In collaboration with Fujifilm, the Keystone photo agency has uploaded 90 micro images to the gallery of Bestpicture.ch were taken. The close-up images were created using a scanning electron micrograph (SEM). You can see - in detail - a grain of pepper and salt, a razor and various insects. In addition to the micrographs, the homepage currently contains around 2000 images by national and international photographers from Bestpicture magazine and the agency archive.

On April 20, 2009, the annual Pulitzer Prizes were awarded at a press conference at Columbia University in New York City. The New York Times came out on top among the journalism prizes. The renowned paper was awarded five prizes. Particular attention was paid to the newspaper's rapid and extensive coverage of the sex scandal that forced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to resign.
The highest Pulitzer Prize in the "Public Service" category, however, went to the Las Vegas Sun newspaper and its reporter Alexandra Berzon. She had uncovered the unusual number of deaths among construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Pulitzer Prize is awarded in more than 20 categories for both journalism and fiction, drama and music. The prizes are endowed with 10,000 dollars (12,000 Swiss francs) each. The award, which has been presented since 1917, is named after its founder, the Hungarian-born U.S. publisher Joseph Pulitzer (1847- 1911).

After being awarded the European Media Prize at the beginning of the year, the human rights organization Reporters Without Borders (ROG) received the Roland Berger Human Dignity Award on Tuesday. This was reported by the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel. The award is donated by management consultant Roland Berger and is endowed with 900,000 euros. The foundation wants to set an example for the high good of press and media freedom, as the organization writes on its website. Currently, more than 80 percent of the world's population has no or only limited access to independent media reporting.
The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has been committed to press freedom worldwide and helping journalists in need for almost 25 years. Founded in 1985 by Frenchman Robert Ménard, it has a worldwide network of offices and correspondents and around 4,000 supporters. Currently, the organization is active on behalf of U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was convicted of espionage in Tehran last week.

Situation of local journalists particularly critical
Risks for critical journalists are currently on the rise worldwide, Elke Schäfer, executive director of the German ROG section, told the Tagesspiegel. According to Vincent Brossel, ROG's chief Asia-wide officer, European journalists enjoy a special status. Much worse, he says, is the situation of local journalists.
From a global perspective, conditions in Europe are good for journalists, but here, too, the influence of criminal organizations on the press is increasing, the report continues. For example, the Italian mafia in Naples has put pressure on journalists reporting on the garbage scandal there.

Press Freedom Ranking
In the "Press Freedom Ranking" published annually by Reporters Without Borders, Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway are in first place. Eritrea brings up the rear in 173rd place. Switzerland is in 7th place, along with Belgium, Latvia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Sweden.

> To the ranking 2009

According to Managing Director Giuseppe Scaglione, Radio 105, which emerged from the licensing process with an FM license, will go on air on June 4, 2009. From June to August, the youth radio station will broadcast an unmoderated music program, followed by the moderated full program from 9 September. This means that the radio station will go on air a little later than announced. The launch had been announced for spring 2009.
However, during the warm-up phase from June to August, the audience will already be involved in the program, as the station writes in a press release. The young people can describe what they expect from the new youth radio station, what music they like best and where they spend their free time in Zurich. The start of the moderated program on 09.09.09 was scheduled for the end of the summer vacations. Radio 105 will broadcast on the 105 megahertz frequency.

It is probably still too early to speak of a general turnaround, but the dramatic slump in total advertising expenditure in Switzerland slowed down for the time being in March. Although advertising pressure still fell by 3 percent year-on-year to around CHF 342 million, a decline of 9.4 percent was recorded in February and a drop of 8.9 percent in January.
An increase of 35.5 percent in the watch industry: because of Baselworld?
Advertising expenditure for tobacco (-78.4%) and consumer electronics (-23.5%) as well as the IT sector (-20.9%) continued to decline significantly, as Media Focus reported on Tuesday. The watch industry, on the other hand, shone with an increase of 35.5 percent. However, it remains to be seen whether this growth was sustainable. It could just as well be due to the Baselworld watch fair, which was held in March rather than April this year.
Surprising growth in the automotive sector too
The 13.4% increase in spending on car advertising is also striking, after declining figures were recorded in January and February. While the general, financial and business press were once again among the losers, radio, the Internet and teletext were unaffected by the crisis. According to Media Focus, double-digit growth rates were recorded here in the first quarter.
The monthly advertising pressure statistics for Switzerland compiled by Media Focus are so-called gross advertising statistics. This means that all advertising placements are valued at the official rates of the advertising medium - newspaper, poster, cinema, etc.

Graphical development of monthly advertising pressure compared to the previous year

Development of advertising pressure as at March 2009

Development of advertising pressure in the key markets

The Emmentaler Switzerland variety organization wants to improve the marketing of Emmentaler. By 2010, 90 percent of packaging is to be standardized in order to increase recognition. Marketing funds will be increased to finance a marketing impulse program in the core markets of Switzerland, Italy and Germany. The product contribution is to be tripled - from 20 to 60 centimes per kilogram. In addition, investments are to be made in promotional activities in cooperation with the retail trade.
Sales of Emmentaler fell by around 3 per cent last year to just over 29,000 tons. This was partly due to unfavorable exchange rates and increased international competition, as Emmentaler Switzerland announced on Tuesday after the delegates' meeting in Bern.

The Kommunikationsverband has extended the submission deadline for the 29th German-language creative award for moving image communication from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Entries for the competition can now be submitted until May 4, 2009. The award ceremony will take place on Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Kehrwieder Theater in Hamburg.

"One for all - women can do it better" is the name of the latest ARD early evening series. The campaign to publicize the show, which plays with common prejudices against women, is just as full of female power as the title. For once, the tables are turned. Alleged women's problems, such as parking or handling money, are elegantly blamed on the stronger sex. Under the slogan "Truths of the 21st century", a radio spot points out that men cause far more car accidents, but still accuse women of lacking driving skills. Another spot blames men for the economic crisis - which is why they have no right to accuse women of not being able to handle money.
Time and again, there are fights between the sexes in advertising. This time, however, for whatever reason, individual men felt their honor had been seriously violated. The ARD audience editorial team received numerous complaints about "denigration of a gender" or "sexism". The German Advertising Council has even received a complaint from a man who feels "sexually discriminated against" by the campaign. One man also complained that the main character in the series is a welder - a typically male profession. The series is therefore "completely unrealistic" and "pure contempt for men", according to Horizont.net. Women can't take a joke, my ass! As part of the "Truths of the 21st century", it is announced that men are not only responsible for car accidents and the economic crisis, but also for the lack of humor.

> To the radio spot Economy

> To the radio spot Driving

New job for former .ch editor Sacha Wigdorovits: he is to become the new communications advisor to Peter Kurer, the recently retired Chairman of the UBS Board of Directors. This was reported by Sonntagsblick.
Wigdorovits is co-owner and board member of the Zurich-based communications agency Contract Media, which specializes in holistic corporate communications.

There was a lively debate at the Annual General Meeting of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG last Saturday. A group of shareholders, who see the NZZ title primarily as a financial investment, were dissatisfied with the company's performance and opposed the extension of the mandate of Chairman of the Board of Directors Conrad Meyer for a further four-year term. Although the group failed - Meyer received 75 percent of the votes present - it was able to rally around 400 votes or around 10 percent of the total share capital behind it. From the other side, it was said that the NZZ was too critical of the FDP, too left-wing and not open enough to an "SVP stance", according to an article in the NZZ on Monday.
The Board of Directors warned that the NZZ should not be "saved to death" and proposed a dividend of CHF 500 per share - equivalent to a total of CHF 2 million. This proposal was approved with 80 percent of the votes. Bernd Kundrun, who was presented as a replacement for Kaspar Villiger, was also elected with 90 percent of the votes.