The language and technology service provider for multilingual communication CLS Communication and the media service provider Multimedia Solutions MMS have announced a strategic technology partnership. According to the press release, the aim of the cooperation is to simplify the complex processing of multilingual publications through a joint editing and translation workflow. The aim is also to further develop translation management technology. Seamless system integration between the two companies is planned.

Pirates in France need not fear having their Internet access blocked after all. The country's highest constitutional court declared a government bill that had already been passed to be unlawful, a spokesperson confirmed in Paris on Thursday, according to SDA.
The planned penalty restricts the freedom of communication and is therefore not compatible with the Declaration of Human and Civil Rights from 1789. The judges also emphasized that penalties could only be imposed following a court ruling - and not, as planned, following the decision of an administrative authority. In principle, however, penalties for the illegal downloading of music, films or programs are not a problem.
The controversial law provided for persistent pirates to have their Internet access blocked for up to a year. At the same time, they could be obliged to continue paying their connection fee. The appeal to the Constitutional Court was filed by the opposition.
The EU Parliament had also recently spoken out in favor of not blocking anyone's access to the Internet without a court decision.

In Colombia, four telenovela actresses want to help push through a bill in a rather unusual way: If the government were to enact legislation regulating the payment of royalties from abroad to actors, she and her colleagues would pose nude for a magazine, Cristina Umaña promised on Tuesday, according to SDA. Together with the actresses Sandra Reyes, Marcela Mar, and Patricia Castañeda—who are popular in Colombia—she is campaigning to ensure that Colombian actors receive royalties every time their film or television productions are shown abroad. Umaña criticized the fact that while the money for these broadcasts is already collected in numerous countries, such as the U.S. and Spain, it cannot be paid out to Colombian actors due to a lack of regulations in Colombia. It remains to be seen whether government officials will actually give in to this immoral offer. The girls and the rest of the Colombian acting community can only hope that this backfires—after all, what government would want to be labeled as lecherous and corrupt?

In November 2008, the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste Nagra proposed to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy those Swiss regions whose geology is suitable for the deep disposal of radioactive waste: Bözberg, Jura Südfuss, Nördlich Lägern, Südranden, Wellenberg and Zürcher Weinland. In order to enter into a dialog with the population of the proposed siting regions, Nagra has been present in the largest cities of the potential siting regions since the end of May with information stands in pedestrian zones or at public exhibitions. This gives residents the opportunity to ask questions or express their fears.
Following a successful competition presentation, Matter & Gretener created the posters, advertisements and flyers inviting people to these information events. A very special key image was used: a typical Swiss town sign as a symbol for the specific location of a deep geological repository. However, it is not the town and canton that appear on the board as usual, but the questions of the residents of the municipalities affected by the sectoral plan. Without any window-dressing or window-dressing, this makes it clear that Nagra takes the reservations of the population seriously and is open to dialog. This is also evident in the information newspaper developed by Matter & Gretener, which is sent out after each information event.
Responsible at Nagra: Dr. Markus Fritschi (Head of Camp Programs & Public Relations), Armin Murer (Head of Public Relations), Heinz Sager (Head of Communications). Responsible at Matter & Gretener: Daniel Matter (Creative Direction), Dominik Imseng (Text), Karin Beerli, Urs Hartmann (Art Direction), Imer Krasniqi (Graphics), Marcus Gretener, Simone Frei (Consulting); Photography: Markus Bühler-Rasom, Zurich.

Assai Dialog + Digital is setting a good example by donating a new website to the Zurich Donors' Parliament (ZSP). According to a press release from the agency, the website is intended to raise awareness of the Zurich Donors' Parliament and attract new members and donors.
At the heart of the new website is the emotional imagery, which is designed to appeal to visitors on a personal level. Portraits and testimonials strengthen member loyalty and appeal to potential donors. An important element of the new website is the projects page, which provides an insight into projects supported by the ZSP. The structure of the website has also been revised with the new design. All important information can now be accessed with a single click. The processes for entering projects and final reports have been simplified.
The Zurich Donors' Parliament supports social and cultural projects. It was founded in 2006 by pastor Christoph Sigrist and is the first donor parliament in Switzerland. The ZSP is supported and promoted by well-known personalities such as Josef Estermann and Esther Girsberger.

For the international launch of Davidoff Aromatic Mini Cigarillos, Oettinger Imex has commissioned BSSM Werbeagentur with a campaign. The key visual with the smoke signal in the form of the smoking orchid will be used in ads, on POS material in duty-free and other stores, at trade fairs and in other advertising materials internationally and adapted for the various markets.
Responsible at Oettinger Imex AG, Basel: Hugo Buchwalder (overall responsibility). Responsible at BSSM Werbeagentur, Basel: Urs Schneider (CD), Hans Peter Brugger (text), Daniel Bard (AD), Claudia Paganini, Rolf Schenk (consulting).

Ueli Haldimann's term of office as interim director of Swiss Television
(SF) could take around a year. The Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz (SRG.D) decided on Wednesday to press ahead with the planned merger of SF and Schweizer Radio DRS.
Next October, the SRG.D Board of Directors intends to present a rough concept for the structure of the new corporate unit to the national SRG Board of Directors. This will be around six months earlier than planned, Chairman Viktor Baumeler told SDA in response to a press release from SRG.D on Wednesday.
As soon as the SRG Board of Directors has approved the rough concept for the structure, the future Radio and Television Directorate will be publicly advertised, said Baumeler. The new director could take office around mid-2010. From 2011, television and radio are to form a joint company.
The SRG.D Regional Council will decide on the election of Ueli Haldimann on June 18. On the same day, it will also elect an interim director for Schweizer Radio DRS. Iso Rechsteiner was nominated at the end of May. This election is necessary because the incumbent Walter Rüegg is retiring at the end of September.

The Willisau Diwisa distillery has launched a new Website online. The Lucerne-based new media agency Lifecom is responsible for the realization on a Fullflash basis and the graphics. "The home of the original Willisau fruit distillates" is what it says when you enter the site. After logging in with your date of birth to protect minors, the website reveals recipes for high-proof drinks, among other things. Under the menu item "Brands", in addition to the "Original Willisauer Distillates" and the company's own product Vodka Trojka, other drinks imported by Diwisa whizz across the screen.
Lifecom has already created an animated website for the non-alcoholic energy drinks Trojka, Bodystyle and Bodystyle Ice Tea from Diwisa and developed three games for them. These can also be found on the new website.

The 2009 Eastern Switzerland Media Awards were presented in St. Gallen on Wednesday, June 10. In the press photography category, the prize went to Urs Jaudas for his photo reportage "Der Kuhfotograf" in the St. Galler Tagblatt. Max Dohner, Aargauer Zeitung, was honored in the daily text category. Jan Fitze, Radio Top, received the prize in the Radio Report category, and Jost auf der Maur, NZZ am Sonntag, in the Reportage/Background category. The television jury, which met for the second time this year, divided the prize between Marco Fritsche and Hanspeter Bäni.
The Eastern Switzerland Media Prize was awarded for the ninth time this year. A total of 121 entries were submitted, compared to 134 last year. The prize is supported by journalists from Eastern Switzerland, media companies, the private sector and public institutions. The main sponsors are the Appenzeller Medienhaus, Migros Kulturproduzent and the St. Galler Tagblatt.

The Bellerive studio is disappearing. A legendary location for Swiss television from 1952 to 1972 and since then an integral part of Condor Films' infrastructure, the old TV studio will be demolished in the coming weeks. In its place, according to a Condor Films press release, modern office space will be created on two floors open to the roof. From 2010, these will be used by Condor Films and Faro TV as a new location. At the same time, the company will vacate its previous premises in the same property.

Ueli Haldimann, Editor-in-Chief of Swiss Television (SF), is to become Director of Television ad interim. This is what the Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz is proposing to the Regional Council, as announced on Wednesday. The 55-year-old Haldimann would take over from Director of Television Ingrid Deltenre, who is leaving Swiss Television at the end of the year. She will become Director General of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva at the beginning of 2010. She has been Director of Television since January 1, 2004.
Ueli Haldimann has been editor-in-chief of SF since June 6, 2002 and in this function heads the television information department. He was elected as Deltenre's deputy in mid-January 2004.
The "SRG.D media convergence" project, which provides for the merger of SF and SR DRS, is to be implemented in German-speaking Switzerland from 2011. The plan is for one director to lead the resulting multimedia business unit in future.
The application and selection process to fill the post will begin next October. The position will be advertised publicly, as SRG Deutschschweiz announced on Wednesday.

The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is organizing an international competition for short films for the third time. Both professional and amateur filmmakers are invited to take part free of charge. Prizes will be awarded to the best entries in three categories: five, ten and twenty seconds.
With this international competition, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts aims to contribute to the further development of innovative and effective marketing and communication measures on digital displays in public spaces, as detailed in a press release issued on Wednesday. At the same time, filmmakers will be given the opportunity to present their work to a wide audience. While the second show sets the pace, the participants are free to choose the topic, technology and design of their contributions.
An eight-member jury, consisting of representatives from the fields of design, marketing and film production, will evaluate all entries in two rounds. The best 36 films will be shown on the large displays in Zurich, Lucerne, Berne, Basel, Geneva and Lausanne train stations from the fall. Customers at Swiss post offices will also be entertained: Canal Poste will also be showing the short films. There are cash and non-cash prizes worth CHF 10,000 to be won.
The closing date for entries is August 30, 2009; films submitted after this date will automatically be entered into the 2010 competition. The public award ceremony will take place on October 21, 2009 at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.