BBC Farsi: Iranian reporters arrested

Five local reporters working for the BBC Farsi news channel have been arrested in Iran. The reporters were in the process of filming documentaries for the BBC's Farsi-language program.

They did not have permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do so. According to state media on Monday, the journalists were taken into custody by security forces on Saturday. Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini confirmed the arrest of the reporters, as reported by the Isna agency according to SDA.

In Iran, the BBC's Farsi channel is received via satellite and accused by the Iranian government of broadcasting "anti-revolutionary programs". For this reason, the Iranian regime does not issue filming permits in Iran. Culture Minister Hosseini went on to say that BBC Farsi was causing problems and that all reporters working in Iran should not work for the broadcaster.

According to the SDA, the Minister of Culture is responsible for the accreditation of Iranian reporters working for foreign media in the Islamic Republic. Foreign media are not allowed to work in Iran without approval from the ministry. Work has become difficult for foreign media reporters, especially since the controversial presidential election in 2009.
 

Supertext: Five-year anniversary celebrated

Last Thursday, Supertext hosted a celebration for its 5th anniversary at its offices in Zürich West. The copywriting and translation agency went online on February 1, 2006.

The birth of the agency was celebrated with clients and partners, 14 kg of Argentinian beef, 60 empanadas, 189 bottles of Superbräu and 289 Scrabble letters. The agency now employs 10 permanent staff and has a freelance pool of more than 300 contracted authors, copywriters, editors, proofreaders, translators and clients such as Swissmilk, Ovomaltine, Ochsner Sport, Coca-Cola, Hirslanden, Toshiba, Billag, Migros Kulturprozent, as well as agencies such as Wirz, KSB, Unic and Burson-Marsteller.
 

Forster Ehrler: Competition for Muotathal weather prophets

Forster Ehrler has launched a new campaign for Edelweiss Air. The campaign focuses on beach lovers in Mauritius, the Maldives, and Cape Town.

The home of the weather forecasters is also the focus of Edelweiss Air's offerings this winter season. Unlike their famous colleagues from the Muotathal valley, they don't get their information from pine cones, field mice or marmots. Instead, they observe sand ants, bananas and meerkats. With over 99 percent correct forecasts, their accuracy rate is significantly higher than that of the Muotathal weather forecasters, whose accuracy varies between 40 and 80 percent depending on the year and prophet. However, the Edelweiss Air weather forecasters have it a little easier: where they are based, it is consistently sunny and warm from September to April.

About the film

Responsible at Edelweiss Air: Peter Spring (CCO), Corinne Römer (Marketing Manager), Monika Blaser (Marketing). Responsible at Forster Ehrler: Hélène Forster, Stefan Ehrler (CD), Alain Orlow (consultant). Film production: Condor Films. Directed by: Data vortex.
 

Last but not least: Economiesuisse unimpressed by social media activists?

Economiesuisse has ended its campaign against the CO2 Act and removed the list of supporting companies and associations published online on Friday. The social media activists see this as a success on their part.

The decision of the umbrella organization would have been noted with great satisfaction. Andreas Freimüller from Kampagnenforum.ch stated this in a communiqué on Monday. He had been at the forefront of the protest campaign against the list, which was mainly carried out on the social network Facebook. He sees the fact that the list has now been taken offline as Economiesuisse's reaction to the decisions taken in recent weeks by outdoor company Mammut and telecoms provider Sunrise to have their names removed from the list. The two companies had responded to the massive online protests on their Facebook company pages.
However, Economiesuisse has other reasons for removing the list, which until recently still included over 200 companies and associations. The removal had nothing to do with the social media activists, campaign manager Ursula Fräfel told the news agency SDA on Monday. The campaign had been conducted from the outset with a view to the fall session and was limited in time. The National Council has already made two important decisions regarding the CO2 Act: The abolition of the fuel levy and the limitation of the climate cap to 5 centimes. As it has decided in favor of Economiesuisse in both cases, the business umbrella organization therefore considers the campaign with the list of opponents of the CO2 Act to have been successful and thus concluded, said Fräfel.
And since the campaign is over for Economiesuisse, the umbrella organization probably thought it would be wisest to take the list off the net before even more opponents of the CO2 Act are exposed to "Facebook agitation" and, like Mammut, later meekly turn tail.
 

Marco Rima becomes TCS brand ambassador

The TCS has signed Marco Rima as its brand ambassador. The comedian will introduce the Swiss mobility club’s range of services to a wide audience.

To kick things off, six short films starring Marco Rima in the role of TCS ambassador will be broadcast every weekend from October. He takes a critical look at the "real" TCS experts, as the TCS writes in a press release on Presseportal.ch. The short films will be broadcast nationwide on SRG stations.

The supporting roles in the film are also prominently cast. Marco Rima is on the road in his Citroën Légère, the classic vintage car that the car enthusiast also drives privately. Further campaigns in the role of the ambassador are currently being planned for winter.
 

Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL: Advertising alliance planned

Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL apparently plan to collaborate on Internet advertising. The goal is to keep market leader Google in check.

According to media reports, managers of the three companies presented the plans to economically influential portal operators at a dinner. According to Allthingsd.com, the cooperation involves the remarketing of advertising banners among themselves that a marketer has not sold.
 

Last but not least: "Naked Sea" campaign

U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick, known for his projects featuring naked crowds, gathered a thousand people for his latest project to take nude photographs. The photos were taken on the Israeli shore of the Dead Sea.

The "Naked Sea Project" is part of a campaign to have the Dead Sea recognized as a natural wonder of the world. Votes can be cast online on November 11. The Dead Sea is 417 meters below sea level, making it the lowest point in the world. Due to the use of water from the Jordan River to irrigate farmland, the level of the Dead Sea has been falling for years.
Unless urgent action is taken, it could disappear completely by 2050.
The participants in the project were aged between 18 and 77 and were predominantly male. This was reported by the Jerusalem Post newspaper at the weekend, according to SDA. The volunteers came together on a beach for the photo project. It had already caused criticism in Israel in the run-up to the event. Orthodox rabbis and politicians warned of "Sodom and Gomorrah" and threatened to take legal action to prevent the project. The Jewish artist commented on this to the media: "Whether his projects are accepted shows the degree of openness and tolerance of a country. If a country allows nude art, it proves to be open, progressive and committed.

In recent years, Spencer Tunick has already gathered thousands of naked people for his "body landscapes" for projects in Sydney, New York, London, Barcelona and Vienna, as well as on the Aletsch Glacier. He photographed the largest nude crowd to date with 18,000 volunteers in
Mexico City.
 

Santésuisse loses two communications professionals

Two communications professionals are leaving Santésuisse. Felix Schneuwly, the former media director and current delegate for public affairs, is leaving the health insurance umbrella organization. The current press officer, Françoise Tschanz, is also leaving with him.

The resignations are effective immediately. Both have decided to make a fresh start in their careers, Santésuisse wrote in a press release on Friday. The health insurance association cites the ongoing reorganization in the Policy and Communication department and the appointment of the new head of department, Urs Pfenninger, as the reason for this. He comes from the Federal Office of Public Health and will take up his post in November.

According to santésuisse director Stefan Kaufmann, Schneuwly and Tschanz resigned themselves.
 

Highlight to acquire majority stake in Escor

Highlight Communications plans to acquire a majority stake in the Freiburg-based slot machine and gaming group Escor. The film and sports marketing company already holds 31.3 percent of the voting rights and shares in Escor.

The company is offering CHF 17.5 per share that is still in circulation. The offer is thus 9.4 percent higher than the closing price of Escor shares on Thursday. This was announced by Highlight on Friday morning. $

The media group's aim is to acquire 50.01% of Escor shares. The offer period will reportedly begin on October 10 and is expected to end on November 4. The company, which is listed on the German stock exchange, sees opportunities to expand Escor's entertainment offering. It intends to contribute its own expertise. Highlight also intends to support the strategic realignment announced by Escor.

Escor, based in Düdingen, slipped deep into the red in the first half of 2011. According to SDA, the consolidated loss amounted to CHF 3.88 million. In the same period of the previous year, Escor had posted a profit of 460,000 francs.
 

Swisscom Business Award: Three companies honored

At this year's Swisscom Business Award, the companies Gossweiler Media, Otto Fischer, and E-Service AG were honored. The award recognizes companies and institutions that have implemented solutions in the field of communications and information technology.

The award was presented in three categories: Services (Gossweiler Media ), Retail & Logistics (Otto Fischer) and Construction & Industry (E-Service). The special prize for sustainability went to Logifleet. The prize, worth a total of CHF 100,000, was awarded on Thursday in Zurich, as announced by Swisscom.

The Swisscom Business Award recognizes companies and institutions that have implemented pioneering solutions in information and communication technology with demonstrable business benefits, according to the press release.
 

Edipresse: Buyback program terminated

The publishing house Edipresse officially ended the share buyback program launched in October 2010 via a second trading line as of October 12, 2011.

However, no transaction has been made since November 12, 2010. This writes Edipresse in a statement on Thursday evening. As previously announced, Edipresse shares will be delisted on October 20. Officially, the second trading line will remain open until October 12, 2011, but Edipresse will not make any further purchases, the statement added.

Originally, the buyback program was set to run until October 12, 2013, Swissinfo.ch writes. However, due to the merger of Edipresse Switzerland and Tamedia, the Lamunière family of owners launched a public offer to buy back the publicly held shares in May 2011.
 

Stable Mach figures for free newspapers

The figures for the free weekly newspapers distributed to households stand out in the latest Mach study. Once again, they prove to be extremely stable.

The German-language titles of the Swiss Association of Free Newspapers (VSGZ) in particular are shining with constant reach and readership figures. This was stated by its president Thomas Akermann in a press release on Friday. In the short term, no significant deviations are discernible; the contact totals of the comparable titles remain the same.

The majority of VSGZ newspapers in German-speaking Switzerland have also remained unchanged since 2004. Akermann went on to say that this type of media is proving to be a solid and sustainable advertising medium for the future, with a considerable reach.

VSGZ-Kombi reaches a total of 1,657,462 households in German- and French-speaking Switzerland.
 

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