Süddeutsche Zeitung chooses Atex Content Management System

Vienna, Austria— Süddeutsche Zeitung, a leading German newspaper with a daily average readership of 1.16 million readers and a sold circulation of more than 440,000 daily copies, chooses the Atex content management system. The Atex solution, which integrates both the print and Web content management functions, will provide the technical foundation for Süddeutsche Zeitung to establish a media convergent work environment for its print and online editorial departments.

The new Atex system enables editors of both the print and online products to work within a common user interface to research and produce content for all products regardless of the channel. This common platform allows for elements like text, photos, audio, videos and graphics to be available for every channel at any time. Furthermore, the planning and production process for the different publication channels shall be made as transparent as possible, and the level of collaboration will be effectively increased.

“An important aspect of the decision for Atex was the fact that a simple update of our existing print editorial system gives us cross-media workflows and a close gearing with Web content management,” says Christian Krügel, Managing editor of Süddeutschen Zeitung. “Now the editorial department can use the advantages of media convergent workflows to concentrate on quality journalism and not be burdened by increased technical work.”

The fully integrated Atex Cross-Media Content Management platform for Süddeutsche Zeitung, will include modern modules for the publishing of print products, a completely new Web CMS, as well as a new delivery platform for the online portal “sueddeutsche.de“. In addition, a set of Web 2.0 features like content ratings, voting, Web alerts, RSS feeds, blogs, forums, photo galleries, user management and taxonomy driven navigation will be delivered with the project. The solution will be implemented as a set of standard modules, resulting in a short implementation timeframe.

“The integration of the Atex Polopoly Web CMS was important to us,” says Carsten Matthäus, Managing Editor of sueddeutsche.de. “Polopoly addresses the needs of our complex and high-reaching online portal regarding production safety, functionality and flexibility.”

The Atex Polopoly solution supports the advancement of integrated and continuous news desks for print and online that SZ has successfully implemented in the past. Moreover, it provides freedom to print and online editors to implement improved and optimized workflows across all publication channels, enhance organizational models and adapt them to the requirements of multimedia markets.

“With Atex, we have found an economical and technical way to fulfill our ambitious goals, based on well-established, modern, and standard systems and within a short project timeframe,” says Johannes Vogel, Manager of production and IT-Strategy of Süddeutsche Zeitung. “After completing this project we will be well-positioned to dynamically master all challenges regarding the publication of our products in our present and future media channels.”

About Süddeutsche Zeitung and sueddeutsche.de
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche Zeitung, with a sold circulation of more than 440,000 daily copies (IVW, II./2009), has been the number one daily national newspapers in Germany for several years. At the same time, with a readership averaging about 1.16 million readers daily, according to Media-Analyses (ag.ma) 2009 Daily Newspapers, it is by far the most read title in this segment. The continuous success of SZ, especially the permanent increase in distribution is also reflected in the judgment of the specialized public: The actual study of media researcher Prof. Weischenberg on "Journalism in Germany II" sees Süddeutsche Zeitung as the leading media for German journalists.

sueddeutsche.de
With 23.4 million visits (IVWonline September 2009), sueddeutsche.de is the online market leader among German quality newspapers. Based on strong market position and tight editorial collaboration between Print and Online, sueddeutsche.de has high expectations regarding media convergence, system stability and distribution reliability. Due to pressure for innovation and competition, the Web CMS needs to allow for high-speed development.