Community Journalism

Tsüri.ch encapsulates its collaboration with the community under the term "Civic Media."

The cornerstone of community engagement is events, with Tsüri.ch hosting approximately 30 annually. These events typically revolve around focus months, during which the editorial team delves deeply into a specific topic, such as the housing market's tense situation or the climate crisis. Event formats range from larger panel discussions to smaller, interactive gatherings. For instance, the Tsüri.ch pitch night features experts presenting their insights on the focus month's theme to an audience, while smaller interactive formats like the "Seedling exchange market" facilitate community participation, allowing individuals to exchange seedlings during the Climate focus Month. As detailed in the Revenue Streams/Finance section, events are monetized primarily through sponsorship and partnerships. However, Jacoby emphasizes that maintaining a non-commercial atmosphere is paramount to ensure continued community engagement. "If that were to happen, no one would come anymore. The content is always the focus, and we can then commercialize the whole thing."

The Tsüri.ch community actively contributes to journalistic endeavors, participating in crowd-investigations such as "Who owns Seefeld?" where residents shared information about landlords to increase transparency in the housing market. Smaller formats like the "Wednesday question" invite community input, such as recommendations for the best Thai restaurant in the city, which the editorial team then transforms into listicles for the broader audience.

According to Jacoby, the core Tsüri.ch community comprises the 1,700 paying members, along with other individuals who attend events without financial contributions. Additionally, there's a growing number of attendees who frequent events regardless of the topic. Overall, Jacoby estimates the total engagement with Tsüri.ch, encompassing paying members, social media interactions, and event participation, to be around 5,000 individuals.

To maintain connections with its members, Tsüri.ch periodically sends out a member newsletter containing event invitations.

Nearly one-third of Tsüri.ch's staff is dedicated to community engagement, with three employees overseeing all aspects of Civic Media.