The production of an article at “Republik” costs around 6,000 francs. (Symbol image: M. Winkler / pixabay)
The online medium “Republic”, which has existed since 2017, made a loss again in the past financial year. The output is also poor.
The left-wing online media “Republic” is on its deathbed. No goat will eat that away.
Overall view is important
Who in the Annual report 2023/2024 Look at the one that was just published, it almost makes you sick.
“Thanks to prudent spending planning, Republik AG can close its seventh financial year almost in the black,” it says in the introduction.
But, as is almost always the case with this complex media company, that is only half the truth when you look at the overall figures.
Patrons give a lot of money
Since its founding in 2017, “Republic” has consisted of a stock corporation and a cooperative.
“The consolidated annual financial statements have special features that are difficult for non-accountants to understand,” writes the political medium right at the beginning of the annual financial statements themselves.
The business model is very simple – journalists produce articles and readers pay subscriptions or patrons give the project a lot of money.
Exorbitant Costs
Revenue from membership fees, subscriptions and donations fell by a high 43 percent to 3.6 million francs in the last financial year.
Although the expenditure fell from 8.1 to around 6.5 million francs, it is still far too high.
After an operating loss of 1.6 million francs in the 2022/2023 financial year This time the result was a deficit of almost 3 million francs.
A closer look at a financial year
The main reason behind the big drop in income is the expiring tax ruling, which stipulated that membership fees should be recorded in equity for five years during the development phase.
They are now normal sales and lead to accrual of around 2.5 million francs because the memberships extend beyond the balance sheet date.
This is actually a normal process because companies have to defer income that falls into the next financial year.
However, the auditor BDO has apparently not insisted on this so far.
De facto equity as a new term
“This change was made on the basis of the new tax ruling from September 10, 2024,” but it was already stated in the annual financial statements as of June 2024.
“The cooperative’s equity is still 83,715 francs, that of Republik AG is minus 2,195,359 francs,” those responsible said about the over-indebtedness situation.
The generous donors of the “Republic”. (Screenshot: muula.ch)
However, it will be covered by loans with subordination in the amount of 2,411,434 francs, resulting in de facto equity of 216,075 francs, it said, thus saving “Republic” from having to deposit its balance sheet in court.
“Republic AG ended the financial year with a very small loss of 7,136 francs. The annual result of the Project R cooperative is minus 2,019,941 francs,” was the conclusion of the million-dollar loss.
Only two articles a month
Regarding its journalistic work, the left-wing medium stated that it had produced exactly 1,104 articles within a year with an average of 36 full-time positions.
This results in an average of around 30 articles per person per year, which means that everyone receives two to three articles per month.
Last year, things didn’t look much better with around 42 full-time employees. The output in 2022/2023 was 1295 articles including newsletters etc., which roughly amounts to 31 articles per person per year or 2.6 articles per month on average per employee.
Around 6,000 francs per contribution
However, “Republic” struggled with allegations of sexual harassment in the past financial year and had to deal with the whole thing. There probably isn’t much time left to write articles.
The rescuers of the online medium, who granted the subordination loans of around 2.4 million francs, are listed by name.
They deserve thanks because they voluntarily stand behind all creditors.
But no one can ignore the fact that the costs for the meager output are far too high. If you divide the effort by the number of articles in a year, an article costs readers around 6,000 francs.
11.11.2024/kut.
