In the consultation on radio and television licenses, the Aargau cantonal council sides with Radio Argovia from AZ Medien. However, it is calling for quality control. The government does not support the second license application, that of Roger Schawinski for the Radio AG project. According to the consultation response to the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom), it has "not been able to conclusively assess" how Radio AG intends to structure its services and contributions on the basis of the available documents. Roger Schawinski reacted with disappointment and surprise to the decision. The government council is protecting
"despite serious qualitative reservations, the multimedia monopoly by the Wanner Group", he told SDA. 
According to the cantonal government, Radio Argovia should be allowed to continue broadcasting in FM area 15. However, the Aargau government believes that a state-regulated local radio market needs quality standards. It is calling for conditions to be attached to the granting of licenses: Licensed radio stations should broadcast more programs with background information as well as those that contribute to diversity of opinion. The quality measures should be constantly monitored; if they are not adhered to, the license could even be revoked.
With this demand for quality measures, the government is probably reacting to voices from the Aargau parliament that criticized the "monopoly of opinion" of Peter Wanner's AZ Medien in December. The SP demanded that the government council support Schawinski's application, as it would bring movement to the media landscape (see
). The response to the proposal submitted to the government at the time is still pending. In the local television sector, the cantonal government is in favour of granting a new licence to Tele M1, but also expects more quality here. The second TV application submitted by Arolfingen local television station ALF is not even being discussed by the cantonal government.
In principle, the Government Council is in favor of more competition in the local radio sector. It is in favour of rapid digitization so that the current limited number of FM licences for technical reasons can be eliminated, according to the consultation response.

 
GEMI
The Goldbach Index (GEMI) shows that the growth trend of the past two years continued in January. Digital media grew by 8 index points to 413 (405), with television in particular standing out, rising by 10 index points to 436 (426). Radio posted a gain of one index point to 256, while the Internet, due to missing data from two providers, recorded a decline of 3 index points to 254 (257). Teletext fell by 5 index points to 128 (133). The total for all media tracked by Media Focus rose by 2 index points to 198 in January 2008.The index for advertising pressure in the overall market and electronic media, initiated by Goldbach Media, is based 100 percent on the Media Focus data collected and published monthly. The GEMI provides information on the indexed performance of the various electronic media compared to the overall market.

 
The German Green Party is currently campaigning in Munich with an interesting motif. The posters with the campaign theme "Act against the right instead of looking away" feature a cute white kitten with a few black patches of fur on its head. On closer inspection, however, the kitten turns out to be anything but cute: a small black moustache, a neat side parting - the animal has the most important visual characteristics of Adolf Hitler. It is emblazoned with the slogan: "You don't always recognize Nazis at first glance." Attentive surfers will have long been familiar with photos of this kind. Hundreds of them are available for general amusement on websites such as Catsthatlooklikehitler.com. A Dutchman is said to have been reminded of someone one day when he saw his neighbor's cat. On closer inspection, he recognized the striking resemblance between the harmless four-legged friend and probably the worst criminal in the history of mankind. But the gentleman was not deterred by this. He took a picture of the cat and founded the website on which people from all over the world now discuss the quality of the various Kitler pictures.
However, not everyone likes the images and the Green Party's election campaign. As Werben & Verkaufen reports, the Greens' political opponents consider the motif to be "tasteless" and "trivializing". The Kitler friends don't care much. They are only bothered by the fact that the poster has been photoshopped to look like Kitler. Something like that is an absolute taboo among real fans.

 
Mediafocus
Compared to the previous year, advertising volume rose by 10.1 percent in January 2008. The watches and jewelry advertising market posted the largest growth, up 75.1 percent. The key food market grew enormously by 53.7 percent, as did the consumer electronics/photo/film market, which saw a 57.6 percent increase. Furthermore, the advertising markets for political campaigns (+67.8 percent), beverages (+35.6 percent), services (+28.2 percent), pharmaceuticals/health (+20.7 percent), and tourism/transportation (+20.3 percent) all posted clear gains in January. The media segments TV and cinema also grew at a rate above the average.

 
Free Newspaper On February 21, the revamped *Baslerstab*, the free newspaper published by Basler Zeitung Medien, will launch. 
 
No, the Baslerstab isn't being reinvented. Whether it’s the format (broadsheet), publication frequency (five times a week in the city and twice a week in the region), distribution (home delivery and newspaper boxes), or editorial content (about 30 percent of the paper’s volume)—conceptually, everything remains the same. In terms of layout and colors, however, the «Stab»—as Basel’s largest free newspaper is called—is being completely revamped. This is already evident in the logo and, consequently, the masthead. Recently, the logo had become somewhat too small and appeared squeezed up against the top margin; now it takes up more space again and thus appears more self-assured. This impression is further emphasized by the switch from a negative to a positive logo: Previously, the name «Baslerstab» appeared in white Fraktur typeface against a green background; now, the same lettering appears in dark orange on a white background. The sweeping black Baslerstab, previously located to the left of the lettering, has been omitted. “It was wrong anyway: instead of facing left, as in the actual coat of arms, it was facing right,” says publishing director Patrick Wehrli.
Two other new features stand out on the front page: Below the logo, three large content boxes highlight stories inside the paper. The lead story, which used to be featured on the front page, is now only teased with a large image and a few lines; the actual article can be found on page 3. Another content change for the Baslerstab is the addition of a «Last Page» featuring a mix of news and the comic «Nico & Mirek.» And since it remains a two-section newspaper, the second section needs a strong opening. This will typically be a “People” page, which is likely to feature a Basel-based human-interest story more often in the future.    
As you flip through the pages, the more clearly labeled page headers stand out, along with the section titles in blue. The entire paper looks more organized and lighter. «The goal was to modernize the Baslerstab. The uniform color for the editorial and commercial sections is intended to make it clear: The Baslerstab is and remains primarily an advertising journal and thus a marketplace for advertisers,» says Wehrli. The orange logo is also meant to reflect the publication’s increased focus on tabloid journalism.    
The layout, designed by newspaper designer Christine Lang (LMS Media in Herdern), has an impact not only on the newspaper itself but also on Basel’s cityscape: Along with the new look, the green-and-yellow *Baslerstab* newspaper stands at bus stops and in public squares are being replaced. They are being replaced by new, bright orange distribution boxes. As before, they will continue to be stocked daily with small posters featuring headlines that draw attention to the paper’s content. This has apparently been too time-consuming for the other free newspapers. Together with a broad-based relaunch campaign by the Basel-based agency kreisvier, the Baslerstab has succeeded in creating a striking new look. 
   
Markus Knöpfli

Iso Rechsteiner will become Deputy Director of Swiss Radio DRS (SR DRS). Rechsteiner, 41, who previously headed the regional newsrooms, will succeed DRS 2 program director Arthur Godel on April 1, 2008. Godel is stepping down from the position due to his upcoming retirement.
The Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz elected Rechsteiner on Monday, according to a press release issued by SR DRS on Tuesday. SR DRS Director Walter Rüegg had nominated Rechsteiner for the position.
Iso Rechsteiner has been a department head since 2006 and is therefore a member of the SR DRS executive board. Prior to that, he was an editor at Regionaljournal Ostschweiz from 1994 to 2001, business editor from 2001 to 2003, and deputy head of the business desk at SR DRS from 2003 to 2006.

 
The Sonntagszeitung will be published this summer during the five weeks of Euro 08 in a "newspaper-within-a-newspaper concept" and is changing its page architecture for this purpose. From June 1 to 29, 2008, the second bundle (Focus) and the third bundle (Sport) will be converted into a two-volume Euro special edition and placed in front of the remaining seven bundles of the Sonntagszeitung. "This is linked to two visions," Adriano Valeri, Head of Advertising Market at the Sonntagszeitung, told Werbewoche. "On the one hand, we want to provide readers with great euro coverage, and on the other, we also want to offer advertisers an attractive platform with an affinity for their target group." Advertising rates and conditions remain unchanged, and in the first volume of the special edition, the editorial team will cover all topics relating to the Euro with news articles, background reports and features on lifestyle, fans and public viewing. The second bundle of the special edition is the sports bundle, which stands for facts and figures and is enriched with match reports, statistics, interviews and service elements. While the first bundle is dedicated exclusively to Euro 08, the second bundle also covers other important sporting events. The remaining seven bundles, the actual Sunday newspaper, are a "euro-free zone". However, this is likely to change if the Swiss actually make it to the semi-finals, as the zero number of the special Euro edition predicts.

  In their comments on the reallocation of radio and TV licenses, the governments of both Basel cantons have expressed a favorable view of the existing local stations Basilisk and Basel 1. However, they have expressed doubts about the financial viability of the new RBB (Radio that offers more of Basel) project by media entrepreneur Christian Heeb. In both Basel and Liestal, the licenses for the future license-fee-eligible local television station Telebasel and for the non-commercial Radio X are undisputed. In both of these cases, the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) received only one application each for the respective licenses to be awarded. In contrast, for the commercial local radio stations—which remain non-license-fee-eligible—three applications are competing for two licenses.
In line with the federal government’s tender criteria, the Basel-Stadt government has come out in favor of the existing stations Basilisk and Basel 1, «taking all arguments into account.» The two stations are «extremely successful» and «financially stable.» Furthermore, thanks to the publisher-independent Radio X and Telebasel, «diversity of opinion is not at risk.».
The added value promised by the RBB project, led by former Basilisk co-founder Christian Heeb, is, however, «still rather vague.» It is also questionable whether the new station’s funding base will be sufficient. Here’s what is known so far: If RBB is awarded the license, Publigroupe intends to take a 25 percent stake. RBB also has the support of Ringier executive Fibo Deutsch, Tele-Top CEO Günther Heuberger, and former Basellandschaftliche Zeitung editor-in-chief Franz C. Widmer.
Baselland Values the Studio in Liestal The Baselland government is reluctant to take a firm stance on radio preferences: it would prefer to leave the choice up to radio listeners and regrets the selection made by the «state regulator»—without, however, addressing the shortage of broadcast frequencies. Although Basel 1 and Basilisk are similar, both are successful. The old local radio stations therefore «apparently meet market needs.» Basel 1 receives explicit support because it has its main studio in Liestal.
The fact that the RBB project intends to place significantly more emphasis on reporting is «generally to be welcomed» in the interest of providing diverse and comprehensive information. However, the Baselland government also questions whether the funding for this is realistic and is asking the federal government to review the matter. The federal government is expected to begin awarding the first new licenses in early summer 2008.

 
The Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne must review the dismissal of criminal proceedings against Andreas Glarner, a member of the Aargau cantonal parliament from the SVP, on charges of racial discrimination. Two private citizens are appealing the decision by the Aargau Higher Court to dismiss their complaint. According to a report in the Aargauer Zeitung, the complainants believe that the posters used by Glarner during the National Council election campaign go far beyond what can be considered permissible under the freedom of expression. They argue there is sufficient grounds for a charge of racial discrimination. Thus, the poster controversy is not yet over, even after the conviction of Halil Sütlü, who had torn down six of the SVP posters (see: ). The posters featured a heavily veiled Muslim woman. Next to her was the text: «Aarau or Ankara? So that we can continue to feel at home in the future. Andreas Glarner for the National Council.» The poster in the Baden region depicted a minaret and, in keeping with the region, read «Baden or Baghdad?» The Aargau High Court ruled that the posters did not disparage the Muslim community as such, nor did they disparage members of the Islamic faith in terms of their identity or equality. Rather, the issue concerned the influence of Islamic culture, which was being rejected without, however, being disparaged across the board.

 
Following two successful years, the upward trend in advertising spending on electronic media continued in January 2008. According to the Goldbach Electronic Media Index (GEMI), which tracks advertising intensity across various electronic media relative to the overall market, electronic media (eMedia) and television showed the strongest growth during the reporting period; eMedia grew by 8 index points to 413 in January, and television grew by 10 points to 436. Growth thus ranged between 2 and 2.5 percent. Radio recorded an increase of one point to 256, while the Internet, due to missing data from two providers, posted a decline of 3 points to 254. Teletext fell by 5 points to 128. The total for all media tracked by Media Focus—which also includes print media—grew by 2 index points to 198 in January 2008.

 An expert survey of media agencies paints a positive picture for the TV advertising year 2008: according to SevenOne Media, forecasts are slightly more cautious than at the end of last year. However, the respondents assume that advertising investment in the medium of television will increase by around 3 percent over the next twelve months. If this forecast is correct, TV would also be one of the winning media this year. For the advertising market as a whole, the respondents expect growth of 2.3 percent in 2008. Hardy Lussi, Managing Director at SevenOne Media (Switzerland), is not surprised by the positive forecast: "No wonder, because 2008 will be a top year for 'running' pictures. Superlative show and sporting events, big box office hits and new innovative TV formats are crying out for screens of all sizes and formats," says Lussi in the communiqué.
In order to forecast the development of TV advertising investments over the next twelve months, experts from media agencies answer quantitative questions on the subject of TV investments every month. The survey is conducted by the Media Research Group on behalf of SevenOne Media.

 Analog broadcasting of SRG television channels nationwide will soon be a thing of the past. On February 25, Valais and Chablais vaudois will also switch to digital reception. Anyone who wants to continue to watch SRG programs via antenna after this date will have to equip themselves with a digital receiver called a set-top box. According to SRG, around eight percent of Swiss television households will be affected. The switch to digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) is being carried out on behalf of the Federal Council in order to ensure the country's basic television service in the future.
SRG has been providing information about the switchover for some time with a broad-based campaign. However, the switch-off of analog television broadcasting signals in the other regions of Switzerland has shown that some consumers are only reacting to the impending change at the last moment, according to a press release. For this reason, TV retailers have been asked to stock a sufficient number of digital receivers in order to be prepared for the rush in the last few weeks before the switchover.
Based on its own information efforts and the extensive media coverage, SRG assumes that the switchover to digital terrestrial television will also go smoothly in Valais and Chablais vaudois. In German-speaking Switzerland, Suisse romande and Ticino, SRG broadcasts four television channels exclusively digitally via antenna.