Start of the Publishers' Congress 2006: The statements
On Thursday afternoon, the annual Swiss press conference—known as the Publishers’ Congress—kicked off in St. Moritz at the five-star Hotel Kulm with a light welcome reception. *Werbewoche* spoke with the publishers and is sharing photos from the event.
The annual congress of the Swiss press, known as the Publishers' Congress, kicked off on Thursday lunchtime in St. Moritz at the five-star Hotel Kulm with a small welcome snack. This was followed by the members' meeting before Publisher President Hanspeter Lebrument officially opened the congress with his speech at Badrutt's Palace in the evening. The event concluded with a rustic and informal evening in the Chesa Veglia.
Werbewoche asked some of the guests about their expectations for this year's congress: Hanspeter Lebrument, President of the Publishers Association and owner of the Southeast Swiss media conglomerate: "I suspect that this year's congress will be rather quiet, because the big debates, such as on radio and television or press promotion, have been passed on to politicians as proposals." We don't yet know what the outcome will be, and of course Lebrument also expects one or two surprising questions to be asked at the congress. And he was absolutely right, because at the members' meeting following the welcome lunch, Brienz publisher Urs Gossweiler fired a few broadsides at the President. Gossweiler, who likes to play the role of the white knight of small publishers, accused the Executive Committee of one-sidedness.
Daniel Strobel, CEO of Publimedia, expects open-minded discussions about the upcoming problems, especially in the print media, and refers to the ongoing discussions about the online problem regarding the discrepancy in volumes, not in terms of content, but financially. Strobel concludes his statement by emphasizing the value of print media; efforts that concern not only Switzerland, but Europe as a whole.
Christoph Ackermann, member of the WOZ Executive Board and attending the Publishers' Congress for the first time, is naturally expecting a very positive before-and-after contact balance thanks to his premiere. Ackermann has no precise idea what to expect during the meeting. "But I am looking forward to a large number of inspiring encounters," concludes Ackermann.
Urs Schnider, Editor-in-Chief of Media Trend Journal, expects many good and informal discussions, not least because of the article "Endgame for daily newspapers" in the September issue of Media Trend Journal, which caused quite a stir in some quarters. "I'm curious to see what other people have to say about it," says Schnider. And last but not least, he is of course attending because of Matthias Luchsinger's party.
Werbewoche asked some of the guests about their expectations for this year's congress: Hanspeter Lebrument, President of the Publishers Association and owner of the Southeast Swiss media conglomerate: "I suspect that this year's congress will be rather quiet, because the big debates, such as on radio and television or press promotion, have been passed on to politicians as proposals." We don't yet know what the outcome will be, and of course Lebrument also expects one or two surprising questions to be asked at the congress. And he was absolutely right, because at the members' meeting following the welcome lunch, Brienz publisher Urs Gossweiler fired a few broadsides at the President. Gossweiler, who likes to play the role of the white knight of small publishers, accused the Executive Committee of one-sidedness.
Daniel Strobel, CEO of Publimedia, expects open-minded discussions about the upcoming problems, especially in the print media, and refers to the ongoing discussions about the online problem regarding the discrepancy in volumes, not in terms of content, but financially. Strobel concludes his statement by emphasizing the value of print media; efforts that concern not only Switzerland, but Europe as a whole.
Christoph Ackermann, member of the WOZ Executive Board and attending the Publishers' Congress for the first time, is naturally expecting a very positive before-and-after contact balance thanks to his premiere. Ackermann has no precise idea what to expect during the meeting. "But I am looking forward to a large number of inspiring encounters," concludes Ackermann.
Urs Schnider, Editor-in-Chief of Media Trend Journal, expects many good and informal discussions, not least because of the article "Endgame for daily newspapers" in the September issue of Media Trend Journal, which caused quite a stir in some quarters. "I'm curious to see what other people have to say about it," says Schnider. And last but not least, he is of course attending because of Matthias Luchsinger's party.
