1893

A completely new political situation was created in Zurich on 1 January 1893: 11 independent communities around the current city centre were declared to be parts of the city. Consequently, Zurich became a large city from one day to the next with a population in which a greater share of working class people was included due to industrialization. German newspaper publisher Wilhelm Girardet (picture) and former NZZ editor Fritz Walz took advantage of the situation created by the new sociological structure and the liberal spirit of the era. They founded Wilhelm Girardet & Co. together with Hugo Isenburg and Fritz Furrer as partners. Hugo Isenburg became the first managing director in Zurich.
The first edition of the Tages-Anzeiger was published on 2 March 1893. In the format of a general newspaper which counted 16 pages, it had a circulation of more than 43,000 copies. This was a large circulation with informative and politically neutral text, a large number of ads and low subscription prices. The company employed 15 people at that time: managing director, editors, typesetters, printers and women for equipment and distribution.
The paper was published by distributing it free throughout the complete month of March. A subscription was required starting on 30 March at the price of 50 centimes per month. After two months the Tages-Anzeiger had already gained 25,000 paying subscribers.

1899

The company is renamed Girardet, Walz & Co. Girardet’s son, Wilhelm jr. becomes the new managing director. The circulation and size of the newspaper increases year by year, and various technical innovations had already become necessary. This in turn requires a larger building. Expanding the rented building is first considered, but soon the idea of a new building takes hold. An industrial property on the banks of the river Sihl was purchased. This laid the foundation for the later main office at Werdstrasse 21.

1902

Move into the new building. It provides space for all business divisions including the printing works.

1904

The illustration of a daily newspaper is a rather difficult technical problem at the turn of the century. Consequently, management launches a weekly supplement to the Tages-Anzeiger, called Zeitbilder (Images of the Time). It is considered a complement to the printed word and can be seen as a predecessor of the later Tages-Anzeiger Magazin, first published in 1970.

1905

The 34-year-old Otto Coninx marries Berta Girardet, the daughter of the newspaper publisher Wilhelm Girardet. Otto Coninx is an editor at a newspaper for mining technology. Because Wilhelm Girardet urgently needs his son in his publishing companies, he looks for a successor for the company in Zurich. He selects his son-in-law, who has journalistic experience although he does not have any publishing experience. With the appointment of Otto Coninx to Zurich, the name Coninx begins a relationship with the Tages-Anzeiger that lasts for generations.

1912

The limited commercial partnership Girardet, Walz & Co. is converted into a stock corporation, which is made possible by the new, revised Swiss Code of Obligations.

1918

Wilhelm Girardet sen. dies. The confusion of World War I also influences the Tages-Anzeiger. Circulation, which had reached 84,000 copies in 1917, decreases substantially in the following years, which were strongly characterized by social tension.
The Tages-Anzeiger has existed for 25 years by now. Instead of an anniversary party, which would have been inappropriate after the terrible years of war, the loan and aid fund for employees and the support fund for newsgirls were created.

1923

Fritz Walz, one of the founders and editor of the Tages-Anzeiger retires. The newspaper experiences a boom again starting in 1922, and its circulation and size begin to increase again slowly.

1926

The company, which was a German one until then, becomes a purely Swiss stock corporation. Otto Coninx-Girardet was able to gradually acquire the stocks of his father-in-law over the previous years. He becomes also a Swiss citizen.

1927

The subsidiary Regina-Verlag AG is founded. The publishing rights of the magazine Das Schweizer Heim, launched in 1904, are acquired. Consequently, the publishing company expands its operations beyond those of the Tages-Anzeiger.

1928

The company acquires a rotogravure printing press to better be able to print the weekly supplement Zeitbilder. The circulation of the Tages-Anzeiger exceeds 90,000 copies.