Google and free content topic at publishers' congress

 
Internet giant Google remained an important topic at the Publishers' Congress on Friday. In his presentation, Google Switzerland CEO Andreas Schönenberger explained that his company wanted to make information available worldwide, anytime and anywhere. He called on publishers to "set windmills against the wind instead of building walls" in stormy times. Publisher Association President Hanspeter Lebrument also took up the topic in his speech and concluded by saying that Google would have nothing to put on the Internet if all the newspapers and media did not exist. However, an audience member from the plenary session pointed out that the search engine company had made publishers an offer and that they should stop ignoring Google's power.In the panel discussion on Friday morning with Martin Kall (Tamedia), Norbert Neininger (Meier + Cie. Schaffhausen), Christian Müller (Vogt-Schild Medien), Ralph Büchi (Handelszeitung and Jean Frey), Hans-Peter Rohner (Publigroupe) and Filippo Leutenegger (moderator), free newspapers were an important topic of discussion. Most publishers declared this form of journalistic service to be legitimate, even if Christian Müller from Vogt-Schild Medien opposed this thesis, although he was rebuffed by his colleagues. However, the publishers agreed that all media are needed and all have their justification. In his speech, Lebrument could not resist pointing out that various electronic media companies, such as TV stations, had disappeared from the market. Press publishers, on the other hand, had managed to steer their subscription newspapers safely through all the storms and establish themselves as publishers of electronic media.