Spiegel editor-in-chief Stefan Aust's contract, which originally ran until 2010, was not extended in November 2007 and was terminated in February of this year. For some months now, Georg Mascolo and Mathias Müller von Blumencron have shared the new dual role of editor-in-chief. Müller von Blumencron lacked a political profile, according to the Financial Times Deutschland online portal a year ago. In an interview with the FAZ, they have now explained their joint management for the first time and talked about the positioning of the magazine.
A dual leadership looks more spectacular than it is, says Mathias Müller von Blumencron. Moreover, this has a long tradition in the Spiegel editorial team. The two editors-in-chief alternate leadership every two weeks. Ultimately, however, the only thing that matters is that they agree on what kind of journalism Der Spiegel needs. And they agree on that. The magazine is needed as an "enterprise of enlightenment", says Georg Mascolo. Or, to quote the founder Rudolf Augstein, the true power of Der Spiegel lies in helping insights achieve a breakthrough. Journalism is there to take a close look, critically and with a dash of disrespect for the powerful, adds Müller von Blumencron. It is also clever in its analysis, always surprising, with occasionally quirky stories.
For the future, the two editors-in-chief are focusing on quality in print, online and TV. According to Mascolo, there should be no discussion about whether one medium should completely replace the other. He is interested in the content, at Spiegel "journalism first" and not primarily online first.

The "Tagi Magi" will be published in a new layout from 2009; it will have a new font and will be one centimeter higher. The new layout of the weekly magazine will allow a more flexible arrangement of topics, according to a press release from Tamedia. This allows the magazine to focus on a single topic as well as a series of smaller stories. The increased flexibility also makes it possible to respond better to different advertising volumes.
The layout is being fundamentally revised for the first time since 1999. The new typography is intended to ensure a more harmonious flow of text. The calm and restrained design reflects the sophisticated journalism that the magazine has been offering for 37 years. By using more white space, Das Magazin will soon appear more spacious and elegant. A specially developed Garamond serif font will be used for the running text. A new format, one centimeter taller, forms the framework for the new design.
In terms of content, shorter texts are intended to break up the introduction to the magazine. This will be followed as usual by longer articles providing in-depth background information. As before, the magazine will end with columns and the section: A day in the life of. The magazine is included as a weekly supplement in the Tages-Anzeiger, the Basler Zeitung, the Berner Zeitung and the Solothurner Tagblatt.
A campaign is now to promote the redesigned magazine. This is currently being developed by the Baden-based agency Grey, which won out against three competitors at the competition presentation. For Das Magazin, the team led by Enrico Bachmann, Creative Director at Grey, will create publicity ads as well as advertisements and various other measures. The campaign was launched at the beginning of December.

The Burgdorf-based company Sanitized has commissioned the BSSM advertising agency with various new individual mandates. Sanitized is an antimicrobial hygiene and material protection company - for all types of textiles and plastics.
In addition to the products, the company's range of services includes advice on marketing and technical issues, testing services and a brand and licensing concept. The company was founded 50 years ago because a Swiss shoe wholesaler was looking for ways to reduce bad odors in shoes and thus gain a competitive advantage.

SWIPS, the platform of independent publishers in Switzerland, has a new president. Liliane Studer from Limmatverlag replaces SWIPS co-founder Ricco Bilger after one year. The group of 22 publishers also elected Matthias Burki as Vice President at this year's meeting on Friday.
An initial assessment of SWIPS' first year was positive. The group has established itself in the public eye and its members have benefited internally from the exchange of information, Bilger summarized. According to the new president, she now wants to expand the areas of marketing and sales.
SWIPS will continue to be present at important festivals and trade fairs.

The RS Media Group, based in Singen, Germany, and active in the areas of pre-press and integrated software solutions, has commissioned the newly founded Wortstark agency in Uster with a market development concept for Switzerland. The concept includes various B2B measures. In addition to advertisements in the trade press and CRM activities, workshops and other events are also planned.
Wortstark owner Gerold Brütsch-Prévôt's experience on the customer side, particularly with the introduction of digital production processes, was the decisive factor in this collaboration, says Antonius Huerkamp, responsible for sales and marketing at the RS Media Group. The agency will advise and support Swiss customers, particularly during the introductory phase.

Cuban Ricardo Gonzáles Alfonso, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, has been named "Journalist of the Year 2008" by the organization Reporters Without Borders.
In a country where news and information are still a state monopoly, Gonzáles has shown exceptional courage, Reporters Without Borders announced in Paris on Thursday. "Despite considerable personal risks, he was one of the very few to demand his right to freedom of expression and to address repressed issues such as racism in Cuban society," said a spokesperson, explaining the decision of the international jury.
Gonzáles founded De Cuba, one of Cuba's first independent newspapers. Together with 26 other journalists, he was arrested in 2003. A court later accused him of "undermining the independence and integrity of Cuba" and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
The organization also presented human rights awards to the bloggers Zarganar and Nay Phone Latt from Burma and to the North Korean radio station Free NK. According to Reporters Without Borders, the station is considered an enemy of the state in North Korea because, with the help of undercover correspondents, it reports on topics that have not been made public for several decades due to the repressive press laws.
With these awards, the organization honours journalists, internet dissidents and the media for their special commitment to press freedom and human rights. The prizes are endowed with 2,500 euros each.
We also have an award to hand out. The Swiss Reporter Without Borders is former Weltwoche and magazine editor Peer Teuwsen. The 40-year-old German-born reporter has landed himself a dream job as head of the new Swiss pages at the Hamburg weekly Die Zeit.

The Zolliker agency Alex Schmid Direct is once again advertising for Gauloises. In keeping with the Gauloises claim "Liberté toujours", smokers can design their own personal pack of cigarettes as part of a new cross-media campaign. The motto is to express individuality.
You can simply layout your own design online and then order it at the click of a mouse. Two weeks later - according to the agency's press release - you should receive three free self-designed pack sleeves in your letterbox.
The campaign uses a CRM program specially developed for Gauloises Blondes and includes new customer mailings, e-newsletters, various onsite promotions and POS activities.
Responsible at Gauloises: Philippe Tschanun (Junior Brand Manager). Responsible at Alex Schmid Direct: Remo Genepretti, Anesha Weideli (design), Sabrina Björn (consulting & text).

AZ Medien is discontinuing the free newspaper Woche and launching three new free newspapers for the canton of Aargau and the Limmattal in Zurich: the Stadt-Anzeiger for the Baden, Wettingen, Brugg region, the Stadt-Anzeiger for the Aarau, Zofingen region and the Bezirksanzeiger in the Limmattal. The total circulation is 112,355 copies, as the media company announced on Thursday.
The Gratizsanzeiger will focus on regional reports, club news and tips for going out and will be published in the large Broadsheet newspaper format. Hubert Keller, who already runs the Woche newspaper, will be editor-in-chief of the Anzeiger.
This free tabloid newspaper with three regional editions will be discontinued on December 24. The Woche was launched in March 2007 as a merger of Aargauer Woche and LIZ Limmat Zeitung.

From the beginning of 2009, the overall market data on Internet usage in Switzerland will be offered in a new cooperation between Nielsen Online and Net-Metrix. To this end, the two existing panel products Netview from Nielsen Online and Net-Metrix Tracking will be merged. According to a press release issued on Thursday, this will lead to a significant improvement in analysis options and meet the market need for a standardized data source.
By merging the two Internet measurement panels, a panel of around 4,000 panelists will be available from the beginning of 2009, which will be continuously expanded to 10,000 panel participants by mid-2009. The new panel will be offered under the name Net-Metrix-Tracking - powered by Nielsen Online.

Reprimand for two employees of French-speaking Swiss television: As reported by SDA on Wednesday, a journalist and a director of the TSR channel committed a serious omission. While filming a report on narcotics, they had not informed their superiors that their cameraman was using drugs himself. The two were accused of not informing their producer, confirmed Daniel Monnat, Head of Information Magazines at TSR, in a report by the French-speaking Swiss newspaper Le Matin. During the internal investigation, the journalist and the director were suspended. The freelance cameraman had been caught snorting cocaine in the toilet of a nightclub. His contract was terminated immediately.
The team was working on a report for the program "Temps présent". TSR then decided not to broadcast the report on the distribution of narcotics. Expenses of CHF 100,000 thus went up in smoke, or probably disappeared in two nostrils.

AZ Medien discontinues its free weekly title Woche at Christmas, but launches a new paper just one month later, called Stadt-Anzeiger or Bezirks-Anzeiger, depending on the region. Despite the existing Publicitas lease, it is also massively expanding the advertising team for the new Anzeiger.
From February 5, 2009, three new newspapers will be published in the canton of Aargau and the Limmattal in Zurich: a city newspaper with split editions for the regions of Baden, Wettingen and Brugg, a second city newspaper for Aarau and Zofingen and a district newspaper in the Limmattal in Zurich. The total circulation is 112,355 copies. The free newspaper Woche with its six split editions is discontinued and is published for the last time on December 24.
The new Anzeiger, which like the Woche is published by AZ Wochenzeitungen AG, a subsidiary of AZ Medien, is distributed free of charge to households every Thursday: The editions for Baden, Wettingen and Brugg with a total of 42,747 copies, those for Aarau and Zofingen with 36,202 copies and the Bezirks-Anzeiger with 33,406 copies. In the advertising network with the Lenzburger Bezirksanzeiger (circulation 30,600 copies), this is the advertising combination with the highest circulation along the A1 highway.
The Anzeiger will be published in newspaper format in future. In terms of content, the focus will continue to be on local and regional stories, and the service character will remain in the foreground, although the editorial team under Editor-in-Chief Hubert Keller will be increased by three to six positions. "We want to bring the Anzeiger even closer to readers and advertising customers in future and anchor it even more firmly," says Eva Keller, spokesperson for AZ Medien, explaining the increase.
What is particularly striking, however, is that AZ Medien is also expanding advertising sales at the free newspaper, which is leased from Publicitas. And by four people. "Expansion" is therefore probably the wrong word; it looks more like "building up" an in-house advertising crew. Keller confirms: "The intention is to bring advertising sales for the new Anzeiger back closer to the publisher in the foreseeable future. However, we will continue to work very closely with P." In the same breath, however, she describes the advertising volume of the weekly this year as "unsatisfactory". Which expresses dissatisfaction with the work of the P. Keller says: "The P is aware of this and will do everything it can to improve the situation."
But anyone who consults the VSW advertising statistics will rub their eyes at the dissatisfaction. From January to October 2008, the Week had almost 50 percent more advertisements than in the same period last year. So did the P not do such a bad job? Caution: The statistics say nothing about how many advertisements came via the P. In fact, AZ Wochenzeitungen has also been acquiring ads for years - in parallel with P. And it has always accepted ads directly from other intermediaries. It is therefore possible that a large proportion of the weekly advertisements did not come via the P channel. In any case, this would be consistent with an earlier statement by AZ publisher Peter Wanner, according to which P was doing too little for AZ Medien titles in the local market. He said at the time that they therefore wanted to become active themselves. He also recently hinted that a termination of the P lease at the end of 2009 is not out of the question. Now the events at Die Woche even make a separation from P seem likely.
Markus Knöpfli

Dachcom is now advertising for Cash & Carry Angehrn. To mark the opening of the ninth CCA branch in Pratteln, the Rheinecker agency presented a number of advertising measures for its new client for the first time. On posters, in specialist advertisements and direct mailings, the advertising agency emphasized the quality and freshness of Angehrn's products. Based on the traditional company slogan "Freshness for professionals", Dachcom is now promoting the "fresh CCAha experience". This should also be made directly tangible at the POS: With its color and presentation concept, Angehrn wants to highlight the importance of development trends in purchasing behavior.
Responsible at CCA: Markus Weiskopf (Head of Marketing). Responsible at Dachcom: Bernd Leisner (text/concept), Martin Küng (AD/graphics), Otto Gmeiner and René Frommelt (consulting).