The Bern City Council is advocating with the SRG for a studio in the federal capital. In a position paper, the city government calls for more news and domestic affairs programs to be broadcast from Bern in the future. The production of such programs is currently too heavily concentrated at the SRG’s Zurich location. This is questionable for reasons of media policy and federalism. Among other things, the City Council envisions relocating the domestic news department of Swiss Television to Bern.
The city council is calling for programs such as «Arena,» «Club,» the election studio, and the so-called “elephant round” featuring party leaders to be produced in Bern. Furthermore, the SRG should keep the Swissinfo business unit based in Bern. The same applies to Swiss Radio DRS with regard to the news department and the online editorial team, as well as the production of DRS 4 News.
With this position paper, the City Council of Bern aims to spark a discussion, as it announced on Monday. Strengthening Bern’s position as a hub addresses a need, particularly in political circles. French-speaking Switzerland would also welcome such a move.

Edipresse and Publicitas have decided to restructure their partnership upon the expiration of their current contract on December 31, 2009. Starting January 1, 2010, Edipresse Switzerland will take over advertising sales for all of its publications itself. Until that date, Publicitas will remain the exclusive marketing partner for the Lausanne-based publishing house, which publishes titles such as Le Matin, Tribune de Genève, and 24 Heures. Even after that, Publicitas will remain a preferred partner and continue to serve as a non-exclusive marketing agent for Edipresse titles, according to a joint press release issued on Monday.
Edipresse already has its own marketing unit, Edipub, which markets the group’s magazines. Starting in 2010, Edipub will expand its activities to include the daily newspapers and magazines that were previously handled by Publicitas. About 100 employees will work exclusively for Edipresse and generate revenue of 180 to 200 million Swiss francs.
Publicitas will maintain a strong sales organization in the Lake Geneva region to further develop its services for its advertising clients in this key market and to actively continue marketing the advertising offerings of its partner media outlets from the region and other parts of the country.

In an interview with the Sonntagszeitung newspaper, Bakom Director Martin Dumermuth criticized the offensive launched by price watchdog Stefan Meierhans against the TV fee collection agency Billag. Bakom also wants to organize the collection of fees more efficiently, if this is possible, said Dumermuth. But Meierhans' proposal is ill-conceived.
Meierhans had proposed collecting the fees together with the direct federal tax and thus saving the CHF 54 million per year that the Billag system costs. According to Dumermuth, this was not thought through to the end. Alternative solutions would also cost something; the cantons, for example, collect 17 percent of the tax revenue for the collection of federal tax. "The proposal is misleading for consumers".
Alternative system hardly feasible before 2014
Dumermuth went on to criticize Meierhans' rash approach to the matter. "I was in very close contact with the price watchdog on this matter." They had agreed not to go public before the commission meeting two weeks ago. One day before the meeting, however, Meierhans appeared before the press. According to Dumermuth, Meierhans had switched on the media wind machine to stir up as much dust as possible.
Dumermuth is aiming for a fee reform because in future, virtually all communication devices will be able to receive radio and television. "The current concept of device-dependent fees will therefore soon no longer be applicable." However, the planned reform is so politically, legally and technically complex that an alternative system will hardly be functional before 2014.
(In the photo: Martin Dumermuth / Photo: Keystone)

The organizational merger of Radio DRS and Swiss Television planned by the SRG is not being welcomed by everyone, particularly on the radio side, as reported by the NZZ am Sonntag and the Sonntag. The general sentiment is that things are moving too fast. Last week, the media union SSM called on the SRG to pause the planned project, titled «Media Convergence,» thereby echoing the concerns of numerous Radio DRS employees.
Radio professionals fear a loss of in-depth knowledge and a general decline in quality as a result of the dissolution of specialized newsrooms. These newsrooms supply content to individual radio programs, whereas on Swiss television, every news program has its own editorial team, as the NZZ am Sonntag reports. In radio, there are now fears that the industry will follow the practices of television.
Will Deltenre be the first head of the merged SRG German-speaking Switzerland region?
Furthermore, several radio employees told *Sonntag* that while they were «favorable» toward the merger, there were media-specific differences that needed to be discussed in detail. Now, however, the radio stations apparently find themselves faced with a fait accompli. The SRG Board of Directors is scheduled to decide on the project on March 18. Furthermore, one radio employee criticized the fact that they had no desire to have to cover the growing financial needs of television as a wealthy junior partner.
According to *Sonntag*, TV Director Ingrid Deltenre is also set to become the first director-general of the merged SRG German-speaking Switzerland region. The newspaper writes that this is a farce insofar as SRG Director General Armin Walpen wants to promote Deltenre to this position—the same Walpen who, as recently as the end of last year, had spoken disparagingly about Deltenre («she makes commercial television»). This personnel decision is also drawing criticism from radio insiders, as the NZZ am Sonntag reports. Deltenre, who is tasked with implementing the merger, has not made a name for herself as a guarantor of quality journalism in her role as head of television. According to the Sunday edition, Radio Director Walter Rüegg will forego his early retirement and take on the convergence dossier.

According to a study by Bakom that has not yet been published, contrary to previous statements by Federal Councilor Moritz Leuenberger, «a fourth FM coverage area» in Zurich is «in principle technically feasible.» This would allow Radio Energy to remain on the air; the station did not receive any of the three licenses awarded at the end of the year and therefore filed an appeal.
As early as Friday, the Department of Communication (UVEK), headed by Leuenberger, reported on the study in a press release titled: «No Immediately Available FM Frequencies in the Greater Zurich Area.» The Sonntagszeitung, which apparently had access to the study, then took up the issue and wrote that the press release bordered on being misleading, since the study clearly showed that additional private radio frequencies could be set up in the Zurich area with minimal technical effort.
Ringier is «extremely annoyed»
Furthermore, according to the Sonntagszeitung, the study contradicts what Federal Councilor Moritz Leuenberger said as recently as November had said in an interview with the *Tages-Anzeiger*: There is «no fourth frequency available for another private broadcaster in the Zurich-Glarus area.» He had «had this thoroughly verified once again by experts.» The station Energy, whose license he had revoked, will likely have to cease operations for good.
Broadcasting expert Peter Matter, one of the study’s authors, expressed surprise that the DETEC interpreted the study so one-sidedly in its press release. And at the Ringier media group, which owns Energy, officials are «extremely irritated that DETEC has presented an expert report in such a biased manner.» The study was initiated by Mario Fehr (SP), Filippo Leutenegger (FDP), and Natalie Rickli (SVP). Leutenegger is now calling for Energy to be allowed to use a fourth frequency until DAB is introduced.

Gieri Cavelty, currently the federal government correspondent, has been appointed the new head of the domestic news department at the Aargauer Zeitung. He will assume his new position on June 1, 2009. Cavelty will succeed Matthias Küng, who is moving to the Aargau department as political editor.
In 2007, Cavelty was named «Newcomer of the Year» by the industry publication *Schweizer Journalist*. He has been the *Tages-Anzeiger*’s Federal Parliament correspondent since August 2008. Prior to that, he was a domestic news editor at the Zürcher Landzeitung and a culture editor at the Bündner Tagblatt. While studying history and German literature in Zurich, he wrote regularly for the NZZ.

Following widespread criticism of its privacy policy, Facebook has now decided to involve its users in decisions regarding rule changes. Members of the online network will be able to vote on proposals for new rules in the future. If at least 30 percent of active, registered users participate, the results will be binding. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the goal is to become more open and transparent.
A vote will be held if more than 7,000 users of the platform submit a comment regarding an announced rule change. At the same time, Facebook reserves the right to make changes for legal or administrative reasons even without allowing users to submit comments.

So it turns out—at least one media company did benefit from Euro 08. It is APG, the Swiss parent company of the outdoor advertising group Affichage. «The European Soccer Championship in Switzerland was a positive experience for us,» said Affichage CEO Christian Kauter yesterday at the annual results press conference. Although he did not want to quantify the benefits of Euro 08, he pointed out that APG was «the only media company» to use the sporting event to offer customers customized out-of-home packages consisting of billboards, eBoards, big posters, and transit advertising.
«Our success in the market clearly demonstrated that we are on the right track with our philosophy of integrated out-of-home communication,» said Kauter. In fact, APG was able to increase its sales revenue in its home market of Switzerland by 2.9 percent to 305.9 million Swiss francs. In the previous year, revenue growth had been just 1.3 percent.
Growth in Southeastern Europe
The Group’s total revenue grew by as much as 17 percent to 452 million Swiss francs. International markets—specifically those in Southeast Europe—already account for 32.3 percent of this figure. In the previous year, that figure was just over 24 percent. However, this strong growth is largely attributable to acquisitions in Greece and Romania—and to the dissolution of Europlakat International (EPI), a former joint venture with the French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux. This dissolution enabled Affichage to fully consolidate its holdings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Hungary over the course of last year.
However, the company’s net income declined in 2008. It fell by just over 54 percent to 29.7 million Swiss francs. Much of this decline can be attributed to an extraordinary capital gain in 2007, which naturally did not recur in 2008. In addition, exchange rate losses occurred primarily in Hungary and Serbia, as these countries experienced inflation of over 20 percent last year.
APG cut the salaries of its senior management
Because Kauter expects lower sales for the current year, the company is proceeding cautiously. It has imposed a hiring freeze, implemented strict cost management, and now approves investments only on a quarterly basis. At the same time, salaries for senior management have been cut by 50 percent, as have dividend payments. The latter measure, however, is intended «to strengthen equity and liquidity as a precautionary measure,» according to the company.
To put it plainly: Affichage is striving to keep its war chest as full as possible. This is indeed necessary, as it took a hit last year. As a result, the company now has debts totaling 36.8 million. Above all, however, its equity decreased by 90 million to 220 million Swiss francs—primarily for accounting and actuarial reasons.
Acquisition Plans Despite the Crisis
But Kauter considers the debt to be low. And with an equity ratio of 38.9 percent, the group is still in good shape, he says. But taken together—debt and lower equity—these two factors do show that Affichage’s war chest is less well-stocked than it was a year ago.
Kauter expects that further opportunities for acquisitions may arise as early as this year. He is focusing his attention on three outdoor advertising companies operating in Eastern Europe: Ströer, Germany’s number one, which is heavily indebted; the Austrian company Epamedia, which recently had to be taken over by Raiffeisenbank; and the major American conglomerate Clear Channel Outdoor, the world’s number one. According to Kauter, CCO is likely on the verge of being broken up. Conclusion: To remain capable of acting, Affichage must therefore indeed keep a close eye on its war chest.
Markus Knöpfli

The article "M6 advertising window: Match against TSR is still open" (WW issue 7/09) contains an incorrect figure. It stated that the French advertising window M6 had achieved a market share of 34.9 percent in the 3+ target group in French-speaking Switzerland in 2008. This is incorrect. The market share was 9.5 percent.

Publicis has developed an advertising campaign to mark the launch of Swiss’s new A330-300 aircraft with updated interiors. The agency has designed three visuals for the campaign. They are intended to highlight the new level of comfort in Business Class while also showcasing the new flying experience. One image, for example, shows a man lying on the new air cushion system—which allows him to adjust the firmness of the seat—and relaxing while listening to music.
The campaign’s central message is the idea that, for Swiss, the preferences and individual comfort of each guest are the top priority, according to a statement from the agency. This commitment is reflected in new seats with new features.
The international advertising campaign, aimed specifically at business travelers, will be featured starting this week in several countries in print ads and on billboards, in Swiss Lounges, on board flights, and online. The strategic concept and creative execution of the campaign were developed under the direction of Publicis
Person in charge at SWISS International Airlines: Dr. Frank Maier (Head of Marketing), Marcel Benz (Head of Marketing Communications), Christine Moch (Advertising Manager), Corinne Weishaupt, Stefan Anetzeder (Advertising). Responsible at Publicis: Martin Denecke (CCO), Sacha Moser, Tim Hoppin (CD), Swen Morath (AD), Felix Freese (Copywriter), Sandro Tissi, Devika Hasler (Graphic Designer), Vera Schmid (Art Buyer), Janett Curdin, Stephan Lanz, Myriam Mojon (Account Handling), Achill Prakash (Strategic Planning). Photography: Jaap Vliegenthart. Production: Hendrickje van de Ven (Unit, Amsterdam). Image editing: Jan Stel (Souverein, Amsterdam)

Tele Ostschweiz (TVO) will not receive any license fee revenue from the federal government for the time being. An appeal filed by its Winterthur-based competitor, Tele Säntis, against the granting of the license to Tele Ostschweiz has suspensive effect. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court, as announced on Friday by the founder of Tele Säntis, Winterthur-based media entrepreneur Günter Heuberger (Tele Top). TVO had requested that the suspensive effect be lifted, but the Federal Administrative Court rejected this request.
Last fall, the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy, and Communications (UVEK) awarded the TV license for the cantons of St. Gallen, both Appenzells, and parts of Thurgau to TVO, which is owned by St. Galler Tagblatt AG. Heuberger’s Tele Säntis came away empty-handed and filed an appeal. The license is valid for the next ten years. The licensed broadcaster receives 2.2 million Swiss francs annually from the federal government. Following the positive licensing decision, TVO announced an expansion of its programming and the creation of about ten new jobs.

The newspaper «Reformiert,» formerly known as the “Kirchenbote,” has hired a new editor-in-chief. Starting in September, Pastor Jürgen Dittrich will head the publication. Until now, the editorial leadership role had been shared by two people.
«Since May 2008, *Reformiert* has been the member newsletter for the cantons of Aargau, Graubünden, Bern-Jura-Solothurn, and Zurich. It is published monthly with a circulation of approximately 700,000 copies.