The telecommunications group Orange is taking over the CD seller Citydisc. By taking over the Citydisc stores and opening additional Orange Centers, Orange will double its store network from 47 to 80 locations by the end of 2009, as the telecommunications provider announced on Monday. The two companies did not disclose the sale price.
Orange plans to implement a new store concept in 24 Citydisc outlets by summer 2009: The Citydisc multimedia range will be merged with the Orange Telekom offers. The stores will be called "Orange Citydisc". The 155 Citydisc employees can keep their jobs, both companies announced. Orange is also looking for around 60 new sales staff. The continued employment of Citydisc employees under Orange's working conditions has been agreed with the employee representatives and the communications union.
The concentration process in the Swiss telecoms sector is therefore continuing and the balance is shifting once again. Back in May, industry leader Swisscom took over the sales outlets and customer service of The Phone House, expanding its presence to over 170 stores throughout Switzerland. Competitor Sunrise, for its part, has opened a good dozen of its own sales outlets in recent months and currently offers its products in 52 stores. In the medium term, Sunrise aims to have 80 of its own stores.
The Swiss Federal Competition Commission (WeKo) is not expected to deal with the merger between Orange and Citydisc. The authority confirmed this to SDA on Monday. According to the law, mergers only have to be reported to the Competition Commission if at least two of the companies involved generate annual sales of over CHF 100 million in Switzerland. According to the company, Citydisc's turnover is below this mark.

The Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) adopted resolutions at its congress in Thun on October 30 and 31: In one statement, the union calls on the Federal Council to lift the ban on advertising on SRG's online platforms. In the opinion of the SSM, the SRG must be able to offer its programming on all new distribution channels and platforms as part of its public service mandate. The workload of staff has increased significantly in recent times, which is why the creation of new jobs is essential. To finance this, SRG must be given the opportunity to place advertising on its multimedia platforms.
In another resolution, the SSM Congress expresses its solidarity with the staff of Tele Bärn and supports their long-standing fight for better working conditions. According to the press release, employees have not been able to benefit from the takeover of Espace Media Group by Tamedia and the CHF 2.2 million for Tele Bärn from fee splitting.
In other resolutions, the SSM advocates a flexible AHV retirement age and calls on parliamentarians to link the UBS aid to specific demands. The last resolution deals with the liberalization of the electricity market and current developments in electricity prices.

DRS4 News has been broadcasting news around the clock for a year. In July 2008, the radio station had communicated that DRS4 was exceeding expectations with a market share of 0.7 percent. However, Sonntagsblick says it has figures that make the news channel look less good. The transmitter could reach the market share of 0.7 per cent only, because successful transmissions such as the echo of the time run parallel to the transmission on DRS1 also on DRS4. Without these broadcasts, the market share would fall short of the targeted 0.5 percent, the Sonntagsblick continued.

After Pope John Paul II, whose CD "Papa remixed" sold over a million copies in 1999, the Catholic Church wants to do it again. A CD with three singing priests is the great hope of the Christmas business. And when the church does something, it does it right. The debut album "The Priests" with vocals by Father Eugene, Father Martin and Father David is launched simultaneously in 32 countries. Eminem's manager is involved and U2 producer Mike Hedges is responsible for the sound.
The Catholic boy band's target audience is not only 1.1 billion Catholics, but also people of other faiths and non-believers who have taken a liking to spiritual entertainment music. Although the media interest in the three tenors is huge, the Northern Irish priests have no airs and graces. Unlike other pop celebrities, they are modest and do not desperately seek fame. The idea of entering the highly competitive Christmas business came from the record company. The priests want to donate a large part of their income to charity. However, Pope Benedict XVI is anything but enthusiastic about this new trend. In his opinion, "Musica sacra" should not be used for "rhythmic ecstasy", but should serve "worship in spirit and truth".

The two losers from the Zurich area, Tele Züri and Radio Energy, are reacting with incomprehension to the negative licensing decision. However, while the Zurich television leader can remain on air without a license, Radio Energy is dependent on the license. What will happen next for the two private broadcasters?
Tele Zurich is examining both an appeal against the decision and the chances of broadcasting without a license, according to a press release from Tamedia. Without a license, Tele Züri would no longer be bound to a broadcasting area specified by the federal government and would be able to expand its broadcasting area. According to Tamedia spokesperson Christoph Zimmer, the Zurich-based broadcaster is in talks with around 20 cable network providers in the greater Zurich area. Cablecom has already guaranteed Tele Züri a place in the analog network. However, it is still unclear which one. According to Christoph Zimmer, however, they are not satisfied with a double-digit slot.
The future broadcasting area has not yet been defined. However, the cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen, Glarus, northern central Switzerland and eastern Aargau are included in the reception area. Tele Züri plans to expand to all regions with close economic and social ties to Zurich.

The situation is different for Radio Energy out. The private radio station has already decided to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court. The radio station, in which Ringier Switzerland holds a stake of around 51%, is also commissioning an expert opinion on a possible fourth frequency in the greater Zurich area. The radio station is receiving support from politicians: FDP National Councillor Filippo Leutenegger and his non-partisan "Campaign for Media Freedom" are backing the station's plans. SVP National Councillor Natalie Rickli also backs the station. If necessary, DRS3 could also be switched off in Zurich, as state radio does nothing that a private broadcaster cannot do, Rickli told Sonntagsblick. The SP will also submit an urgent postulate on Monday that obliges the cantonal government to campaign at federal level for a fourth FM frequency in the greater Zurich area.
Marc Walder, Managing Director of Ringier Switzerland, has to put up with two accusations in particular: Radio Energy had made a tactical error by only applying for the large Zurich license area and not for the small one. In addition, the station's information service was inadequate. Walder defends himself against such accusations. He told the NZZ am Sonntag that it had been clear for the commercially most successful radio station with 220,000 listeners per day to only apply for the large area. The information on Radio Energy is "target group-oriented"; the young audience is provided with short news items.
According to Walder, a future as a "pirate radio station" is also conceivable. Walder told the Sonntagszeitung newspaper that the possibility of Energy Zurich being fed into Switzerland from France is being examined. The NRJ Group, which owns the remaining Energy Zurich shares, is based in France.

Radio Basilisk celebrated its 25th birthday on Saturday with an open day. In addition to the anniversary, there was also the announcement of the new license for the Basel-based private station. Around 3000 people accepted the invitation and visited the radio station's studios and production facilities at Fischmarkt on November 1.

In February 2009, 38-year-old journalist Ralph Kreuzer will take over the word area "Background" in the program management of DRS2, which includes the editorial departments Religion, Society, Culture and Radio Drama. Kreuzer will be responsible for the station's journalistic direction together with Christina Omlin, head of the word area "Topicality," and program director Marco Meier.
Ralph Kreuzer studied English and journalism at the University of Freiburg and graduated with a doctorate. He gained his first journalistic experience as a freelancer for various newspapers. From 1997 to 2004, he worked as an editor and producer for Swiss Radio DRS and Swiss Television SF. Since 2005 he has been executive producer of the program "Sternstunden".

On Friday evening, the Golden Ear 2008 was awarded in the Limmathall Zurich. The best radio spots and audio-visual contributions were awarded bronze, silver and golden ears. The Golden Ear went to two agencies at once: Y&R Germany won the award for the spot "Radieschen". The advertising agency Kolle Rebbe won over the jury, as it did last year, this time with the spot "Schneckenkorn.
The German-language radio spot prize was awarded for the 11th time. Spot makers from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and South Tyrol competed for the award. The evening was hosted by Swiss TV presenter Cecile Bähler.

The list of winners:
The Golden Ear 2008
Category: Home / House / Office
Advertising agency: Y&R Germany
Text/Concept: Helge Kniess, Norbert Hübner, Deborah Hanusa, Christian Daul, Andreas Richter
Consulting: Lennart Wittgen
Recording studio: Toncafé Studios
Sound engineer: Christian Schreitter
Speaker: Christian Schreitter, Rolf Buschpeter
Client: Ed. Wüsthof Dreizackwerk KG
Product/Brand: Wüsthof Kitchen Knife
Single spot: "Radish
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Jörg Hehner

Category: Home / House / Office
Advertising agency :Kolle Rebbe advertising agency
Text/Concept: Ingo Müller, Petra Cremer
Consulting: Katharina Voss, Inga Bestehorn
Recording studio: The Shack
Sound engineer: Tobias Sauer
Speaker: Berend Brüdgam, Sascha Petersen
Client: Compo GmbH & Co. KG
Product/Brand: Compo slug pellet Lima Disque
Single spot: "Slug pellet
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Oliver Trappmann

Silver
Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Ruf Lanz advertising agency
Text/Concept: Thomas Schöb, Markus Ruf
Director: Thomas Schöb
Recording studio: Jingle Jungle, Zurich
Sound engineer: Christoph Benz
Speaker: Stefan Ashton Frank, Off: Peter Steiner
Client: Tixi Fahrdienst
Product/Brand: Tixi driving service for people with a disability
Spot series: Tixi driving service, "Luther King".
Responsible for marketing/advertising: Stefan del Fabro

Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Scholz & Friends Hamburg
Text/Concept: Bastian Otter
Consulting: Raphael Brinkert, Jens Hoffmann
Recording studio: Loft Tonstudios
Client: Fire department of the state capital Dresden
Product/Brand: Recruiting Dresden Fire Department
Single spot: "Waiting loop
Responsible for marketing/advertising: Brandoberamtsrat Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Mende

Category: Audio-Visual
Advertising agency: Walker & Co advertising agency
Text/Concept: Steven Clarke
Consulting: Patricia Meneghin
Director: Jeff Thomas
Recording studio: Sonny, London
Sound engineer: Quinn at Marshallstreet
Client: Euro 08 against trafficking in women
Product/Brand: Euro 08 against trafficking in women
Single spot: "Cattle trade
Responsible Marketing/Advertising: Yvonne Zimmermann

Bronze
Category: Health
Advertising agency: Serviceplan Munich/Hamburg
Text/Concept: Thorsten Voigt, Sandra Loibl, Julia Pfund
Consulting: Monica Klingenfuss, Bianca Becher
Director: Florian Leissle, Thorsten Voigt
Recording studio: New Westpark Studios
Sound engineer: Florian Leissle
Speaker: Florian Odendahl, Christian Baumann
Client: Rodenstock
Product/Brand: Rodenstock varifocals
Spot series: Rodenstock, "Golf Moderator
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Torsten Meier

Category: Trade
Advertising agency: Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann
Text/Concept: Rosa Haider, Hannes Böker, Franz Merlicek
Consulting: Alexander Rosenegger, Albin Lenzer, Monika Piekielko Producer: Sahinaz Agamola-Schauer
Sound studio: Soundfeiler
Speaker: Rosa Haider, Matthias Wondrak
Client: XXXLutz
Product/Brand: Furniture Store
Single spot: "Family album
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Mag. Thomas Salinger

Category: Trade
Advertising agency: Advico Young & Rubicam
Text/Concept: Christian Bobst, Andi Portmann
Consulting: Sandro Breu
Recording studio: NJP Tonstudio
Sound engineer: Leos Gerteis
Client: Alpina Optics & Sport
Product/Brand: CP Helmets
Single spot: "Snow sports
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Janine Birrer

Category: Media
Advertising agency: SPILLMANN/FELSER/LEO BURNETT
Text/Concept: Beat Egger, Fabian Esslinger
Consulting: Mirjam Eberle
Recording studio: Hastings Zurich
Speaker: Horst Warning
Client: Tamedia AG
Product/Brand: Tages-Anzeiger
Single spot: "Keep up"
Responsible for marketing/advertising: Cyril Hänggi

Category: Media
Advertising agency: Kolle Rebbe Werbeagentur
Text/Concept: Florian Ludwig
Consulting: Katharina Lechelt, Valeska Lamberti
Recording studio: S.P.O.T. Media
Sound engineer: Heinz Kühne
Speaker: Olaf Pessler, Off: Martin Schäfer
Client: ZDF
Product/Brand: Father Castell
Single spot: "Arrest
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Thomas Grimm

Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Advico Young & Rubicam
Text/Concept: Markus Gut, Philipp Skrabal, Martin Stulz
Recording studio: Hastings Zurich
Client: Blue Cross
Spot series: Blue Cross, "Wife"
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Stephan Kunz

Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Draftfcb Kobza advertising agency
Text/Concept: Florian Schwab, Patrik Partl
Consulting: Mag. Fred Reiss
Director: Andreas Gesierich, Daniel Senitschnig
Recording studio: Steinhof Musikproduktion GmbH
Client: Austrian Road Safety Board
Single spot: "Speeder
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Mag. Ursula Messner

Shortlist
Category: Health
Advertising agency: Serviceplan Munich/Hamburg
Text/Concept: Thorsten Voigt, Sandra Loibl, Julia Pfund
Consulting: Monica Klingenfuss, Bianca Becher
Director: Florian Leissle, Thorsten Voigt
Recording studio: Neue Westparkstudios GmbH
Sound engineer: Florian Leissle
Spokespersons: Thomas Albus, Christian Baumann (Spot Football) Matti Klemm, Christian Baumann (Spot Formula 1)
Client: Rodenstock
Product/Brand: Rodenstock varifocals
Spot series: Rodenstock, "Football presenter" "Formula 1 presenter
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Torsten Meier

Category: Health
Advertising agency: Jung von Matt/Limmat
Text/Concept: Alexander Holtz, Alexander Jaggy
Consulting: Martin Samsel, Dennis Busch
Recording studio: Kirschnermusic
Sound engineer: Martin Stäheli
Speaker: Sigmund Tischendorf, Edward Piccin, Irina Schönen
Client: EurAsia Heart Foundation
Product/Brand: Organ Donation Foundation
Spot series: EurAsia Heart Foundation, "Heart" "Lungs"
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Prof. Dr. Med. Paul Robert Vogt

Category: Trade
Advertising agency: Ruf Lanz advertising agency
Text/Concept: Torsten Maas, Markus Ruf
Director: Torsten Maas, Markus Ruf
Recording studio: Selmi-Tonstudio, Zurich
Sound engineer: Christof Grunder, Renzo Selmi
Spokesperson: Spot Ospel: Marcel Ospel Spot small shareholders: various angry small shareholders. Off-speaker for both spots: Irina Schönen
Client: Airport Outlet, Zurich Airport
Product/Brand: Outlet
Spot series: Outlet, "Ospel" "UBS small shareholders".
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Peter Wider

Category: Home / House / Office
Advertising agency: Ruf Lanz advertising agency
Text/Concept: Torsten Maas
Director: Torsten Maas, Markus Ruf, Thomas Schöb
Recording studio: Selmi-Tonstudio, Zurich
Sound engineer: Christof Grunder, Renzo Selmi
Speaker: Spot Frau Schneider: Debbie Frank, Edi Huber, off: Irina Schönen
Spot phone sex: Barbara Kretz, Peter Fischli, off: Irina Schönen
Client: Real Clean
Product/Brand: Office and Commercial Cleaning Company
Spot series: Real Clean AG, "Mrs. Schneider" "Phone sex"
Responsible for marketing/advertising: Toni Romano

Category: Media
Advertising agency: Kolle Rebbe Werbeagentur
Text/Concept: Florian Ludwig
Consulting: Katharina Lechelt, Valeska Lamberti
Recording studio: S.P.O.T. Media
Sound engineer: Heinz Kühne
Speaker: Eva Arteaga, Dieter Gring, off: Martin Schäfer
Client: ZDF
Product/Brand: Our Man In The South
Single spot: "Vocabulary
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Thomas Grimm

Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Ruf Lanz advertising agency
Text/Concept: Thomas Schöb, Markus Ruf
Director: Thomas Schöb
Recording studio: Jingle Jungle, Zurich
Sound engineer: Christoph Benz
Speaker: Spot John F. Kennedy: Frank Lenart, Spot Bob Marley: Andrew Robinson
Off-speaker on both spots: Peter Steiner
Client: Tixi Fahrdienst
Product/Brand: Tixi driving service for people with a disability
Spot series: Tixi driving service, "John F. Kennedy" "Bob Marley"
Responsible for marketing/advertising: Stefan del Fabro

Category: Social/Environment
Advertising agency: Advico Young & Rubicam
Text/Concept: Markus Gut, Philipp Skrabal, Martin Stulz
Recording studio: Hastings Zurich
Client: Blue Cross
Spot series: Blue Cross, "Career" "Life Plan" "Son"
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Stephan Kunz

Category: Audio-Visual
Advertising agency: Ruf Lanz advertising agency
Text/Concept: Markus Ruf
Consulting: Gian-Marco Juon
Director: Serge Hoeltschi
Sound studio: Film production: Onfilm, Zurich
Sound engineer: Sound design: Peter Bräker
Client: Hiltl
Product/Brand: Vegetarian Gastro Business
Single spot: "Sound designer
Responsible for Marketing/Advertising: Rolf Hiltl

Early Friday morning, after months of deliberation, Bakom finally awarded the last 21 licences for FM radio and regional television stations. Radio 24, Radio 1 and Radio Zürisee won the race in the highly competitive Greater Zurich area. Radio Energy and Tele Züri will no longer receive licenses. Federal Councillor Leuenberger had to decide between 25 applicants for the 14 radio licences and between 14 applicants for the remaining 7 television licences.
As can be seen from the reactions of the radio stations, Tamedia's traditional station Radio24 will continue to receive a license in Zurich. In contrast, the TV station Tele Züri, which also belongs to Tamedia, and Radio Energy, which is majority-owned by Ringier, will be left empty-handed. Tele Top in Winterthur, on the other hand, was considered.
Roger Schwawinski had submitted four licenses at once. He is now allowed to broadcast his station Radio 1 in the Zurich-Glarus region. On the other hand, he was left empty-handed in Aargau and south-eastern Switzerland. The busy Basel radio producer Giuseppe Scaglione has good reason to be happy. In addition to the youth radio license he was awarded a while ago, his station Radio Monte Carlo Züri has now been awarded a second FM frequency.
In Basel, the licenses will be distributed to the existing stations Radio Basilisk and Radio Basel 1. So everything remains the same. Christian Heeb and his RBB project have failed.
Radio Argovia will remain on air in the canton of Aargau for the next ten years. The station received a broadcasting license from the federal government, as Radio Argovia announced on Friday. Roger Schawinski had also applied for a license. Radio Argovia, which was founded 18 years ago, belongs to the AZ Medien Group. The cantonal government had spoken out in favor of a new license for the radio station, subject to conditions.
Tele Züri is naturally not at all pleased with Bakom's decision. The decision not to grant a license to Switzerland's oldest and most successful private television station was met with incomprehension, according to a press release. The company is now examining the possibility of contesting the decision as well as the chances of broadcasting without a license.

THE OVERVIEW
FM radios
Zurich-Glarus coverage area: Radio 24, Radio 1 and Radio Zürisee will be licensed. Energy Zürich and 105 Züri will not receive a license.
City of Zurich coverage area: Radio Monte Carlo RMC Züri is licensed. Radio 1 and Züri Live do not receive a license.
Basel coverage area: Basel 1 and Radio Basilisk are licensed. RBB does not receive a license.
Coverage area Aargau: Radio Argovia is licensed. Radio AG does not receive a license.
Coverage area Südostschweiz: Radio Grischa is licensed. Radio Südost does not receive a license.
Arc Lémanique coverage area: Radio Lac, Lausanne FM, Rouge MF and Buzz FM are licensed. Léman Local SA and One FM will not receive a license.
Geneva coverage area: Radio Cité is licensed. Radio Meyrin FM does not receive a license.
Arc Jurassien coverage area: Arc FM is licensed. LuNE does not receive a license.

Regional television
Zurich-North-Eastern Switzerland coverage area: Tele Top is licensed. Tele Züri does not receive a license.
Eastern Switzerland coverage area: Tele Ostschweiz is licensed. Tele Säntis does not receive a license.
Aargau-Solothurn coverage area: Tele M1 is licensed. Tele ALF will not receive a license.
Central Switzerland coverage area: Tele 1 is licensed, Tele Tell does not receive a license.
Vaud-Fribourg coverage area: Vaud Fribourg TV (Edipresse SA) is licensed. Vaud Fribourg TV does not receive a license.
Valais coverage area: Tele Canal 9 is licensed; Valais-Wallis TV does not receive a license.
Arc Jurassien coverage area: Canal Alpha is licensed. Arc TV does not receive a license.

Following the relaunch, the weekend title Friday is now available every Friday from 12 noon in various 20 Minuten distribution boxes and stores in German-speaking Switzerland. The Zurich agency Rod Kommunikation has dramatized Friday as the "little death of the week" in a campaign for Friday.
The subjects of the launch campaign show young praying women asking for Friday to finally come. During the launch week, emails with the same request could be sent to heaven via the Im-himmel.ch website.
The campaign's resolution subjects are intended to highlight the relics of the Friday cult under the motto "Thank God, it's Friday", writes Rod Kommunikation in a press release.
Responsible at 20 Minuten Friday: Overall responsibility: Marcel Kohler (Managing Director 20 Minuten), Marco Boselli (Editor-in-Chief 20 Minuten), Lisa Feldmann (Editor-in-Chief Annabelle), Annina Flückiger (Head of Marketing 20 Minuten), Dominique von Albertini (Head of Publishing 20 Minuten Friday), Daniela Tobler (Deputy Head of Marketing 20 Minuten). Responsible at Rod Communication: Andrea Bachofner, Sascha Borsai, Regula Fecker, Oliver Fennel, Fernando Gort, Megan Gutman, Petra Hiltenbrand, David Schärer, Markus Tränkle, Maurus Zehnder. Photography: Jonathan Heyer. Styling: Werner Baumgartner. Image editing: Stephan Riederer. Multimedia Producer: Codama.ch.

On Thursday, Senarclens, Leu + Partner celebrated its 25th anniversary with over 200 guests. The Zurich-based agency for strategic communication and public affairs was founded in 1983 by Marina de Senarclens and is active in the development of ideas and projects in the fields of education, science and technology.
Senarclens, Leu + Partner currently manages 16 mandates under the leadership of Dr. Andrea Leu with 9 employees. The agency for strategic communication and public affairs is also responsible for the management of four associations and, together with Rütter + Partner, is active in educational and economic research.
Customers include Technopark Zurich, the consulting firm Pom+Consulting and Johnson Controls. Close cooperation exists with universities - in particular the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the technical departments of the universities of applied sciences.

In many countries, paid newspapers are currently battling a decline in readership caused by commuter papers and the rise of electronic media. In Morocco, Al Massae, the country's largest newspaper with a circulation of 100,000 copies, has to fear for its existence for completely different reasons. As the SDA reported on Thursday, it was sentenced this week to pay the highest damages in the country's press history. It has to pay a total of six million dirhams (equivalent to 800,000 Swiss francs) in damages to four public prosecutors.
On Thursday, the court of appeal in the capital Rabat confirmed a ruling by the court of first instance and ordered the newspaper and its editor-in-chief Rachid Ninny to pay damages. The newspaper must also pay a fine of around 16,000 francs and publish the court's decision nationwide.
Why? In November 2007, the newspaper had reported on a celebration of homosexuals in the village of Ksar El Kebir in northern Morocco and claimed that a public prosecutor from the local court - who, it should be noted, was not named - had also attended the party.
The court's four public prosecutors then sued the newspaper for defamation. The first-instance verdict against the newspaper triggered a wave of protest in the Moroccan press. After the verdict in March, the organization "Reporters Without Borders" declared that it was shocked. The payment of damages endangered the continued existence of the paper. The independent newspaper Al Massae was founded just two years ago.