The number of newspapers in Switzerland was 406 before World War I. It was reduced to 257 in 1995 and 197 in 2010. Prior to the 18th century, the Swiss press market was small, being limited to the elites who were literate, though development varied by region and language. The authorities of the Cantons of Switzerland also censored the press, which mostly prevented newspapers from reporting many aspects of local and confederal news. Due to the influence of the Enlightenment this began to change in the 1730s. The Helvetic Republic proclaimed national freedom of the press, but soon after censorship by the government increased again. The Tagsatzung made efforts to unify cantonal censorship practices through several decrees relating to the press and foreigners, which renewed efforts to get freedom of the press. This was achieved during the restoration period, after which a politically active press became present in all the linguistic regions of the country. Most papers then served to politically propagandize, even when operating as a loss. Press later became commercial, first in Francophone Switzerland in the 1870s, followed by German-speaking Switzerland in the 1890s; Italian-speaking Switzerland only did the same towards the end of the 20th century.

Switzerland has a high rate of newspaper reading, even with the creation of electronic media. The Francophone press market was, for several generations, dominated by Edipresse (Lausanne, which owned most of the dailies) and Ringier (Zurich, owned most of the magazines), but new competition arrived in the 21st century. Edipresse's Swiss operations were in 2009 bought out by Tamedia (Zurich; now TX Group). The country was ranked 9th in the yearly Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders in 2024.

Current German language The leading German-language papers in Switzerland are Blick, Tages-Anzeiger, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and Basler Zeitung. NameEstablishedOwnerCityCantonOccurrence 20 Minuten 1999 TX Group Zurich Canton of ZurichDaily Baslerstab 1977 Basler Zeitung Medien BaselBasel-StadtDaily Aargauer Zeitung 1996 AZ Medien Gruppe AarauCanton of AargauDaily 1828 CH MediaSt. Gallen Appenzell Ausserrhoden/Appenzell InnerrhodenDaily Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (bz) 1832 Luedin LiestalBasel-LandschaftDaily Basler Zeitung (BaZ) 1977 Basler Zeitung Medien BaselBasel-StadtDaily Berner Zeitung 1979 Espace Media Groupe/TX Group BernCanton of BernDaily Bieler Tagblatt 1850 Gassmann AG Biel/BienneCanton of BernDaily Blick 1959 Ringier ZurichCanton of ZurichDailyBote der Urschweiz1858Triner familySchwyzCanton of SchwyzDailyBote vom Untersee und Rhein1900Keller familySteckbornCanton of ThurgauTwice weekly Der Bund 1850 TX Group BernCanton of BernDaily1894Gammeter Media AG St. MoritzCanton of the GrisonsThrice weekly1928TX GroupZurichCanton of ZurichWeekly 1904 Freiburger Nachrichten AGFribourg Canton of FribourgDailyHandelszeitung1861Axel Springer SEZurichCanton of ZurichWeeklyDer Landbote1836Ziegler Druck und Verlags AGWinterthurCanton of ZurichDailyLimmattaler Zeitung1972AZ MedienDietikonCanton of ZurichDaily Luzerner Zeitung1996 CH MediaLucerneCanton of LucerneDaily Neue Zürcher Zeitung 1780 NZZ Mediengruppe ZurichCanton of ZurichDailyNeue Liewo1993Liechtensteiner VaterlandWerdenbergCanton of St. GallenWeeklyNidwaldner Zeitung1866CH MediaCanton of NidwaldenDaily1983SomediaLenzerheideCanton of the GrisonsWeeklyObersee Nachrichten1981Zürcher Regionalzeitungen AGRapperswilCanton of St. GallenWeeklySonntagsZeitung2009TX GroupWeeklySt. Galler Tagblatt1839St. Galler Tagblatt AGSt. GallenCanton of St. GallenDailySolothurner Zeitung1878AZ MedienCanton of SolothurnThrice weekly Die Südostschweiz 1997 SomediaChurCanton of the GrisonsDaily1730TX GroupZurichCanton of ZurichWeekly Tages-Anzeiger1893 TX Group ZurichCanton of ZurichDaily TagesWoche 2011 Neue Medien Basel AG BaselBasel-StadtWeekly/Online Tessiner Zeitung 1908 Rezzonico Editore SALocarnoCanton of TicinoWeekly Thurgauer Zeitung 1798 Thurgauer Medien AG St. GallenCanton of St. GallenDailyWalliser Bote1840Mengis Druck & Verlag BrigCanton of ValaisDailyWatson2014CH MediaN/AN/AOnline WOZ Die Wochenzeitung 1981 Genossenschaft infolink ZurichCanton of ZurichWeeklyZuger Zeitung1991CH MediaZugCanton of ZugDailyZürcher Oberländer1852Zürcher Oberland Medien AGWetzikonCanton of ZurichDailyZürcher Unterländer1852TA Medien AGBülachCanton of ZurichDaily Zürichsee-Zeitung 1845 Zürcher Regionalzeitungen AGStäfaCanton of ZurichDaily

French language The leading Francophone papers in Switzerland are 24 heures, Tribune de Genève, La Liberté, and Le Temps. Prior to 1830, the press was limited, largely due to government censorship which made covering political topics difficult. There were a few political newspapers, but they usually had short lifespans, in addition to some opinion papers. Due to the increased freedoms in the post 1830 period, the amount of newspapers dramatically increased. From 1870 to 1910, there was also a large increase in local Francophone papers, whereas before there were largely only papers for cantonal capitals and cities. There was also a cantonal press, with more professional journalism and with a larger format (also with access to news agencies). Many such papers were expressly political and partisan; in contrast there was a more neutral press, like the Tribune de Genève, L'Impartial, and , which were successful.

In this period the only papers with multiple canton circulation were the Tribune de Genève, Journal de Genève, and the Gazette de Lausanne. Toward the end of the 19th century, the Francophone press became increasingly commercialized, which resulted in tension between the cantonal and local news (who often took from the cantonal press for their information), and several journalist associations were created at the turn of the century. From 1910 to the mid-1950s there was a steady number of papers, with about 110. During the 1970s there was a decline in titles, with mergers and closers, resulting in part from changes in advertising. The company Lousonna, later Edipresse, became increasingly dominant and would later own a large portion of the industry. It competed with Tamedia (TX Group), which acquired its Swiss operations in 2009. NameEstablishedOwnerCityCantonOccurrence 20 minutes 2006 TX Group Daily 24 heures1762 TX Group LausanneCanton of VaudDailyL'Ajoie2014L'Ajoie Editions SAPorrentruyCanton of JuraWeeklyArcInfo2018ESH MédiasNeuchâtelCanton of NeuchâtelDailyLes Afriques2007Les Afriques Editions et Communication SAGenevaCanton of GenevaWeekly 1950 Agefi Groupe SA Échandens Canton of VaudTwice weeklyBlick1959RingierZurichCanton of ZurichDailyLa Côte1987ESH MédiasNyonCanton of VaudDailyLe Confédéré1861Journal le Confédéré SAMartignyCanton of ValaisWeekly Le Courrier1868 Nouvelle association du CourrierGenevaCanton of GenevaDaily 1933 Fédération des Entreprises Romandes GenèveGenevaCanton of GenevaBimonthly"La FER repart au front pour les entreprises", Tribune de Genève, 22 January 2010La Gruyère1882 St-Paul Médias SAFribourgCanton of FribourgThrice weeklyLa Broye Hebdo1999 St-Paul Médias SAPayerneCanton of Fribourg; Canton of VaudWeekly Journal du Jura1871 Gassmann AGBiel/BienneCanton of BernDailyJournal de Morges1894MorgesCanton of VaudWeeklyJournal de Sierre1931ESH MédiasSierreCanton of ValaisTwice monthly1989Château-d'ŒxCanton of VaudWeeklyLa Liberté1871 St-Paul Médias SAFribourgCanton of FribourgDaily Le Matin1893 TX GroupLausanneCanton of VaudDaily Le Nouvelliste1903 ESH MédiasSionCanton of ValaisDailyLe Nord Vaudois2025ESH MédiasYverdon-les-BainsCanton of VaudWeeklyNouvelle revue1868LausanneCanton of VaudMonthly Le Quotidien Jurassien1993Editions D+P SADelémontCanton of JuraDaily Le Temps1998 Fondation AventinusGenevaCanton of GenevaDaily Tribune de Genève1879 TX GroupGenevaCanton of GenevaDailyWatson2014CH MediaN/AN/AOnline

Italian language Journalism in Ticino declined during the period of Napoleon's rule, due to French influence and suppression. Following the restoration there was a resurgence. NameEstablishedOwnerCityCantonOccurrenceL'Avvenire dei Lavoratori1897ZurichCanton of ZurichQuarterly Corriere del Ticino 1891 Fondazione per il Corriere del Ticino MuzzanoCanton of TicinoDaily Giornale del Popolo 1926 Nuova Società Editrice del Giornale del Popolo SA LuganoCanton of TicinoDailyIl Grigione Italiano1852PoschiavoCanton of the GrisonsWeekly laRegione 1992 Giacomo Salvioni BellinzonaCanton of TicinoDaily 20 Minuti 2011 TX Group Daily

Romansh language Romansh language press has only existed since the 19th century, with the singular exception of the paper, founded in 1700. As the language is divided into five different written forms and the Grisons are divided by Christian denomination, the papers created reflected this linguistic and religious diversity. Papers were regional, mostly weekly or twice weekly and largely had low print runs. In 1997, all Romansh papers besides and / Posta Ladina were absorbed into the paper La Quotidiana, the first daily Romansh newspaper. NameEstablishedOwnerCityCantonOccurrence1945Canton of the GrisonsLa Quotidiana1997SomediaChurCanton of the GrisonsDaily / Posta Ladina1894Gammeter Media AGCanton of the Grisons

Other languages NameOwnerEstablishedCityCantonLanguageOccurrenceBota SotMazrekaj Media1995Zurich (formerly; now published in Kosovo)Canton of ZurichAlbanianDailyLe NewsLe News Sàrl2013LausanneCanton of VaudEnglishTwice weekly

Defunct

German language