[3] Aventinus later purchased the daily newspaper Le Temps from Ringier Axel Springer and announced its intention to bring both titles under a single structure.^[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Heidi.news experienced strong audience and subscription growth. An analysis by the European Journalism Observatory notes that unique visitors rose from around 65,000 to nearly one million between January and April 2020, while paid subscriptions doubled to about 5,000, helped by extensive coronavirus coverage and rapidly retooled newsletters.^[12] A case study published by the European Journalism Centre and Poynter as part of the "Resilience Reports" series similarly highlights how the outlet used member surveys and new products to expand into areas such as business and culture while maintaining a focus on science, health and education.^[13]

In May 2021 Le Temps SA, owned by the Fondation Aventinus, completed the acquisition of Heidi Media SA and its Heidi.news brand for 728,000 Swiss francs. Agefi reported that while the two titles would retain separate editorial teams and identities, they would share an editor-in-chief and back office structures for management, marketing and technology.^[7][14] A profile in the European media directory Eurotopics likewise describes Heidi.news as an independent online media outlet financed by subscriptions and integrated with Le Temps under Aventinus ownership.^[15]

From its launch, Heidi.news has positioned itself as a "media of precision" that gives priority to science and health reporting and draws heavily on academic expertise from Geneva-based international organizations and Swiss universities.^[4][9] The outlet's own descriptions and external profiles stress a rigorous, research based approach to information and an emphasis on constructive journalism that seeks to explain complex issues and point to possible solutions rather than focus on outrage or breaking news.^[5][2][16]

According to the Project Oasis directory, the newsroom of around fifteen journalists produces daily news, thematic newsletters and extensive reports and surveys mainly on science, environment, health, technology and education, with an editorial policy that favours in depth analysis and constructive perspectives.^[2] Academic and professional observers note that the outlet has experimented extensively with data journalism, newsletters and social video, as well as with youth oriented science content such as the "Pop Science" video series supported by foundations.^[12][13]

In 2023 Heidi.news announced an editorial charter on the use of generative artificial intelligence in the newsroom. An interview on the media industry site e-crossmedia describes the outlet as among the first in Europe to incorporate AI into its ethical guidelines, stressing transparency towards readers and continuity with traditional journalistic principles.^[17] The accompanying press release from Heidi Media SA sets out detailed rules on when AI tools may be used and insists that responsibility for content remains with human editors.^[18]

Heidi Media SA is registered in Geneva and has as its purpose the publication, marketing and distribution of media products both online and offline, as well as related services such as conferences and digital products.^[6] The initial share capital was largely held by the founders and a small group of individual investors, with additional support provided in 2019 by the Fondation Aventinus, which subscribed 5.81 percent of the capital for 500,000 Swiss francs.^[3][10]

Project Oasis and other media directories describe Heidi.news as a for profit but advertising free outlet whose main revenue comes from paid website subscriptions and the sale of printed "Explorations" revues, complemented by grants, content services and individual donations.^[2] The Aventinus Foundation states that its investments in Le Temps and Heidi.news are intended to support independent press and media in French speaking Switzerland, and that profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed.^[2][11]

In 2021 ownership of Heidi Media SA was transferred to Le Temps SA, which is wholly owned by the Fondation Aventinus. Agefi and Klein Report both note that while management, marketing and technology were merged with Le Temps, the brands Le Temps and Heidi.news maintain distinct editorial identities.^[7][11]

Heidi.news combines short form news and analysis with long form narrative investigations. Its early product structure, outlined by Serge Michel in 2018, was organised into thematic daily "Flux" and long running "Explorations" that are later published as printed revues under the label La revue des explorations.^[4][10] Topics have included the climate crisis, digital addiction, the Swiss media industry and conspiracy movements, among others.^[12] Some of these series are sold in bookstores, for example the 2020 exploration Au coeur de la complosphère, published as a 112-page volume by Heidi.news and bookseller Payot.^[19]

Newsletters play a central role in distribution. By late 2019 the outlet already offered a popular morning news briefing, Le Point du jour, and several thematic newsletters; during the pandemic it introduced products such as Le Point coronavirus and expanded its evening newsletters, which saw subscriber numbers multiply.^[9][12][13] A chapter in a 2024 academic book on newsletters cites Heidi.news as an example of a small newsroom using multiple email products to deepen engagement and convert readers into subscribers.^[20]

The site is accessible by subscription on the open web and through institutional licences provided by Swiss academic libraries. The cantonal and university library of Lausanne and the EPFL library both list Heidi.news as an independent Swiss online news and investigative media resource that is free of advertising and available on campus networks or via VPN.^[1][5] The social work and health library in Lausanne also presents it as a Romand online media outlet founded in 2019 that publishes daily articles on science, environment, health, work and education.^[16]

In addition to its core publishing activities, Heidi.news operates Heidi Solutions, a training and masterclass arm that offers in person sessions on topics such as cybersecurity and crypto assets, delivered jointly by staff journalists and external experts.^[21] This initiative is presented as a way to monetise editorial expertise while maintaining the main site's independence and ad free financing model.^[21][2]

Media researchers and industry observers have generally associated Heidi.news with the emerging sector of digital "pure players" in Swiss journalism that rely on reader revenue and offer in depth reporting rather than rolling news. A German language article in the media magazine Medienwoche in 2021 described Heidi.news as an independent online portal with a reputation for quality journalism among a highly educated readership, while noting that its paywalled, magazine like format made it a niche product compared with mass market outlets.^[22]

In the Media Quality Association's 2024 ranking of Swiss media, Heidi.news achieved a score of 76.8 points out of 100 in the main category that evaluates both expert assessed information quality and perceived quality among audiences, placing second overall behind the NZZ. The association's commentary, reported by ESA Partners and in Heidi.news own internal newsletter, described the Geneva-based site and the Zurich outlet Republik as bringing "a breath of fresh air" to the media landscape through long form articles based on high level research in politics, economics, society and culture.^[8][23]

International journalism organisations have cited Heidi.news as an example of how small, membership based outlets can innovate during crises. The European Journalism Centre and Poynter highlighted its rapid development of coronavirus related products and its use of member surveys to steer coverage, while the European Journalism Observatory pointed to Heidi.news as a case study in agile experimentation with newsletters, data journalism and social video formats.^[12][13]

A 2024 study by the University of Zurich's Research Center on the Public Sphere and Society (fög) into competition between public service and private media in Switzerland includes Heidi.news among the country's subscription based quality media brands. The study notes that such outlets reach audiences with above average interest in news and politics but does not attempt to place individual titles on a left–right political spectrum.^[24]