After three very challenging quarters, the company managed to return to growth in the fourth quarter, according to Cablecom Managing Director Eric Tveter's comments on business development. In the strategically important digital television sector, the number of customers had reached around 400,000 by mid-February 2010. The company has also increased the number of customer advice centers to ten, as reported by Netzticker. Further locations are to be added this year and the service hours of the customer hotline will be extended from April.

After six years at Matin Dimanche, Michel Danthe will be leaving his post on March 31, 2010. Edipresse writes this in a media communiqué. Danthe started out at La Suisse and then worked in various editorial offices, including the Journal de Genève and the Nouveau Quotidien. When he arrived at Edipresse, he was still in charge of the daily free newspaper project, which was later launched under the title Matin Bleu.
Ariane Dayer has worked as editor-in-chief at Le Matin since September 2008. After joining the editorial team at La Suisse and L'Hebdo, Dayer became editor-in-chief at L'Hebdo and Saturne. Between 1993 and 2006, she then worked at Matin Dimanche until 2007.

The association recommends that businesses that have already registered their receiving devices with the Billag collection agency remove the devices. They should notify Billag of this—along with a request to delete the corresponding data. The Swiss Trade Association (SGV) has posted a second sample letter on its website. A first sample letter had already been available online since mid-February. This allows business owners to bar Billag inspectors from their premises. According to the SGV, this letter has already been downloaded 2,000 times. However, Billag has received only 41 letters so far, as Billag spokesperson Jonny Kopp stated on Friday in response to an inquiry from the SDA news agency.
Werner Marti, chairman of the Billag board of directors, will now take charge of resolving the conflict. As the SDA further reports, media spokesperson Kopp expects that talks will take place between Marti and the leadership of the trade association. Opposing the fees merely increases the administrative burden and will ultimately end up costing individual business owners more, Marti said in an interview with the *Tages-Anzeiger* on Friday.
The reason for the business owners' frustration is a recommendation by the Federal Council that, under the new rules, even those who do not own a radio or TV set should pay radio and TV license fees.

The outdoor advertising company reported on Friday that 2009 had been one of the most difficult years in the history of the Affichage Group. In its domestic market, revenue fell by 18.3 percent to 250.1 million Swiss francs, while overseas revenue declined by as much as 26.5 percent to 89.9 million Swiss francs. Impairment charges on acquisitions in Greece and Bosnia, as well as write-offs of accounts receivable abroad, further weighed on the results, the company said. In addition, losses resulted from the sale of operations in Hungary and northern Italy. Operationally, however, the company—founded in 1900—achieved a satisfactory result, particularly in Switzerland. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization of goodwill (EBITDA) was 45.4 percent lower than in the previous year.
Thanks to its strong equity base and sufficient liquidity, the Group’s financial situation remains solid, the statement continues. However, a dividend for 2009 is still out of the question. Affichage had paid out 4.40 francs per share the previous year, with a net profit of 29.6 million francs. Affichage is not in a position to provide a concrete forecast for the current year. Customer booking patterns continue to be characterized by very short lead times and are difficult to predict. Affichage had announced in November that it would cut 20 full-time positions in Switzerland. APG employed a total of 540 people.

In the 6-month, part-time program, participants honed their public speaking skills, deepened their understanding of the art of persuasive argumentation and performance in speeches and negotiations, and refined their presentation skills. In the second part of the CAS program, participants developed their skills and knowledge in facilitating meetings, panel discussions, and difficult conversations. A two-day media training session concluded the program, which consisted of a total of 11 modules.
The CAS program in Rhetoric and Moderation is offered in cooperation with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences HWZ. It also counts as a specialization subject of the MAS Business Communications of the HWZ.
Receive certificates:
Beatrice Buchmann, Stefan Flury, Dominique Franz (Dresdner Bank Switzerland), Stephan Hagenbuch (Swiss Milk Producers SMP), Marco Ialuna (vwd information solutions), Brigitte Kaps (Ruag Holding), Jeannine Matthys (Credit Suisse), Bigna Pallioppi (InCore Bank), Christa Schwarz (SIX Telekurs LTD), Gaby Zimmer (Federal Office for Defense (VBS)/Army Logistics Base (LBA)).

The animals shouldn’t make such a fuss—they should just get creative. After all, who needs earplugs when there are tree nuts, pine cones, and floppy ears? That’s what the Berlin agency BBDO thought, and on behalf of the city of Northeim, it let the animals get inventive in their time of need. The result is three ad campaigns with a clear «aww» factor. And maybe one or two festivalgoers will even remember the poor rabbit, the outraged squirrel, and the shocked owl during the event. And—with a wagging finger—if they can’t protect the animals from the noise, they should at least not carelessly toss an empty beer bottle into the forest…

It was already clear that the tablet held great promise for paid content even before the iPad had been officially unveiled. Now, according to a press release, the New York Times, among others, is debating how much to charge for content on the iPad. Some newspaper representatives believe that digital versions should cost about the same as the print edition delivered daily to readers’ homes, based on a monthly subscription. The fear is that if this isn’t the case, readers might cancel their print subscriptions.
E-book prices are often about the same as those charged for printed paperback editions. Although Amazon does not charge more than $9.99, it recently got into a dispute with Macmillan because the publisher wanted to impose higher prices. Macmillan’s proposed prices range from $12.99 to $14.99.
Those at The New York Times who believe in a digital future feel that a high introductory price for the iPad edition would reduce the chances of an expanded version—especially since a free digital version already exists online. Furthermore, the iPad eliminates the delivery costs associated with the print edition.
The issue is now set to be discussed by two groups at the U.S. newspaper. One side would like to charge between $20 and $30 for a monthly subscription on the iPad, while the digital advocates want to charge only $10. By comparison, the New York Times’ monthly Kindle subscription currently costs $27.99. A print subscription costs $45.

He will first examine this need, which the SRG itself had reported last November for the years 2011 through 2014, Meierhans told the media in Bern on Thursday, according to SDA. The elimination of 100 jobs by 2014, which the SRG announced on the same day, is already included in the report to the Federal Council. As required by law, he will submit his opinion on the matter to the Federal Council, Meierhans said. Only in a second step will the focus shift to how the SRG intends to fill the budget shortfall. The primary concern is the impact on radio and TV license fees.
With regard to television license fees, Meierhans will continue to work with the collection agency Billag. He said he supports a shift to a system with device-independent fees. However, he noted that it is encouraging that Billag itself wants to increase its efficiency and productivity. By issuing only one bill per year (down from four), Billag aims to save around 10 million francs, as the company confirmed to the Sonntags-Blick.
Most complaints are about healthcare costs
As Meierhans notes in the 2009 Annual Report, the workload of the Price Commissioner and his team increased significantly in 2009. The number of price complaints rose by two-thirds to 2,110. A total of 2,560 reports were received, nearly twice as many as in the previous year (1,754). In addition, he handled approximately 300 mandatory rate reviews.
No industry kept the price monitoring authority busier last year than the healthcare sector, which was the subject of one in ten complaints. Drug prices, in particular, caused a stir. Meierhans therefore considers it a success that the federal government has expanded the basket of reference countries to include several countries with lower prices in order to set drug prices. The reduction in distribution margins also partly aligns with the Price Surveillance Office’s recommendations. According to Meierhans, this has resulted in price reductions «in the high three-digit millions.».
Changes were also evident in the nature of the complaints: «As online shopping increases, we’re receiving more and more reports about customs clearance costs,» said Managing Director Beat Niederhauser. However, no solution has yet been found for the second most common complaint.
Positive Results
Overall, the Price Supervisor gives a positive assessment: particularly in public transportation and the postal service, they were able to postpone rate increases and, in some cases, even negotiate price reductions. In the water,
His methods have largely become the standard for wastewater and waste disposal rates and have also stood up in court when it comes to hospital rates. In total, he has directly contributed to price reductions of around 300 million francs, Meierhans said. He intends to maintain his three key areas of focus—taxes and fees, health and social services, and state-affiliated enterprises. These sectors are largely insensitive to economic cycles, which is why oversight is particularly important. In the next phase of the «fight against Switzerland as a high-price island,» he will «support» ongoing political initiatives, Meierhans said combatively. He cited the postal market as an example: liberalization must not come at the expense of small customers. Direct contact with the public remains a top priority. His blog has proven to be a valuable tool in this regard.

As Head of Advertising Market AV Media, Sutter was most recently responsible for the sale of Capital FM and Telebärn at Espace Media. Edgar Bühler, the former commercial manager at Canal 3/Tele Bielingue, will take over product and key account management and will be increasingly involved in the area of audiovisual productions.
The appointment of Michael Sutter will allow a further development step in the marketing of Canal 3 and Tele Bielingue, according to a press release. Thanks to his previous involvement with Espace Media, Michael Sutter is already familiar with Radio Canal 3, which belonged to Espace Media between 2004 and the end of 2007.
As part of this reorganization, Canal 3's client advisor, Noemi Tang, is moving to Gassmann Media, the marketing and placement company for print and online advertising of W. Gassmann AG.

Under the guidance of Simon Kopp, they learned and practiced practical and strategic media and communication skills at the Swiss School of Journalism, according to a press release issued on Thursday. This included, among other things, writing for media impact, setting up and networking an effective media office, presenting confidently in front of microphones and cameras, crisis communication, and issues management.
Maz offers the «Professional Media Relations» degree program in cooperation with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ) and the Swiss Public Relations Institute (SPRI).
The following individuals received certificates: Kurt Brand, Caritas Aargau; Roman Della Rossa, ORS Service; Franziska Egli, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences; Anita Foletti, Karl Steiner; Bernadette Gasche, Wyde Law & Notary Office; Christian Greder, Hotel & Gastro Union; Urban Henzirohs, Helvetia Insurance; Marion Lim, freelance copywriter/concept developer; Thomas Müller, Graubünden Cantonal Bank; Anita Niederhäusern, transan Agency; Charlotte Staehelin Stadler, freelance journalist; Chantal Stähli, Redog Swiss Association for Search and Rescue Dogs; Sandra Völlmin, MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel); Stefan von Below, Bern Cantonal Police; Dieter Wüthrich, SP Basel-Stadt.

According to a report by Wemf for Advertising Media Research on Thursday, as reported by SDA, daily newspapers saw a 21.9 percent decline. The general-interest press had to make do with 14.8 percent less advertising revenue, while the trade press saw a 10.1 percent decline.
The Sunday press recorded a decline of 4.9 percent, the financial and business press a decline of 4.3 percent, and the trade press a decline of 2.9 percent. Only the regional weekly press posted growth of 14.3 percent. Among the various advertising categories, the decline of nearly 30 percent in job advertisements had the greatest impact. Real estate advertisements saw a decline of 11.5 percent compared to January 2008.
In the category most important to publishers—commercial and other advertisements—the decline amounted to 15.8 percent. This category still generated 74.6 million francs. At least WEMF reported a 5 percent increase in brochure inserts. However, given the modest total of 8.5 million francs, this is little consolation.
The Swiss press had already been severely hit by the decline in advertising in 2009 as a whole. Its advertising revenue fell by a good fifth. Job advertisements saw a particularly sharp decline—45 percent—last year. And that’s not all: as early as 2008, advertising revenue for newspapers and magazines had already fallen by 6 percent.

The anniversary celebrations will kick off with the Swiss Nightlife Award, which honors the outstanding protagonists of Swiss nightlife. Various international and national acts will also be present on this evening and the
entertain those present. The event is organized in cooperation with the event agency Hipeak.
The award is presented in the following categories: Best Event of the Year, Best Event Innovation, Best Promotion Idea, Best Event Sponsoring, Outstanding Nightlife Personality, Lifetime Award, Best Club, Best New Club, Best Clubbing Series, Best New Clubbing Series, Best Blackmusic DJ, Best Electronica DJ, Best Indie / Rock DJ, Best Dance & Partytunes DJ.