Higher, farther, faster
The Swiss Paralympic Committee has been working on revamping its brand identity for the past few weeks. This includes a new logo. The House of Sports in Bern sought advice from Daniele Waldburger Consulting on communication and strategy. The new design was created by Meier Media Design. The first publication to feature the new look will be the current annual report, due out at the end of June. The SPC supports athletes with physical and sensory disabilities and is responsible for the Swiss national team at the International Paralympic Games, as well as for selecting top athletes with disabilities for the World and European Championships.

Postcards from Around the World
Traveler’s checks will soon be a thing of the past. The future belongs to the Travel Cash card. With this plastic money from Swiss Bankers, you can travel safely on trips and vacations—all over the world. That’s why Contexta and atfront are sending visitors to the website www.travelcash.ch on a virtual trip around the world. The goal of the online game: to travel all the way around the world using the balance on a Travel Cash card. Stage by stage, players answer questions from all over the world and discover more benefits of this handy card. If you get everything right, with a little luck you can, of course, win a card with a nice balance.

Don't wait any longer, man
Special beers for friends and connoisseurs are brewer Martin Wartmann’s answer to the monotony of canned beers. «Let’s jump right in with a special ad,» says Hesskiss. A «Schtange hell» is a thing of the past. Today, people are enjoying the series of exclusive Wartmanns numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4. These are beers «that aren’t brewed to suit the tastes of Mr. and Mrs. Average,» as the agency has confirmed.

Konrad Müller, publishing director of Zürcher Oberland Medien, is under no illusions. "Hardly any regional newspaper publisher will be in the black in 2008," he says thoughtfully. The figures in the VSW advertising statistics do not look rosy for the in-house flagship Zürcher Oberländer either: in 2008, the ZO advertising volume fell by 8.4 percent compared to the previous year, and in the first quarter of this year it was even minus 13.6 percent. Of the three regional newspapers that make up the Zürcher Landzeitung association, the ZO is thus suffering the most from the advertising slump.
At least that's what it looks like at first glance. However, the VSW advertising statistics do not present the whole truth in the case of ZO. Although the ZO actually had 13.6 percent fewer advertisements from January to April, the title, which generates a good 60 percent of its advertising volume from the regional and local market, ceded some of its local advertisements to its sister title regio.ch, which is only seven months old. regio.ch is the free weekly newspaper in tabloid format that ZOM launched last November in each of the five Oberland regions of Illnau-Effretikon, Uster, Pfäffikon, Wetzikon and Rüti as an independent edition - with exclusively local information and, of course, local advertisements. Right from the start, Konrad Müller had therefore expected that some of the local ZO advertisers would migrate to the new paper. He therefore budgeted the cannibalization effect of regio.ch at 10 to 12 percent.
However, the loss has not been that severe so far. According to Müller, the ZO only lost 5.7 percent of its local commercial volume to regio.ch from January to April 2009. If May is also included, the figure is 7.3 percent, says Müller. However, Müller is particularly pleased: "In the first third of the year, ZO and regio.ch together were able to acquire 29 percent more commercial advertising pages from the local market than ZO and the discontinued regio.ch predecessor titles Kiebitz and Wetziker Spiegel a year ago, and in Swiss francs the figure was 22 percent higher." Even with the rather weak May, the increase in turnover was still 20 percent. And for the first half of the year as a whole, Müller is even expecting 30 percent more local advertising and 25 percent higher sales, because June is going particularly well. regio.ch alone, which deliberately competes with ZO in the local market, has generated an average of CHF 43,000 to 46,000 in revenue per week to date."
However, this does not hide the fact that the 32-page regio.ch, with its five weekly editions, a total circulation of 89,502 copies, its own five-person editorial team and an advertising team with 4.5 jobs, is not self-supporting. Müller is therefore still expecting a loss this year. "But we are making good progress," he says. "I'm certainly surprised at what we're achieving with the paper. I have to pay a huge compliment to the entire regio.ch team." However, he doesn't want to draw a definitive conclusion for another two years or so.
Just how much the ZOM publishing director believes in his youngest child is also shown by the fact that regio.ch will appear on June 18 with a new, more professional-looking layout. "This gives regio.ch more of a newspaper character, and we now have the opportunity to not only open with the main article on the front page, but also to tease additional content," says Müller.
regio.ch is based on an idea that has existed at ZOM for some time. However, the newspaper was launched not least because of the Tages-Anzeiger's regional strategy. "We want to bind the reader market to us and gain additional market share in the advertising sector, especially among small businesses, SMEs and associations. This is how we want to distance ourselves from our competitors in the city of Zurich," Müller explained his project last fall.
At the ZO partners ZürichseeZeitung and Zürcher Unterländer, where the commercial advertising volume from the local market only remained roughly stable in contrast to the ZO, Managing Director Erland Herkenrath is observing the ZO experiment with interest, but also with skepticism. "Apparently, the ZO can exploit the local market much better with regio.ch than before. But it remains to be seen whether the additional turnover of around 20 percent will be enough to cover the additional costs for staff, printing and distribution," he says. A positive aspect, however, is that the joint printing center in Oetwil is better utilized thanks to regio.ch, adds Herkenrath.
Markus Knöpfli
Consideration for the neighbors
ZOM does not distribute regio.ch throughout the entire ZO circulation area: the lower district of Uster and the Tösstal are excluded. The reason: there are similar newspapers in both areas, the Glattaler and the Tössthaler. The Glattaler (46,000 copies) is owned by Zürcher Unterland Medien, with which ZOM is closely associated with the Zürcher Landzeitung. And the Tössthaler, which is published three times a week, is owned by the Turbenthal book printing company. It remains to be seen whether they will one day want to be integrated into the regio.ch concept. Incidentally, a four-color 1/1 advertisement in all five regio.ch editions together costs CHF 2811. (mk)

Anyone promoting investment products at present is faced with the challenge that many investors are still feeling the effects of the negative share price performance they have suffered. In these times, savvy fund investors pay particular attention to the costs that reduce their returns. Post Finance's latest product offensive is aimed at these investors.
The campaign realized by In Flagranti illustrates that Post Finance gets more out of it for its customers. The focus is on a tube squeezer. It is not only shown in the picture - for example when fund managers squeeze a mustard tube to the last - but also sent out and given away.
The campaign combines direct marketing and online measures with POS activities at post offices and PostF inance branches.
Responsible at Post Finance: Team Post Finance Marketing Communications. Responsible at In Flagranti werbeagentur bsw: Team In Flagranti advertising agency. Photo: Regula Roost.

Zurich FDP National Councillor and former TV editor-in-chief Filippo Leutenegger is planning a comeback at SRG. As the Sonntag newspaper writes in its latest edition, he is standing for election as "Super Director" - the CEO of the merged radio and television company. This is a challenging and highly interesting task, Leutenegger told the Sonntagspublikation. He is also said to have signaled his willingness to give up his seat in the National Council. The two offices are not compatible. Leutenegger wants to strengthen radio and television in terms of journalism and make them more efficient. There is also news regarding the election of the interim head of Swiss Television: the new director will not be elected until July 9. The reason for the postponement: the regional council, which had originally only wanted to elect the new radio director on June 18, was surprised by Deltenre's resignation. In order to avoid having to schedule two election meetings and to avoid violating any regulatory deadlines, the SF and radio directors will now be appointed together in July.

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, at 8:30 p.m., Czech Television will honor the cultural project of Swiss Television, "La Traviata at the Main Station". The award ceremony will be broadcast live from the Zofin Palace. In the Musical Drama category, the project of the Music, Dance and Theater department of the Golden Prague Festival was also awarded the "Czech Crystal".
The Golden Prague Festival, which is taking place for the 46th time this year, is one of the oldest television festivals in the world. It specializes in music and dance productions from all over the world. The winners are selected by a five-member international jury.
The production "La Traviata im Hauptbahnhof" was a cultural project by Swiss television. The Music, Dance and Theater department, headed by Thomas Beck, produced the live broadcast in collaboration with the German-French cultural channel Arte, SBB and the Zurich Opera House. The three-hour opera, broadcast on September 30, 2008 on SF 1 and Arte, generated an average of 577,000 viewers during the broadcast.
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The project was recently awarded a "Special Mention" at the Rose d'Or, where the Music, Dance and Theater editorial team had already received a Rose d'Or in 2008 for the "Magic Flute on Two Channels".
The main prize of the Golden Prague Festival goes to "El Sistema", a film by Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier, co-produced by Music, Dance and Theater.
Swiss Television also received a total of five silver and one bronze award at the World Gold Awards in New York. The BDA / Promax Conference presented the awards on Wednesday night, June 17, 2009.

In Germany, a doom and gloom sentiment regarding the current state of the printed newspaper may have found a new guise: the panel discussion. Ad-hoc-news.de asks about the announcement of such a forum: "Does the disappearance of the printed newspaper mean the end of journalism?". The representative of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, State Secretary Karl-Heinz Klär, the Netzwerk Recherche and two media researchers invite you to discuss these and similar questions on June 23. On the occasion of the publication of the book "Why still newspapers? Wie das Internet die Presse revolutioniert" and "Die Alpha-Journalisten 2.0. Deutschlands neue Wortführer im Portrait", people from the press and digital journalism will discuss "the change in journalistic forms and impending dangers for the media democracy". Fear is also growing in Germany, writes As-hoc-news.ch. The advertising market is lying idle, circulations are in free fall and a rapid change in media usage is confronting media houses with the question of how they can continue to finance good, independent journalism. But the news site doesn't stop there: the question now arises as to how the press can still perform its function as the guardian of democracy. Ad-hoc-news.ch also has another question to offer for a guaranteed raven-black atmosphere at the panel discussion: "Does the state have to save the press?".
If the printed newspaper really does disappear, independent journalism can no longer be financed and the guardian of democracy can only fulfill its task thanks to state rescue, we will certainly be able to look back on such panel discussions and claim with pride: At least it was discussed.

The time will soon come again for the "Ziegler's best Award 2009". The call for entries for the design prize, which has been established for six years, is already running and will end with the closing date for entries on July 31, 2009. All paper products that were realized in whole or in part on Ziegler Papier's paper specialties between July 1, 2008 and July 31, 2009 are eligible.
Agencies, graphic designers and printers as well as clients and paper wholesalers can take part in the race for the trophy. A group of experts consisting of print, design and media professionals will be on hand to judge the entries. The jury bases its evaluation on both technical and artistic aspects. The winners will receive their awards and certificates at an exclusive awards event in Basel this November.
More information about the award and the application form can be found at here.

Advertising shouldn't really be a problem for decision psychologist Chris Roetheli. But although Roetheli prefers to buy no-name products in cheap discount stores, he has also been tempted to buy discounted fitness equipment and a hammer drill. And such bargains also give him a short-term feeling of happiness - even though they later gather dust in the cellar.
Whether we are happy depends to a large extent on whether we consider ourselves and our lives to be successful and whether we think the decisions we make are right. The subjective view that we have made good decisions can make us happy, even if the decision turns out to be a mistake in retrospect. "Sometimes a feeling of happiness sets in when a laborious decision-making process leads to a decision and a great burden falls from our shoulders," explains Roetheli. "However, the function of happiness is not to make us feel good. Happiness wants to help us achieve our goals. That's why we are not only rewarded with feelings of happiness when we reach a goal, but also when we overcome obstacles on the way to the end point. It is therefore worth looking at decisions not just as individual events, but in terms of their impact on our quality of life and our personal happiness." Roetheli, who studied economics and psychology, has been studying decision-making since 1991 and has also been focusing on happiness and quality of life for the past year and a half. Roetheli shares his findings with companies as a management consultant and with students as a lecturer in decision-making psychology.
Slippery good
The stupid thing about happiness is that it is so fleeting: you look forward to the new Audi TT RS for months. When you finally get to drive it, it quickly loses its appeal. Or in love: once you've finally conquered the one you want, football and friends become more exciting again. Often anyway. "The same applies to winning the lottery as to paraplegia: after a year, those affected are practically back to the same level of happiness as before," says Roetheli. "This mechanism works for both upward and downward swings." However, we can maintain a high level of happiness in our lives by making the right decisions. Of course, there are optimists and pessimists, people who are happy with a little and those who are unhappy with a lot. "Differences in preferences, desires and the way we deal with problems are shaped by predisposition and upbringing," says Roetheli. "But we are all programmed to strive for happiness."
Decision-making processes also play an important role in advertising. On the one hand, companies and advertisers want to influence buyers' decisions in their favour; on the other hand, consumers have to choose between many offers and want to maximize their personal profit with each purchase. Advertisers use promises of happiness to convince customers to buy a product. They either wrap the promise subtly in colorful images and lilting melodies, or they wave the term "happiness" around a little more flatly: the advertising database Slogans.de finds 135 claims with this keyword. The oldest dates from 1935, "Good luck in the New Year thirty-five ... and eat only Ankerbrot quite diligently!", the most recent from this year: Toskanaworld promises "happiness and health".
Sustainable decision
In the midst of all this (seemingly) purchasable happiness, two questions are pressing for consumers: How do I make the right decision? When will my decision make me happy - in the long term? "Some strategies are more suitable for producing happiness than others," says Roetheli. "We make most decisions in the moment. If you are offered two alternatives, you choose the one that seems better at the moment." Advertising tries to score points at precisely this moment. It often tempts us to make a decision in a situation and spontaneously buy something, even though we have no need for it. "Such purchases may give us a brief feeling of happiness, but that quickly passes," says Roetheli. He cites the example of young people who go into town every Saturday to buy another pair of jeans or another T-shirt. Because the satisfaction they get from this is so short-lived, they seek the thrill week after week. "Of course, the small pleasures are also important," Roetheli clarifies. "I'm not advocating becoming an ascetic. But this kind of consumer behavior only makes a few people happy in the long term."
Clever diary
To systematically weigh up what makes you happy in the long term, Roetheli suggests keeping a kind of diary. "In a journal like this, you can record what you did throughout the day and how satisfied you are with it," he explains. "That way, you can record the quality of life each day." Looking back, you can then see, for example, whether jogging in the morning or buying shoes during your lunch break was decisive for your personal happiness - and adjust your behavior accordingly.
If you want to become happier in the long term, Roetheli advises you to take a long-term perspective when making purchasing decisions. He makes his own decisions easier by asking himself a simple question: What will be the consequences of my decision in ten minutes, ten months and ten years? This formula is published by the American author Suzy Welch in her recently published book "10 - 10 - 10". 10 - 10 - 10 can be helpful when raising children, for example: Your child starts screaming at the checkout because he has discovered the sweets you would rather not buy him. If you give in to the screaming, you will have peace for the next ten minutes. In ten months' time, the scene will probably repeat itself a few times. And in ten years' time, your child will be conditioned to the fact that all they have to do is shout to get what they want. Another example: you have to decide between the expensive USM shelving unit and Ikea's Billy. Do you need a quick storage option now (10 minutes), are you going to go abroad in a year (10 months) and are you going to be leaving your home (10 years)? That speaks for Billy. You are not particularly fluid (10 minutes), but want to furnish the apartment you have just bought and want something solid for your books (10 months, 10 years)? That speaks for USM. Even if you have to scrape together some money for this purchase now.
Relieving routine
10 - 10 - 10 is a good strategy for anyone who wants to make decisions on important issues that will prove to be sensible in the long term and thus provide lasting satisfaction. However, if you check every little thing according to 10 - 10 - 10, you will probably go mad. That's why we advise
Roetheli to automate simple decisions: "I no longer think about whether or not to put sugar in my coffee," says the decision-making professional. "Once I've made this decision, I simply don't have any more sugar in the house." The same applies to fitness: "If you want to keep fit by jogging, you shouldn't decide every day whether you want to go for a run after work or not," advises Roethli. "It's easier to commit to jogging once every evening or every other day - and then do it." In this way, we relieve ourselves of the should-I-or-shouldn't-I every morning and settle into a self-prescribed routine.
Of course, there are also objections to such behavior. After all, freedom of choice is an essential constituent of being human. And those who condition themselves and rely on instincts deprive themselves of some of this freedom.
as producers of happiness "Roetheli nevertheless advocates saving your energy for the important decisions. Because that ultimately makes you happier: "If I have to decide against the sugar in my coffee every time, I become aware of the lack of sugar as an absolute deficiency," he explains his thesis. "But thanks to our consciousness, we can think one step further." Taking sugar is not smart in view of the long-term effects such as adult-onset diabetes. The best solution is therefore to decide to give up sugar once and then stop thinking about it, says Roetheli. "People who take away unnecessary decisions through routine are happier in the long run. People who have introduced a lot of routine into their lives and only consciously make the important decisions are happier than those who rack their brains daily over Mars or Milky Way. We should use freedom of choice where important things are at stake, i.e. in relationships, at work or when raising children."
Healthy skepticism
Advertising tries to attract consumers. Imaginative subjects arouse the desire for ice cream or the latest MP3 player. They want to tempt consumers to quickly satisfy their desire for ice cream or music in their ears in the nearest store - and thus buy themselves a moment of happiness. Self-conditioning can protect against such consumer temptations: Anyone who has decided that they will only have an ice cream once a week is less putty in the hands of advertising sirens. "Be skeptical and ask yourself, 'Does this benefit me?" advises Roetheli. "What the advertising presents as a benefit is often none or only a very short-term one."
However, if you are planning to buy an MP3 player in the near future, advertising suddenly takes on an informative character. When choosing a product, almost all consumers look for the offer that beats the others in terms of price and performance. A broad basis for decision-making, consisting of as much input as possible on the product in question and its competitors, is very helpful. "I also compare," admits Roetheli. "But I use blogs and test reports for this. After all, advertising doesn't usually say anything at all about the quality of the product I want, which is what I'm after. Everyone just presents their product as the best choice. It's easy to fall for that." Advertising is always an invitation to a tricky double game, says Jo Reichertz, professor of sociology at the Institute of Communication Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen. "On the one hand, as soon as the recipient's experience with advertising has revealed something to be 'advertising', he knows that he cannot take the information presented at face value, while on the other hand, against all reason and experience, he is faced with the question of which parts of the advertising message may still be true and could be of benefit to him. The quality of an advertisement depends on how intelligently it can adapt the double game to the respective players."
Sweet suggestion
Of course, Chris Roetheli also knows that advertising is a game of ideas and dreams. "Opinions are sometimes more important than arguments," says the decision psychologist himself. And advertising spreads opinions. Anyone who buys an expensive cream instead of a cheaper one that works just as well believes in its miraculous powers, in the promise that cosmetics will make them more beautiful and ultimately happier. In fact, after using the cream, the buyer will approach his fellow human beings differently than if he had used the cheap one. This is because the psyche plays the game perfectly. The feeling of having treated yourself to something good is also very satisfying. So the cream works, albeit in a different way "from the inside out" than advertised. But is this placebo effect a bad thing? "No," says Roetheli. "But you have to decide whether it's worth a hundred francs. It's up to you whether you want to play along or not. But you can also regain a bit of freedom if you set the rules of the game yourself."
What would it be like if not (just) consumers, but companies and advertising agencies acted according to the motto 10 - 10 - 10? Then advertising would have to convey what consumers get out of buying a product, in ten minutes, ten months and ten years. The classic return-on-investment story, only this time it's about the return for the customer. Of course, this doesn't work for bird food and other goods with a short half-life. But the more sustainable the product to be sold, the easier the argument would be.
Equal partners
"Even one step earlier, companies could ask themselves during product development how they can generate the greatest value for their customers," says Roetheli. "They could involve their customers more in the development process. This would really set them apart from the competition." Such an approach propagates a new way of dealing with consumers: Companies, advertisers and customers would become partners - and potentially happy in the long term as a result.
10 - 10 - 10 can also provide compelling arguments in comparative competition, for example in the automotive industry. Up to now, car manufacturers have promised all forms of happiness with their slogans, but facts are often lacking. If you can convince prospective buyers that they will still be enjoying their car in ten years' time, you may be able to outweigh a comparatively higher purchase price. Because it only hurts for ten minutes. Sustainability is a recurring and growing theme, even in advertising. And so is lasting happiness.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm

In brief: Dr. Chris Roetheli
Chris Roetheli studied economics at the University of Bern. After completing his studies, Roetheli worked in sales and marketing at IBM for four years. He then moved to UBS for three years, where he most recently led a group of corporate client advisors in the credit business. At the computer company Digital, Roetheli began as a sales manager, later becoming district manager and vice director. In 1991, Roetheli set up his own business as a management consultant and has been advising companies on important management decisions ever since. At the same time, Roetheli began studying psychology, which he completed with a doctorate on individuals making personnel decisions. Since 1999, Roetheli has also been a lecturer in decision-making psychology at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. www.entscheiden.com

What is happiness?
"What constitutes happiness in individual cases and for individual people varies [...] with age, gender, race, education, state of health, situation, place of residence, time, religion and much more. Happiness is that which is desirable, which 'normally' (i.e. in the majority of cases) could not be expected in a certain situation. A misfortune has happened when the expected is clearly negatively undercut. You can be very or very lucky, happy or very happy. You can be lucky without being happy, but you can also be happy without having been lucky. Happiness and happiness therefore know degrees and different mixing ratios [...]. If you remain in the realm of the expectable, then you are
satisfied. Happiness goes beyond what is expected. Happiness is therefore relative to what is expected in the respective context."
from: Jo Reichertz (2009), "Happiness as a consumer good? or: Mass media

Microsoft will significantly scale back its commitment to its own online video portal Soapbox in the coming months. The service, which was launched in 2006 as a potential "You-Tube killer", relies mainly on user-generated content, similar to the Google site. As Microsoft Vice President Erick Jorgensen confirmed in a recent interview, according to the Cnet report, operating the video-sharing platform has simply become too expensive in the current difficult economic environment. "But we definitely still see Soapbox as something that makes an important contribution to our holistic video strategy," Jorgensen is quoted as saying on Pressetext.ch.

Construction sites in front of pubs - landlords love it, especially in summer. The tables shake, the glasses clink and the guests can no longer understand their own words, let alone those of their counterparts. It's not unlikely that beer-drinkers and wine-lovers will look for a quieter pub during the construction period. Zurich's Bahnhof Stadelhofen restaurant is currently struggling with dust, stench and compressed air hammering. May is also making everything new on Stadelhoferplatz - and will do so until September: the streetcar and Forchbahn tracks are being relocated. Luckily, the construction site orchestra plays in the cozy corner pub: With the jackhammer symphony and the circular saw sonata, virtuosically "played" by construction workers Lazlo Terfleks and Sören Borström, the restaurant tries to keep its guests. Window stickers and posters advertise the musical treat.
A wink against adversity
The major construction site right on the doorstep prompted the company that runs the Bahnhof Stadelhofen restaurant, Commercio Piccadilly AG, to ask its advertising agency Euro RSCG for a clever idea to counter the decline in customer numbers. The creative minds had the clever idea of turning the noise into music - after all, a building site can also be an exciting spectacle. The urban beats and subtle cascades of sound from jackhammers and circular saws make for a cozy place to eat and drink, as the restaurant's guests are advised.
Crisis and building site come in a double pack for the pub. However, the operating company doesn't see the train as having left the station, but is facing the difficult situation with a wink and irony. This is not only pleasant, but should also serve its purpose: Generating sympathy and retaining guests. "People are reacting very positively, the campaign has been very well received," says Nicolas von Graffenried, Managing Director of Commercio Piccadilly AG. Commercio Piccadilly knows a thing or two about adversity: The Bahnhof Stadelhofen restaurant has already had to overcome a number of challenges. The biggest was the redesign of Stadelhofen station in the 1980s. "The noise level and the obstacles around the outside tables are a tough test even for a lucrative establishment like Restaurant Bahnhof Stadelhofen," says Axel Eckstein, Creative Director at Euro RSCG. "When whitewashing no longer works, the only thing that helps is a charm offensive. Regular customers in particular really appreciate this kind of approach."
The construction site quintet
Incidentally, the construction workers who present themselves in tails and with their "instruments" are real. The ironic motifs are used as posters, window stickers and placemats. Vouchers in the style of a concert ticket are also distributed: They grant guests free admission to the concert - and, so that the irony doesn't get out of hand, a glass of Prosecco with every meal eaten at the Bahnhof Stadelhofen restaurant. So don't panic: The construction site orchestra is here.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm

Not everyone is happy that the current TV editor-in-chief Ueli Haldimann is to become the interim successor to television director Ingrid Deltenre. There were numerous bilateral meetings on the fringes of the session in Bern, and according to a report in the SonntagsZeitung, around 15 people are to meet in Rothrist on Tuesday. The initiator is none other than SVP National Councillor Ulrich Giezendanner. He is said to have confirmed the "coordination meeting", but does not yet want to say who is part of the group and who will play what role. So it's a real secret society. And be careful, he seems to be serious: "The fight against the SRG is on", he is quoted as saying in the SonntagsZeitung. He wants to gather other politicians and private broadcasters around him and trigger an avalanche against the SRG. At least Mr. Giezendanner seems to be aware that he and his resistance fighters will hardly be able to prevent Haldimann's election as interim director of SF. His modest goal: to bring more civic-minded people onto the SRG committees and prevent Haldimann's definitive election.

The NZZ posted losses in the first quarter despite massive cost-cutting measures. It is considering a significant increase in subscription prices. In an interview with the Handelszeitung, CEO Albert P. Stäheli said that parts of the online offering will be subject to a charge. Until now, readers of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung have paid a subsidized price thanks to high advertising revenues. According to Stäheli, the decline in the advertising market is unprecedented in historical terms, amounting to a good 30 percent compared to the previous year. In order to be able to fully satisfy the high demands of the readership in the future, an above-average price adjustment is being examined.
Following the reduction of 24 jobs last November, a further 6 jobs will be added this year by not replacing retired employees, said the CEO of the NZZ Group in an interview published on Wednesday. No further jobs are expected to be cut in the editorial offices. However, according to Stäheli, a further 20 to 25 jobs will be cut over the next 18 months by merging support areas throughout the NZZ Group.
The NZZ wants to use new strategies to get its Internet offering into the black. At present, expenditure in this area is 3 million francs higher than income. General news on the Internet will remain free of charge. However, financial services, offers on specific economic topics or commentaries by excellent authors, for example, are to become chargeable.