What we don't already know about the new Mister Switzerland Stephan Weiler: That he has had his teeth corrected, is a chemist with medical ambitions and still lives at home because he can't afford his own apartment due to his studies (the shared flat principle has probably not yet caught on in Eastern Switzerland). That he shaves his private parts twice a week (wet), that his girlfriend gave him a heart cushion and that his friends call him "Steve". As this is apparently not enough public knowledge about the beauty king, the Sonntag newspaper called in TV card reader Mike Shiva. The tarot cards show him that Mister Switzerland will have to put up with a lot of criticism during his entire year in office. Evil tongues may now complain that a clairvoyant was not necessarily needed for this prophecy. But we want to look ahead and are launching an appeal: Good PR consultants forward! Here you can finally test your tips on a six-pack nut.

 The delegates of Viscom, the employers' association of the graphic arts industry, have determined what they consider to be the most important points for a new collective labor agreement. Negotiations for the new CLA are to begin in late fall. The association discussed the key points at its delegates' meeting in Lugano on April 18, 2008. Strikes are apparently to be prevented at all costs: Without an absolute peace obligation, there will be no new CLA, according to a statement. The obligation to maintain peace guarantees employment stability, the optimal use of production resources and the search for solutions based on partnership in the event of labor disputes. Viscom would also like to see more flexibility at company level and a streamlining of the existing regulations. According to the press release, the Viscom delegates are of the opinion that wages and bonuses are a company matter. And the new CLA must not impair members' national and international competitiveness. Greater flexibility must also be guaranteed, particularly with regard to working time models, so that companies can react more quickly to changing market conditions. Viscom hopes that a lean CLA will provide "a simple, comprehensible and contemporary framework".

 Around 50 days before the start of Euro 08, Deimos, a company specializing in the development of complex web applications, is launching the TOTO' 08 betting game. The web-based game is aimed at companies, their employees and customers. It is ideally suited to promote contact among the players and thus strengthen customer and employee loyalty, according to a press release. Each betting game can be individually designed and customized with the company's own logo, colors and text.

 Roger Schawinski has been given more time to respond to the demands of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). The public media company in the German capital wants Zurich-based Radio 1 to change its name and claim or alternatively to stop broadcasting via the web. RBB had actually set the Swiss media man a deadline of Friday, April 18, to respond to the demands. As Schawinski's lawyer had asked for more time, he has now been granted an extension until April 29, as RBB spokesman Ralph Kotsch told Werbewoche. Because there is also a Radio eins with the claim "Only for adults" under the RBB umbrella, the media company is bothered by the combination of three elements on the Zurich radio channel: The name, the claim and the designation of the broadcasting vessels such as "Radio 1 am Morgen". Kotsch explained that it would go to court if Schawinski did not comply with the demands.
Schawinski had described RBB's demands as grotesque and pointed out that there are countless stations called Radio 1 around the world. Moreover, his radio station, on which Swiss German is spoken, does not compete with the Berlin station either economically or in terms of listenership (see
).

 
All Natura, all new: following new advertising campaigns for the Naturafarm (see ) and Naturaline (see ) product lines, the organic food label has now been given a new look at the Coop supermarket chain. Glanzmann Schöne Design has given the Naturaplan packaging a completely new look. According to a press release from the agency specializing in visual communication, the new design is intended to be both stylish and trendy. The new Naturaplan logo is intended to be an unmistakable reference to modern and sustainably produced products, and the agency, which has offices in Basel and Lörrach in Germany, adds that Coop Naturaplan wants to move away from the farm idyll and towards modern lifestyle products. Nowadays, organic consumers have higher expectations of organic products, they want health, sustainability and enjoyment at the same time. The new Naturaplan packaging is designed to meet these demands.
Responsible at Coop:
Jürg Peritz (Head of Marketing/Procurement), Christian Waffenschmidt (Head of Competence Brands VIVA/Nutrition department),
Judith Imhof (Head of Packaging Design).
Responsible at Glanzmann Schöne Design: Markus Schöne, Cornelia Glanzmann.

 The renowned One Show Festival in the USA has announced further nominations. The Y&R Group has already won a final ticket for the NJP recording studio in the "Print" category, and has now secured three further shortlist placements: The work for NJP Tonstudio was also nominated in the "Posters" category. In the same category, the Leica campaign made it onto the shortlist. Finally, in the "Design" category, the agency is among the finalists with Pavillon Nouvel. See also: . 

 Radio Zürisee was able to increase both sales and profits last year and increase its listener numbers. For the past year, the lakeside station reported a profit of 397,000 francs. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to an increase of over 180 percent, according to a press release. Turnover exceeded the record set in 2006 by 14 percent, reaching CHF 4,769,000. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also rose to a new record of 937,000 Swiss francs. This corresponds to a 20 percent share of sales. According to the press release, the first quarter of the current financial year is also developing well. In the listener market, Radio Zürisee was able to increase the number of daily listeners to over 190,000. The average daily reach last year was 191,500 listeners. This represents the fifth consecutive year of growth in listener numbers.

The members of the Central Switzerland Public Relations Society ZSPR elected Barbara Salm as President for the 2008/09 term of office at their General Meeting. Last year's Vice-President took over the office from André Gassmann on a rotating basis: At the ZSPR, the President serves for one year and is then succeeded by the Vice-President. Barbara Salm is a PR consultant at Suva in Lucerne.
Christoph Hug, Head of Corporate Communications at the Hochdorf Group, was appointed as this year's Vice President. André Gassmann (Municipality of Emmen) remains a member of the Board, as do Brigitte Heinrich (Creadrom), Iris Isenschmid (EWL Energie Wasser Luzern), Alexandra Karpf (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) and Hanny Lüond-Camenzind. Annette Hitz and Cornelia Mühle have resigned from the Board.
The ZSPR is the association of communication professionals in Central Switzerland and one of the seven regional associations of the Swiss Public Relations Society SPRG. The ZSPR has around 130 members and organizes PR events eight times a year. The next event on the topic of the 2008 Swiss Yodelling Festival in Lucerne will take place on May 7, 2008.

 
Personnel changes at Swiss. Bernd Bauer, the current Head of Network & Fleet Development, will take over responsibility for Sales and Marketing in Europe from June 1. He succeeds Alexander Arafa, who has been responsible for cabin crew management at the airline since April 14. 42-year-old Bauer has a degree in business administration and has held various positions in sales and marketing as well as network planning at Crossair and Swiss since 1994.
The new sales organization introduced last year is now to be established and successfully continued under the leadership of Bauer, according to a statement on Friday.

 The search engine giant Google has recorded an unexpectedly strong jump in profits, defying all growth concerns. In the first quarter, the Internet company increased its surplus by around 30 percent to 1.3 billion dollars. Compared to the previous year, turnover even climbed by 42 percent to 5.2 billion dollars. According to Group CEO Eric Schmidt, Google is also very well positioned for the future. Great growth potential is seen above all in the international markets. With the latest figures, Google has clearly refuted fears that its business would be significantly slowed down by the US economic downturn. Analysts had recently been massively concerned about Google's growth in its core business with online search advertising. However, the number of clicks on ads next to search results, which is crucial for Google's revenue, rose by around 20 percent in the first quarter.
According to experts, the strong Google figures could also have an impact on the price for the planned takeover of competitor Yahoo by Microsoft. The Google results would signal that the online advertising market is intact, said one analyst. This could help Yahoo to beat out a higher price.

Weltwoche journalist Urs Paul Engeler was acquitted of charges of racism in court in Bern on Friday. The bone of contention was an allegedly discriminatory article from September 14, 2006 about the Rhaeto-Romanic people, which dealt with subsidies. A section of the Lia Rumantscha filed a criminal complaint on the grounds that the article was racist. Engeler has now been acquitted because he did not write the incriminated text passages himself. Engeler had already stated at an initial hearing in December that the controversial text passage in the lead was written by the production department at the time and not by him. His original lead had read differently. Clarifications have since shown that Engeler's statements were correct, said the single judge on Friday in his ruling. The journalist should therefore be acquitted. Engeler was awarded compensation of CHF 2,500 by the court.
With this ruling, it remains to be seen whether the controversial passages could be racist. Adjectives such as blackmailing, fanatical and predatory are associated with the Rhaeto-Romanic people. The current issue of Weltwoche states that the adjective "predatory" is an allusion to Schiller's play "The Robbers", where in the second act the "Graubünden region" is described as the "Athens of crooks".
Following this ruling, two further proceedings against Weltwoche are still pending, as can be seen in the current Weltwoche. One case is based on an article from autumn 2006 and concerns statements made by a history professor about the massacre of Armenians in 1915/1916. Another case concerns two Albanians whom former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher described as "criminals" in a speech. He later explained that he had meant "suspected criminals". Weltwoche showed pictures of the two men, which is now the subject of the proceedings.

 
The Zurich Press Association has renewed its board. The largest regional professional organization of media professionals in Switzerland, with around 1,400 members, elected David Strohm as its new president at its general meeting. In addition, two new members, Annette Müller and Dagmar Appelt, were elected to the board.47-year-old David Strohm is business editor at the NZZ am Sonntag. The new ZPV President also represents the Zurich Press Association on the Board of Trustees of the Zurich Journalism Prize Foundation. Annette Müller, 28, is a freelance journalist and writes for the Tages-Anzeiger and Annabelle, among other publications. Dagmar Appelt, 49, has been editor of the Landbote in Winterthur since the beginning of 2008. Her field of activity is regional reporting.
Together with the umbrella organization Impressum, the Zurich Press Association will soon open a contact point for media professionals in the city center of Zurich. The office will be headed by Impressum Central Secretary Salva Leutenegger. Imprint wants to strengthen its presence in Zurich's media center with this step, which comes on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the professional organization.
 
 
Picture: The new ZPV board with Daniel Krähenbühl, Dagmar Appelt, Bernard Sutter, Barbara Weber-Ruppli, David Strohm, Annette Müller, Christian Maurer and Dominik Stroppel.