Cooking shows are now an integral part of every television program. The ProSieben Schweiz show has a special history: it is produced by the editors of the Jungfrauzeitung, a local newspaper.
In 2004, the Interlaken-based parent company Gossweiler Media began showing its own web TV content on its newspaper's website. Now 32 broadcasts of the "Funky Kitchen Club" with chef René Schudel will be shown until the end of January 2008.
In addition to the programs and the online presence, ProSieben's production contract also includes trailers, radio spots and newspaper ads.

The industry magazine Schweizer Journalist has named Ralph Büchi "Media Manager of the Year". "With this honor, we recognize Ralph Büchi's pursuit of journalistic quality combined with publishing skill. With the purchase of the Jean Frey publishing house, Büchi has established Axel Springer as a fourth force in Switzerland, thereby also promoting publishing diversity," said the jury, headed by Schweizer Journalist editor-in-chief Markus Wiegand, explaining the decision in favor of Büchi.
Büchi started his professional career as a journalist in 1978, among others at Handelszeitung. Just seven years later, he was Chairman of the Executive Board of Handelszeitung und Finanzrundschau AG in Zurich. In 1992, he took over the capital majority of the company together with editor-in-chief Kurt Speck. In 1999, Büchi sold the capital majority to the German Axel Springer AG and remained with the company as CEO.
The 2008 jury included Josefa Haas (Head of the Media Institute Swiss Press), Maili Wolf (Dr. Maili Wolf Consulting, Media and Communication), Karl Vögeli (Vögeli Medienconsulting), Marco de Stoppani (ex-NZZ publishing director), Théo Bouchat (as Media Manager of the Year 2007) and Markus Wiegand.

(Image: Keystone)

The magazine for homeowners Neue-Ideen has a new editor-in-chief in Oliver Knick. The 42-year-old previously held various positions in both print and TV, according to the statement. Among other things, he launched the major cross-media project "Gesundheitsschiff" at Ringier.
In addition, publisher and managing director Filippo Leutenegger draws a positive balance a good year after the free publication appeared. Both membership growth and the development of advertising business have been positive, according to the statement. The offer of free legal advice for members has also proved its worth. By popular demand, the advisory center now also offers administrative services. An overview of the services offered is published in the September issue.
Neue-Ideen was published for the first time on June 1, 2007. The publication is aimed at owners of semi-detached, terraced and detached houses as well as terraced houses and is published monthly in German-speaking Switzerland.

It has become exceptionally quiet around the discussion of what is and is not appropriate in the advertising business. Before the summer break, the Swiss Advertisers' Association (SWA) launched the topic widely and called for transparency in the media business from all parties involved. According to the SWA, this was triggered by evidence of unfair practices in the media business. However, a working group on transparency, which was hastily set up by the Swiss Advertising Association (SWA) and included representatives of the industry associations SWA and BSW, has so far remained fairly quiet. Recently, however, the working group met for the second time, after it was not clear before the summer vacations whether a second meeting would take place at all. SWA Managing Director Jürg Siegrist sees this second round of discussions as positive. "I had the impression that things were moving forward," he says.
The Swiss Press Association, specifically the Market Transparency Project Group, also jumped into the breach and recently launched an 18-page working paper that should serve as a basis for discussion and help to objectify the problem.
The project group, chaired by Christoph Bauer, has set itself three core objectives:
1. create transparency for market participants such as publishers, advertising clients, media agencies, advertising agencies and intermediaries by presenting the advertising money flows for print media and their compensation models.
2. create a basis on which the requirements and models of other media genres and industry associations can be incorporated.
3. obtain as comprehensive a basis for discussion as possible for dialog with partner associations and market participants.
The published paper is regarded as an interim status of the project work in order to initiate a dynamic process and facilitate open discussion and further development.
As a first step, those responsible concentrate on a basic model with cash flows and billing models that are commonly used for print media so that market participants have a concrete basis for discussion and comparison. Basically, the individual steps in the business process should be defined as precisely as possible for the market participants so that ultimately everyone is talking about the same thing in the maze of different discounting models. Based on this basic model, the project group distinguishes between four cases: Principal model, agency model, agent model and agent model with agency. The work stages are always the same: media planning, media buying, media processing and media payment. The transparency of advertising money flows and compensation models depends to a large extent on the respective application model. In principle, the more market partners are involved in the process, the lower the transparency. The project group concludes that the greater the lack of transparency, the greater the share of financing in the publishers' media process.
"The working paper is a valuable first step," says Jürg Siegrist. "But it still needs to be expanded. It seems particularly important to me that concrete measures are then also adopted. After all, we have a veritable salad of discounts here," he emphasizes.
René Worni

Radiotelevisione della Svizera italiana (RTSI), the state-run Italian-language radio station, is to significantly increase its reporting from Graubünden. The Graubünden government insisted on this on Thursday.
The RTSI should pay more attention to political, cultural and social life in Graubünden. Events and happenings should not only be considered in the Italian-speaking valleys, but in the entire canton, the government stated in its letter.
Of the more than 1,000 employees at RTSI, which has an annual budget of CHF 280 million financed by fees, only three journalists are permanently based in Graubünden. They are calling for an increase in the number of jobs in Chur and the creation of correspondent positions in the German and Romansh-speaking valleys of the canton.
It is not acceptable for the Italian-speaking people of Graubünden to be discriminated against compared to the people of Ticino, who benefit from comprehensive information. It is dissatisfied that the RTSI has not yet sufficiently fulfilled its earlier assurances, the government continues.
An increase in the number of correspondent posts was promised in 2005 and 2007. The Graubünden government now reserves the right to take its concerns to the federal authorities if necessary.
RTSI's communications department did not wish to comment for the time being when asked by SDA on Thursday. In a written statement, the company later expressed its willingness to talk.
The Graubünden government's concerns will be discussed at the meeting of the Board of Directors the week after next, it said. In addition, a meeting will be held with the cantonal government of Graubünden to discuss all the problems, according to a brief communiqué.

The women's magazine Annabelle turns seventy this year. The Tamedia publication is treating itself to a big anniversary issue. The issue, which will be published on Friday, will therefore feature portraits of the 70 most important women in Switzerland. Stars such as Patricia Kaas and Kim Wilde will also send their congratulations. The highlight, however, is the cover shoot by star photographer Henry Leutwyler, writes the commuter newspaper 20 Minuten, which belongs to the same publishing house. He photographed the ten most beautiful Swiss women of the last few decades especially for Annabelle, from Sarina Arnold and Patricia Schmid to Noreen Carmody. This also resulted in a major summit meeting between Ursula Andress, Michelle Hunziker and Nadine Strittmatter.
On October 31, the Annabelle editorial team will also launch the new lifestyle magazine "20 Minuten Friday" in cooperation with 20 Minuten. The first issue was already produced last weekend.

Long-time Ringier journalist and war reporter Carl Just appeared before a labor court on Thursday due to dismissal. He reached a settlement with his former employer Ringier, as reported by SDA. Both parties remain silent about the content of the settlement.
The 52-year-old journalist worked for the Zurich publishing house for Blick, Sonntagsblick and Schweizer Illustrierte and spent 25 years as a reporter in war zones. At the beginning of January 2007, he received a notice of termination with a fixed-term employment contract from his employer due to health problems. The employment relationship was definitively terminated in 2008 after he had been ill for some time.
In court, the journalist demanded compensation and satisfaction from Ringier in the amount of CHF 200,000 for breach of duty of care. In this context, he claimed "post-traumatic stress disorder" as a result of his assignments in war zones. The publishing house denied any responsibility in court for the illness of its former employee. Nevertheless, both parties agreed to a settlement. This is not yet legally binding, as the journalist's lawyer told SDA on request. It was mainly at the instigation of his client that a one-week cooling-off period was agreed.

Cathrin Moser joined the management team of Schreibszene Schweiz at the beginning of August 2008. Moser oversees copywriter training, the Corporate Publisher course, and seminars in the Writing for Business and Enterprise division, according to the institute. Literary writing continues to be overseen by co-managing director Fatima Vidal.

The Maxomedia agency, based in Zurich and Bern, has realized a national, cross-media campaign for the Swiss Federal Railways SBB. The campaign advertises SBB Navi Go, a tool that allows users to check the timetable and access real-time information on rail traffic on their cell phone.
According to a press release issued on Thursday, rail posters on IC trains, pocket timetable advertisements, articles and advertisements in various commuter newspapers will draw attention to the cell phone service in conjunction with a competition. The campaign will be communicated online on the SBB Mobile World microsite and supported by newsletters, SMS alerts and banners. A promotion in seven Swiss Railcities complements the campaign.

The composition of the Foundation Board of the Swiss Press Council, which has been expanded to include publishers and representatives of the SRG, is now known. Three representatives each from the SRG and the Swiss press will increase the board from 12 to 18 members.
As the Press Council announced on Thursday, Bernard Cathomas, Daniel Eckmann and Francesca Gemnetti will sit on the Board of Trustees for the SRG. Jean-Yves Bonvin, Norbert Neininger and Giacomo Salvioni will represent the Publishers Association.
At its first meeting following the expansion of the sponsorship, the Foundation Board also confirmed the Chairman Enrico Morresi (Impressum) and the Vice Chairman Philipp Cueni (SSM) in their functions for the term of office running until December 31, 2011.
The other members are Beat Grossenbacher, Andrea Masüger, Rudolf Matter (all Conference of Editors-in-Chief), Ursula Dubois and Klaus Rózsa (both Comedia), Rainer Stadler, Urs Thalmann and Andreas Valda (all Impressum) as well as Kathrin Lüthi and Valérie Perrin (both SSM).

The Ringier media company is launching an online and print job market together with the TopjobsScout24 job platform. The first edition will be published on October 3 in the newspapers Blick am Abend and Cash Daily, as Ringier announced on Thursday. Advertisements for the new job market in the two newspapers can be placed on the Jobscout24 and Tobjobs platforms. This gives the advertisements a "uniquely high reach", the press release continues.

Zenhäusern & Partner announces personnel reinforcement: Danielle Bobillier joins the consulting team of the communications agency. According to a statement on Thursday, she has gained several years of professional experience in an internationally oriented family office. She also holds a degree in Business Communications. At Zenhäusern & Partner, she is in charge of the Financial Services cluster, among others.
Anita Lösch has been on board the agency since the beginning of the year. The PR specialist has many years of experience in corporate communications and marketing communications on the client and agency side. Among other things, she was Head of Marketing + PR in the medtech industry. At Zenhäusern & Partner, she heads the Medtech/Hightech cluster.