The NZZ magazine "Z - Die schönen Seiten" is expanding its website. The editors of the glossy magazine are now providing a daily update in a new section. According to a press release, it writes about trends straight from the fashion shows, developments in interior design, culinary discoveries, encounters in the lounges of exclusive parties and spontaneous observations on the street. The editorial team led by Jeroen van Rooijen wants to use the blog to supplement the monthly, themed focuses with fresh news from all areas of lifestyle. Z magazine is published ten times a year with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and NZZ am Sonntag.

 The real estate portal Homegate.ch is launching "Homegate TV", the first Swiss web TV real estate show, on September 1. The infotainment program will be produced on a weekly basis. It shows real estate properties in the form of TV commercials, specialist talks about building, financing and renovating and presents the latest trends in interior design. The presenter is Olivier Laube, who previously hosted the program "Wohntraum TV" on Tele Züri. The seven-minute show is produced and hosted by the Zurich-based company Moby Dick Productions. Around five employees are responsible for the content. Homegate, a joint subsidiary of Tamedia and Edipresse, intends to continue its strategy of offering information about living and building alongside real estate properties with the web TV show.

 
On September 1, Swiss television will launch «1 gegen 100,» a new game show purchased from abroad. It will be hosted by a familiar face: TV executives have chosen Mona Vetsch for the role.
«1 gegen 100» is «one of the world's most successful game shows,» SF writes in a press release. One main contestant competes against 100 opponents. The goal is to «eliminate» all 100 opponents by answering the questions correctly.
Mona Vetsch, 33, has been hosting various «SF-Spezial» programs for SF for seven years and spends her summers traveling as a host and reporter for the show «Fernweh.» In addition to her work in television, Vetsch is also active in radio.

 The advertising agency In Flagranti in Lys announces four new clients and expands its management team. Two of the new mandates, namely Visana and 1to1 Energy, were won in competitive presentations. In addition to the long-term strategy and independent creation, the decisive factor for the win was the personal and professional approach to the clients, according to a press release. In Flagranti was also chosen by the Swiss Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy and BLS for measures to promote safety-conscious behavior in the workplace. Due to the growth of recent years, the agency is strengthening its management team. Lorenz Killer, Deputy Head of Creation, and Jon Andrea Florin, responsible for texts, concepts and strategies, have joined the team. In addition to the partners Michael Hählen, Lorenz Schmid and Marcel Wälti, the management team also includes Margret Leiser, as before.

Picture from left to right: Michael Hählen, Lorenz Schmid, Lorenz Killer, Margret Leiser, Jon Andrea Florin, Marcel Wälti

 
Marc Walder is set to become the new managing director of Ringier Switzerland. In an interview with *Werbewoche*, he spoke about the newly formed executive board—which includes no women—his potential successor at *Sonntagsblick*, and the fact that his editors-in-chief must also have a keen eye for business. Werbewoche: Mr. Walder, you are moving from your roles as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Sonntagsblick to the position of managing director of Ringier Switzerland. What appeals to you about this role? Marc Walder: Over the past ten years, the work of an editor-in-chief has changed significantly: It has shifted from traditional newspaper production toward strategic planning and the integration of commercial aspects. I’ve already taken on this role to some extent in my previous position and have realized that it interests me greatly. However, I will continue to cultivate journalism in the future. In publishing, people often distinguish between «number people» and «word people»—I don’t want to make that distinction for myself. When was the official decision made for you to take on this job? The Board of Directors approved the corresponding proposal last Thursday.
A newly formed executive board is taking office at the same time you are. Why was its composition changed? Two aspects were very important to me: that the executive board be small and consist of people who remain actively involved in operations. Going forward, we’ll have five divisions: the Blick Group, Magazines, Ringier Romandie, New Media, and Services. That’s relatively few for a media company the size of Ringier. And I’ve staffed these divisions with people who are involved in day-to-day operations and who must continue to prove themselves anew every day.
Did you put together the new management team? Yes. It was a process that had been underway for some time. The reorganization was initially planned by a small group and then refined by Ringier CEO Martin Werfeli and me.
What will your relationship be like with Daniel Pillard, who served as interim CEO of Ringier Switzerland for a year and remains a member of the executive board? Daniel Pillard has always emphasized that he is serving in this role on an interim basis. Because Ringier Switzerland’s main focus in recent months has been on the Blick Group, we’ve been in very close contact. In the process, Daniel Pillard has become a good colleague of mine.
 Why isn’t there a single woman on the new executive board? That’s a good question. I was just talking about gender issues at a dinner recently, and I’m firmly convinced that it’s crucial for a company to include women. Not for the sake of quotas, but in its own best interest. I certainly enjoyed working well with many women at Schweizer Illustrierte. At the moment, however, there is simply no woman at Ringier who is a candidate for the executive board. On the other hand, we do have several female department heads and editors-in-chief.
Will you also be the one to choose your successor as editor-in-chief of Sonntagsblick? I will make a recommendation and ask the group management to approve it. The search for a successor has already begun, and we hope to complete the process quickly.
Is Hannes Britschgi, who has been deputy editor-in-chief since April, a possibility? He is a possibility, as are a few others. However, it would be wrong to assume that the race is already over and that Hannes Britschgi is a shoo-in anyway.
In the future, you’ll be directly overseeing the editors-in-chief. What does that mean in practice—should the editors-in-chief expect you to constantly interfere with their work? I’m not known for interfering with editors-in-chief—after all, I held that position myself for long enough. But I also know how lonely it can be to be the editor-in-chief of a major publication. That’s why I want to support and advise the editors-in-chief, but of course also point out when a publication is heading in the wrong direction.
Will editors-in-chief have to pay closer attention to commercial interests in the future? Anyone who doesn't also take the commercial interests of their publication into account today is not a good editor-in-chief. Editors-in-chief must ensure that their publication remains attractive to both readers and advertisers.
This also carries risks. We have very clear guidelines regarding the editorial independence of our publications. The independence of the editorial teams must be guaranteed; otherwise, it would be impossible to produce titles like *Blick* or *Sonntagsblick*. It must always be possible to publish critical articles about companies that are advertising clients. However, an editor-in-chief must have a good sense of whether his publication is also well-positioned commercially.
This is exemplified by *Blick am Abend*. *Blick am Abend* is my latest project—it’s three weeks old and has gotten off to a great start. As a free newspaper, it has a different business model. Its journalistic credo is to target a young, urban audience. The fact that consumer and lifestyle topics play such a prominent role stems from the concept: as an evening newspaper, *Blick am Abend* aims to present the world from a positive perspective.
What are your goals for Ringier Switzerland? I’d rather not discuss that at the moment. I won’t be taking up my new position until September; it would be irresponsible of me to talk about strategy this early. Suffice it to say: We will first develop a national strategy and then break it down into the individual divisions. We intend to do this as quickly as possible.
To put it another way: What do you consider good journalism, and what does Ringier need to offer its readers? That’s a very general question, so you’ll get a general answer. In my view, good journalism must present all information in a way that makes it easy to understand. At the same time, good journalism should be enjoyable and offer more than one might expect.
In closing: Peter Rothenbühler wrote that Ringier Switzerland is run personally by its owner, like a princely court. So are you the new count? I read that comment about the princely court, too (laughs). Seriously, though: I’ve seen the inner workings of many publishing houses over the past few years, and Ringier compares very favorably: clear structures, professional organization. It’s an advantage that the company isn’t publicly traded but is family-owned. That gives us more freedom. I see my role here as a coach, trainer, and motivator. I want to be both a challenger and a supporter.
Interview: Carole Scheidegger

 
Netzmedien AG is publishing a new ICT trade magazine in French-speaking Switzerland called ICTjournal. Together with its website, which is updated daily, the Basel-based publishing house aims to create an information and service platform for all areas of information and communication technology (ICT) with this monthly magazine. The editor-in-chief will be 38-year-old Rodolphe Koller, who previously worked in marketing for various technology companies, and the independent editorial team in French-speaking Switzerland will work together with its German-speaking Swiss sister publication Netzwoche, which is published by the same publishing house. The two magazines will provide each other with reports from their respective parts of the country, as detailed in a press release. The editorial offering is aimed at ICT managers in companies in French-speaking Switzerland.
The magazine will focus on the IT, mobile and telecommunications, Internet and office technology sectors. As far as the regions are concerned, the Lake Geneva region as a financial and service center and the Jura Arc with its large number of high-tech companies are of particular interest. The ICTjournal will be launched in September.
 

 
The Mach Radar 2008-1 study, which has just been published by Wemf in collaboration with Demoscope, marks the second publication of the Mach Radar study in six months. It combines psychographic criteria with consumption and media data. This enables marketing managers and media planners to segment target groups more precisely, i.e. not only according to information on education, income, professional status and consumer behavior, but also according to their values. It provides advertisers with information on the positioning of products, brands, services, purchasing channels and print media.The Mach Radar study builds methodically on the Mach Basic and Mach Consumer studies. The psychographic test from the market research institute Demoscope, which is used to calculate the psychographic space of Switzerland, is carried out as part of the Cati interviews for Mach Basic. The socio-demographic, geographical, media and consumption information is taken from Mach Consumer. In simple terms, the Mach Radar is a Mach Consumer with regard to the target group information, which is supplemented by the Demoscope Radar psychographics.
 

 
As part of the internationalization of the Affichage Group's business activities, the Board of Directors has made personnel adjustments and appointed Ivan Schultheiss as the new Managing Director of Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft APG with effect from 1 January 2009. Schultheiss succeeds Christian Kauter at the helm of the Affichage Group company with the highest turnover. Kauter will retain the management of the Swiss business segment as well as his functions as CEO and delegate of Affichage Holding and will focus more on strategic tasks. 
Ivan Schultheiss has been Head of Sales at APG since 2004 and has played a key role in promoting customer orientation during this time, thereby making a significant contribution to strengthening APG's position as market leader, according to the press release. Before joining APG, the federally certified advertising manager held various management positions, including advertising manager at Weltwoche, Publipresse and Publicitas, the Sulzer advertising agency, Suter and Fust.
 

 
The advertising pressure index for the electronic media (Gemi) published by Media Focus recorded growth of seven points to a total of 438 points in May. The total for all media rose by three points to 205, with television growing steadily by six index points to 465, radio by five index points to 255 and teletext even increasing by six index points to 133. The Internet recorded the strongest growth with 15 index points from 270 to 285, although Media Focus pointed out in its press release on Tuesday that the result is only comparable with the previous figures to a limited extent due to changes in the recording methodology. 

 The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) has updated its guidelines on advertising and sponsorship issues. Initial experiences with the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA) and the corresponding ordinance (RTVO) have been incorporated, as detailed in a press release issued on Tuesday. The new guidelines replace those from 1999, which were initially adapted to the new legal basis in 2007. The guidelines are designed as a working tool for radio and television advertising and sponsorship specialists. They do not create new law. OFCOM explains legal terms and legal provisions and provides information on how it will decide on individual issues in future. For example, the sponsorship of short test programs, the application of sponsorship rules to co-productions with third parties and the requirements for the declaration of product placements are regulated in more detail and in some cases newly.
The guidelines now also regulate advertising. For example, questions relating to the maximum permissible advertising time, the correct placement of interstitial advertising and sensitive advertising content such as alcoholic beverages or medicinal products are answered. The advertising and sponsorship guidelines will be updated on an annual basis in future.

Marc Walder has long been rumored to be the new Managing Director of Ringier Switzerland, and now the media company has announced the appointment. The 42-year-old will take up his post on September 1 and will also manage the editors-in-chief in this role. Daniel Pillard, who was appointed interim head last year, will remain a member of the eight-strong management team as Head of the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The Executive Board of Ringier Switzerland will be reorganized after Walder's start. This includes the division heads Thomas Passen (Blick Group), Urs Heller (Magazines), Christoph Bauer (New Media), Andreas Schaffner (Services), Daniel Terzoni (Controlling) and Jean-Luc Mauron (Human Resources). Stefan Hackh is responsible for communications at Ringier Switzerland.
At the same time, Ringier is restructuring individual areas: In addition to the Print Adligenswil print shop, which he manages directly, and Logistics, Andreas Schaffner's Services division will in future also include the customer contact center and the Specter image archive. In addition to the Cash Group, which will be managed directly by division head Christoph Bauer, the Ringier radio and television business under the management of Marc Görtz and the Health Unit under the management of Fibo Deutsch will also be integrated into the New Media division.
New Sobli boss not yet appointed Walder began his career at Ringier in 1991, most recently as Editorial Director Newspapers and Editor-in-Chief of Sonntagsblick. Ringier spokesman Marco Castellaneta said on request that the person who will replace him as editor-in-chief will be determined by September 1.
Walder's career also includes seven years as editor-in-chief of Schweizer Illustrierte and two years as head of sports at Blick and Sonntagsblick. This spring, he gained the tools for a future position: he completed a management program at Harvard Business School in Boston.

 
IAA President Urs Beer, who recently stepped down, has been named Communicator of the Month by Swiss Advertising SW (see: ). "It's a shame he's leaving!" says the association, which describes Beer's honorable farewell at the 45th General Assembly of the International Advertising Association in its press release. According to the laudation, it is thanks to him that the IAA has become a figurehead with international dimensions. "Under his aegis, the club's membership has practically doubled. Beer has also always excelled as a presenter and moderator: when a speaker canceled at short notice, he spontaneously took over the role of entertainer and turned the AGM into a show," said Otto Meier, another long-standing member of the IAA.
With so much honor, writes Schweizer Werbung, even SW cannot stand back and names Urs Beer as Communicator of the Month for July. The long-time Advico-Y&R advertiser Beer joined the IAA in 1989, became a member of the board a year later and took over its presidency in 1998. On his retirement, Beer was elected an honorary member of the IAA.