Ringier returns to the publishers' association

Ringier will join the Swiss Media Publishers Association as a full member on May 1, 2022. The media company is thus returning to the publishers' association after a seven-year hiatus. Publisher President Dr. Pietro Supino is delighted with Ringier's decision: "We are very pleased that Ringier is returning to the Swiss Media Publishers Association. It underscores the industry's cohesion in shaping the fundamental framework for a continuing diverse Swiss media landscape."

To involve Ringier in the activities of the association, Ladina Heimgartner, Head Global Media & CEO Blick Group, will be proposed for election to the Presidium of the Publishers Association at the General Meeting in mid-September.

Ringier CEO Marc Walder justifies the re-entry: "The Swiss media industry must tackle the upcoming challenges with united forces. One of the most important initiatives is the introduction of a performance protection right that legally regulates the use of digital media content by tech intermediaries." And further: "Switzerland as a media location must remain competitive, and the diversity that is so typical and important for Switzerland must be preserved. This requires more industry alliances and industry solutions. The Swiss Media Association therefore has major challenges ahead of it. We are pleased to now be formally part of it again."

Due to differences surrounding the Admeira advertising alliance, which Ringier had entered into with SRG and Swisscom, Ringier left the VSM in August 2015. Ringier's return to the association, announced at the Epiphany meeting in January 2020, has not yet been completed. "Even though we were not formally members, we have worked together intensively and amicably over the past two years," said Marc Walder.