Television In the USA, the writers' strike is forcing the established TV stations onto the defensive. 
America's film and television writers are on strike. They are demanding a 2.5 percent share of the revenue generated by the distribution of TV series and feature films via the internet and other digital platforms from the media companies. Since November 1, there have been pickets in front of the buildings of major media companies in New York and Los Angeles - and there is no end in sight. "It's about the future of content distribution," says Max Frye, a member of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) who has worked for all the major Hollywood studios. "In ten years, no one will be bothering with DVDs. "Around 50 TV series and an increasing number of film productions, including "24" and "Desperate Housewives", are affected by the strike. The protest action began a few weeks after the fall TV season began on American television with its new series. Most of the newly produced TV episodes have now aired, and the renaissance of cheap reality series from "Big Brother" to Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice" has begun on practically all channels.
Many advertisers are now demanding a reduction in advertising prices - often the most influential force on TV managers in the USA. But given the scarcity of high-quality product, they have no choice but to pay even more for these programs than before. "Marketers are buying TV advertising," says Fred Dubin, Director of Branded Entertainment at media agency Mediaedge. "If there are no series available, they just buy something else. It's business as usual." The trend benefits the hit show "American Idol" on Fox in particular, which has a mass audience of around 30 million viewers and currently enables Fox to charge top prices of up to one million dollars per 30-second spot. A spot in a drama such as "Grey's Anatomy" commands an average of 250000 to 450000 dollars.
But the TV networks are gradually coming under pressure. NBC recorded losses of 10 to 15 million dollars due to the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony alone, and it is more than questionable whether ABC will again rake in 80 million dollars for the Oscars as it did last year. In December, the networks' average primetime ratings were already eleven percent lower than in the previous year.
Industry observers believe it is likely that the so-called Upfronts will not take place this year. At the Upfronts, TV stations present their new series every May to encourage marketers to book as much advertising time as possible in advance. "Advertisers like the idea of eliminating the usual race for the best advertising opportunities," says Dom Serafini, editor-in-chief of Videoage International magazine. "It means fewer horrendous prices per commercial." Broadcasters took in a total of 9.2 billion dollars at the 2007 Upfronts.
What is causing the WGA headaches: The strike means that thousands of other production workers, such as hairdressers, lighting technicians and set designers, are losing work without being compensated. In Los Angeles alone, where the majority of TV series are produced, 15,000 employees are affected. According to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, the strike has so far cost the film city 1.4 billion dollars in lost earnings. This means that this year's strike is beginning to take on far greater dimensions than the last work stoppage by writers in 1988, when the union struck for five months, resulting in losses of 500 million dollars for the film industry.
New hope for an end to the writers' strike recently came from the Directors Guild of America (DGA): the unionized directors, who were threatening a similar strike over the same issues, came to a tentative agreement with the film studios. The WGA wants to check whether the agreement could also apply to them, although the DGA is considered to be far more willing to compromise than the WGA. If both unions reach an agreement with the studios, a strike by the actors, which has been announced for this summer, is likely to become obsolete. If not, many of those involved are bracing themselves for a long ice age.
Gerti Schön, New York

Distribution: When it comes to Zuvo, Tamedia and NZZ are facing competition from Ringier and Swiss Post. 
When the Ringier Group announced on January 17 that it had commissioned Swiss Post to handle early-morning delivery of *Blick* in major cities starting in March, the news was met with almost no reaction. Yet the announcement contains some surprising details. For example: Swiss Post does not operate an early-morning delivery service in German-speaking Switzerland that covers metropolitan areas for the demanding task of addressed distribution. Its 50-percent subsidiary, Direct Mail Company (DMC)—which has been working since September to distribute the free newspaper .ch early in the morning—operates exclusively in the simpler, unaddressed distribution sector. Swiss Post must therefore set up its own delivery organization specifically for the *Blick*—essentially covering the entire region. To this end, it founded the company Postmail AG in December. In Bern, however, it does not have to start from scratch. That’s because Swiss Post already has another 50-percent subsidiary there called Bevo, which handles both early-morning addressed delivery (including the Berner Zeitung, Bund, Tages-Anzeiger, and NZZ) and daytime delivery.
A Web of Ownership Interests But there’s a catch with Bevo: Half of the company is owned by the Zurich-based media group Tamedia, which operates the early-delivery service Zuvo in partnership with the NZZ. Zuvo is the market leader in addressed early-morning newspaper delivery—and together with its partners, in some of which it holds a stake, it covers nearly all of German-speaking Switzerland.
There must therefore have been quite a stir on Zurich’s Werdstrasse and on the Bevo board of directors when Ringier and Swiss Post announced the Zuvo-independent *Blick* early-delivery project. It’s rare for Zuvo to let such a big fish slip away.
So it came as no surprise when, just four days later, Tamedia and NZZ announced that they, too, intended to expand their delivery services, possibly merge Bevo with Zuvo, and in the process «clarify their relationship with Swiss Post.» Although «clarification» in this case likely means a split and fierce competition. And if Swiss Post does not leave Bevo «voluntarily,» the publishers hold the upper hand: they will simply cancel all delivery contracts with Bevo and transfer them to a new Zuvo branch to be opened.
It is therefore clear that the two logistics announcements are related. However, they have nothing to do with the higher postal rates with which they were associated in many places.
Ringier Rejects ZuvoOne question remains: Why did Ringier reject the tried-and-true Zuvo and choose Post—a newcomer to early-morning delivery—as its distribution partner? Ringier spokesperson Marco Castellaneta’s response: «We don’t care who does it. But Swiss Post has won us over—both with its new offering and as it has in the past: It has always been reliable. That’s why we’re sticking with Swiss Post.»
What Castellaneta doesn’t say: From Ringier’s perspective, Zuvo wasn’t always reliable. While there was hardly anything to complain about in terms of quality, the way Tamedia had treated Ringier in the past put the gentlemen on Dufourstrasse off the idea of continuing their collaboration. Examples: Zuvo was only allowed to include the SonntagsBlick in its Sunday early-delivery service once Zuvo’s partner, the NZZ, had also launched its Sunday paper. When Ringier then wanted to acquire a stake in Zuvo and have a say in its operations, it was Tamedia once again that turned them down. The final straw was the surprise termination of the SoBli early delivery service at the end of 2007. Within Ringier, it was suspected that Zuvo—which had also been distributing magazines for several months to improve capacity utilization—had set its sights on Ringier’s high-circulation periodicals and was thus attempting to exert pressure on Ringier.
But that plan didn’t work out. Although Ringier kept SoBli with Zuvo (presumably for lack of alternatives), Blick is now being entrusted to Swiss Post. And Ringier made no concessions when it came to magazines either: they, too, remain with the “Yellow Giant.” Given the size of its overall package, this is likely more cost-effective for Ringier than if the publisher had split up the volume.
So Tamedia’s move backfired. Its business practices drove Ringier, of all companies, into the arms of its major competitor, Swiss Post—the very company against which Martin Kall and Jürg Brauchli would so much like to build an alternative same-day delivery organization (AZO). However, Ringier’s defection has now put a damper on this project—and helped Swiss Post launch its addressed early-morning delivery service.
Markus Knöpfli

 
The main trial for ex-Aegis Media CEO Aleksander Ruzicka began in Wiesbaden. Aegis Media itself is increasingly coming under scrutiny.
 
The main hearing at Wiesbaden District Court began on January 15 with the reading of the indictment. It no longer comprised 167 pages, but only 60. Prosecutor Wolf Jördens read out the indictment for two hours. The core question of the trial is: Are the free spots granted by the TV stations to the media agencies' clients the property of the clients or the agency? The prosecutors assume that "Freespace is attributable to the agency Aegis Media". The indictment further states that Aegis Media "should have made 100 percent profit with these free spots". The defendants' actions deprived it of this. All the money went to the companies Camaco, Watson, Life 2 Solutions and Ortago and thus into the private sphere of the defendants. In each of the 86 cases charged, this was done "without any apparent legal reason". Moreover, the majority of the alleged crimes were committed after July 5, 2005, the date on which the public prosecutor and the only possible aggrieved party, Aegis Media, had detailed knowledge of Ruzicka's alleged criminal actions.
Defense demands stay of proceedingsRuzicka's defense attorney Marcus Traut filed a motion for a stay of proceedings after the indictment was read. The public prosecutor's office had withheld essential documents from the court and the defense prior to the opening of the main hearing. A defense of his client and an objective determination of the truth by the court were therefore not possible. For example, the witnesses Reinhard Zoffel (former CEO of ZHP) and Aegis Media CEO Andreas Bölte had only recently been questioned and the corresponding results were not on file.
Aegis CEO is considered a defendant by the prosecutionThis is particularly explosive as Ruzicka's successor, Aegis Media CEO Andreas Bölte, is listed by the prosecution as a defendant and no longer just as a witness. In order to be able to assess whether the cash flows actually took place "without apparent legal grounds", as the prosecution claims in each of the 86 cases, defense attorney Traut is demanding the provision of customer service contracts, agency agreements, media plans, contractual documents with the TV stations, share agreements, business plans and balance sheets of Aegis Media for the years 2002 to 2006.
On the day of the hearing, public prosecutor Wolf Jördens replied that the defense's motion should be dismissed as the requested documents were not relevant to the criminal proceedings against Aleksander Ruzicka. Conversely, the public prosecutor's office has not yet complied with a court order to submit the files against the accused Aegis Media CEO Andreas Bölte to the court. According to public prosecutor Jördens, Aegis Media had stated that the requested customer service contracts, agency agreements, media plans etc. did not even exist. Minutes later, however, Jördens presented the judge and the stunned audience with two contract dummies (quote) of corresponding contracts (between Carat and the advertising agency ZHP on the one hand and the company Camaco with the barter company Emerson FF on the other), which had been handed to him by Aegis Media during the ongoing hearing. However, these were never signed. Aegis Media CEO Andreas Bölte thus once again admits that Aegis Media was of course aware of Ruzicka's alleged sham and front company Camaco. He had denied this in September 2006.
Public prosecutor's office requests postponementPublic prosecutor Jördens asked for a further week to hand over existing files to the court. The court will decide on the application "promptly". The Wiesbaden public prosecutor's office, which has come under heavy pressure, is therefore trying to gain as much time as possible until the election of the Hessian state parliament on January 27 is over. Aegis Media is fighting tooth and nail against the situation in which it has put itself following the charges brought against its own CEO Ruzicka on July 5, 2005.
Since the Wiesbaden public prosecutor's office did not seize the material requested by the judge during the house searches on September 12, 2006, its existence is now being disputed. It is difficult to understand why Aegis Media served clients such as the advertising agency ZHP without concluding an agency agreement. In addition, Aegis Media is in the embarrassing situation of once again having a CEO at the helm who is accused of criminal acts as a defendant in a preliminary investigation - which has now become part of the "Ruzicka trial" following the judge's decision on January 10.
Ruzicka's companies in the service of Aegis Media for years? Research has now revealed that Ruzicka's companies Watson and Camaco were not only known to Aegis Media, but that their services were actively used for years. From senior Aegis managers such as CEO Andreas Bölte to members of Group management in London. Aegis Media remains silent. No comment.
Only the Swiss CEO of Aegis Media, Andy Lehmann, is speaking out. He is in the comfortable position of knowing that the contractual relationship between client, media agency and media is different in Switzerland than in Germany or Austria. This considerably reduces the scope for deals, kickbacks and free spots. Lehmann recently told the communications service persoenlich.com: "Freespace in any form clearly belongs to the client. How this is handled in daily practice is regulated in the contracts with our customers."
Major clients withdraw their budgetsWhile Andy Lehmann has recognized that the issue at Aegis Media really does need to be dealt with proactively in the interests of clients and employees, Andreas Bölte remains stubbornly silent. As a consequence, the first major clients are withdrawing their budgets from Carat Germany. For example, the 10 media millions of the client Pit Stop. A piquant fact: the service provider's commercials are mentioned by name in the indictment. R&V Versicherung, based in Wiesbaden of all places, also outsourced its budget from Carat Wiesbaden to OMD Hamburg. When asked, both companies denied any connection with the Aegis Media affair.
It is becoming increasingly clear that this is not about the "misconduct of individuals", as Andreas Bölte would have us believe in a press release in September 2006. Bölte has probably lied to the public several times. Aegis Media, and thus he himself as CEO, already had knowledge of the companies in question in 2005: Camaco is mentioned several times in the bizarre advertisement as the basis of the criminal proceedings. Carat had actively used the services of Watson for years. Personal inquiries at the Kreuzberger Ring in Wiesbaden, at Aegis Media's Central European headquarters, end with journalists being thrown out: no comment.
The presiding judge, Jürgen Bonk, who had eloquently and confidently removed the hectic pace and excitement from the main hearing in the run-up to the trial, adjourned the hearing.
Michael Ziesmann, Wiesbaden

 
Packaging Industry The Swiss Packaging Institute (SVI)’s New Year’s briefing is a long-standing tradition. The industry outlook for 2008 is positive. 
With an average annual global growth rate of 4.5 percent, the packaging industry is clearly one of the fastest-growing sectors. In Switzerland, it employs nearly 20,000 people across approximately 280 companies—mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—and generates revenue of over 6 billion Swiss francs. Per capita consumption of packaging materials in Switzerland stands at just over 700 francs per year. This places Switzerland among the leaders in Europe. Claude R. Cornaz, President of the Swiss Packaging Institute (SVI) and CEO of Vetropack Holding, gave a positive assessment of 2007. ’The majority of companies operated at high capacity and were able to increase sales in a saturated Swiss market.« Cornaz also expects business to remain strong in the coming months. However, manufacturers are struggling with high energy and raw material prices, which can only be partially offset by efficiency gains. »Further price adjustments will be unavoidable in the near future,« he said.Positive List Causes Discontent More than 220 companies are members of the industry’s umbrella organization, the Swiss Packaging Institute (SVI). Managing Director Wolfgang Durrer has set strengthening the membership base and promoting training and continuing education in the industry as key goals for 2008.
For example, a new 20-day course leading to a certification as a Packaging Process Manager has been developed. One of the SVI’s main tasks is political lobbying, which is currently in particularly high demand. One of the issues the SVI has been grappling with for some time is the EDI regulation on consumer goods, specifically the planned changes in the area of packaging printing under the leadership of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). Massive negative consequences—and so far not even
The planned positive list for printing inks used in food packaging is likely to have foreseeable implications for the Swiss printing and packaging industry, as it will allow only 20 percent of the inks and ink components previously used to remain approved for use.
The efforts initiated by the Association of Swiss Paint and Varnish Manufacturers (VSLF) and the SVI, in collaboration with other organizations, have resulted in the restrictions on printing inks and packaging printing intended by the FOPH not taking effect as of January 1, 2007. The so-called «positive list» for printing inks was therefore not included in the amendments to food law that took effect in early 2007. Whether and in what form the FOPH will introduce this regulation—which, incidentally, is a unilateral measure by Switzerland—at the beginning of 2008 remains to be seen. “Despite intensive lobbying and another strong fight against the proposal, the current state of affairs remains unclear,” Durrer explained.
A Successful Family-Owned Company: With the Volketswil-based Wipf Group, the SVI once again showcased one of its innovative member companies. The family-owned company, which will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary, is now led by Christian Wipf, a third-generation member of the family. It employs 600 people at several production sites, mainly in Switzerland and Austria, including 200 in Volketswil. The companies of the Wipf Group operate in two divisions. Wipf AG produces flexible packaging, while Seetal Elco AG manufactures envelopes, stationery, and notepads and offers direct marketing solutions. Total revenue of approximately 203 million Swiss francs is split evenly between the two divisions. Switzerland is the main source of revenue for flexible packaging, accounting for 42 percent, followed by Germany and Austria with 22 and 13 percent, respectively. Wipf AG has regularly been honored with major national and international packaging awards for its products. Most recently, it received the Swiss Star and the World Star for its new Ecovel stand-up pouch, which is made of 96 percent bio-based materials. Bio-based composite films are an eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics and, in this case, are particularly suitable for dry or slightly moist products such as coffee, instant products, tea, freeze-dried foods, etc.
From Film to Bags: Under the umbrella term »flexible packaging,« Wipf AG produces packaging films made of plastics combined with aluminum foil or other barrier layers. Anything wrapped in high-density packaging film today may have originated in Volketswil. These include, for example, bags for rösti, muesli, rice, and cookies, as well as cat and dog food, medical products, and products for the non-food sector. “Bags for the sterile sector with barrier layers are our specialty,” says Christian Wipf. Customers include major companies such as Nestlé, Kraft Foods, Migros, and Coop. From the production and finishing of packaging films, through bag manufacturing, to spout sealing, the entire production process takes place in-house at Wipf. This also includes printing the packaging using gravure or flexographic printing with up to ten colors. A total of 16 production lines with an annual capacity of nearly 800 million units are available for bag manufacturing using state-of-the-art convenience features. Customers can choose between heat-sealed bags, stand-up pouches, or gusseted bags, as well as various shapes and sizes. Depending on the bag type, different opening and closure features are used, such as laser perforation, Easy Peel, or zipper closures.
Aroma-preservation and pressure-relief valves, manufactured under the Wicovalve® brand, are another of the company’s specialties. We produce 400 million of these annually. They are found in products such as coffee, sauerkraut, soy, dough, pasteurized ready-meals, and the Dream-Steam rapid cooking system, which is used in the microwave. In the laboratory, every new packaging design is also tested to the absolute limit: for EAN code readability, ink adhesion, residual materials, seal strength, laminate adhesion, and burst pressure.
Christian Wipf is convinced that the company will not run out of work in the future. With growth of 10 to 15 percent, the stand-up pouch remains one of the winners in the packaging market. Thanks to its light weight and small volume, it is increasingly replacing packaging materials such as glass and sheet steel and establishing itself in their traditional markets.
Sabine Flaxman
Swiss Packaging Institute (SVI)—the umbrella organization for the Swiss packaging industry. Members: 220 companies in the packaging sector. The association’s main activities include a comprehensive training program, public relations, lobbying, and the annual presentation of the internationally renowned Swiss Star packaging award.
www.svi-verpackung.chWipf-GruppeInternational-based family-owned company with production focused on two divisions: flexible packaging, and envelopes and direct marketing solutions. The holding company includes Wipf AG in Volketswil, Wipf AG Austria GmbH in Marchtrenk, Austria, Seetal Elco AG in Brugg, and Eurobloc SAS in St. Amarin, France. The group employs 600 people and generates revenue of 203 million Swiss francs.
www.wipf.ch

Radio The official launch is not until March 17. But Radio 1 is already broadcasting a test program today on 93.0 MHz in Zurich. The songs played are quite something, just as you would expect from a program "for adults only". We also noticed the self-promotion. Whether Christian Heeb from Basel, Daniel Ambühl, Röbi Koller or Ursi Spaltenstein: all of Roger Schawinski's former companions wish him good luck with his new project in a sincere voice. In a media world where the average time it takes for senior staff to vacate their offices during the "restructuring" that will soon be part of everyday life, such loyalty to the old boss is absolutely out of the ordinary. But for the creator of Radio 1, the corporate culture in his various companies was also something "only for adults" in the past. (pan)  

 
Apparently, the anger among angry StudiVZ users over the marketing plans of StudiVZ owner Holtzbrinck has not yet died down. A video has surfaced on YouTube in which an unknown (and apparently artistically just starting out) rapper in a T-shirt with "StasiVZ" printed on it rails against the student portal. The youngster, wearing a "Scream" mask, compares the marketing of personal data and the disclosure of privacy by StudiVZ with Stasi methods. The aim is to evade them, as he repeatedly sings in a mantra: "My profile, my group, my photos, my friends, my hobbies, my data are gone. My thoughts, my heart, my life, my world is no longer on VZ." At the same time, he and the second person in the video promote the alternative Kaioo.de. Kaioo.de is a nascent networking platform that claims to donate all advertising revenue to charitable organizations. StudiVZ is now considering taking legal action on suspicion of unfair advertising. "We are looking into this," a spokesperson told Wuv.de. Kaioo managing director Thomas Kreye, on the other hand, insists that the creation of the video has nothing to do with his company. Kreye seems to agree with the StasiVZ rapper when he sings: "Ehrlisch, so was unterschtütz isch nischt."

 
A look at the advertising statistics published by Wemf AG für Werbemedienforschung on Wednesday reveals one thing in particular: The good economic situation in Switzerland led to full job advertisements in 2007. The daily and regional weekly newspapers sold were able to increase their revenues in this segment by 24.6 percent. The commercial advertising sector also increased: After a slight decline in 2006, it recorded a 4.8 percent increase in revenue. Overall, advertising revenues in daily and regional weekly newspapers sold rose by 8.5 percent, which was slightly more than in the previous year.The balance sheet for advertising revenues in the various newspaper categories shows a mixed picture: the Sunday press and the financial and business titles recorded similarly strong increases of 8.9 percent and 8.7 percent respectively. The increase in the general press amounted to 6.7%. The volume of advertisements in trade journals fell by 5.7 percent and in specialty journals by 6.8 percent. The volume of advertisements in free newspapers (daily and regional weekly press) increased by 12.7%. For technical reasons, the free newspapers are not surveyed according to turnover, as Wemf explained in response to an SDA inquiry. The two newcomers in German-speaking Switzerland - News and .ch - are not yet included in the volume statistics.

On Wednesday last week, the industry named Pius Walker this year's Advertiser of the Year. Before Sven Epiney presented him with the Egon, all six nominees were introduced via film, in the casting show "Superwerber". Before the stern eyes of three-time jury member Claudio Zuccolini, the candidates had to solve tasks and answer questions. In the leading roles: Peter Brönnimann, Markus Gut, Valentina Herrmann, Pedro Simko, Pius Walker and Andreas Widmer. The script and direction were written and written by Andreas Panzeri, the deputy editor-in-chief of Werbewoche. The film was made possible with the support of Condor Films. Watch the clip:

Photos from the Egon award ceremony are available
to see. On the way at the party were also the people from Action TV. They talked to the visitors and caught the award ceremony on tape. You can find their broadcast .

 
Printing Man Roland now combines all consulting services for sheetfed and web customers under Printadvice. 
With Printadvice, Man Roland wants to offer customers bundled consulting knowledge and many years of experience in all aspects of the printing process and strengthen the competitiveness of Man Roland customers even more in the future with a differentiated and comprehensive range of consulting services. This is a sensible goal, as the printing business is becoming increasingly complex for both users and manufacturers. Access to qualified information is a decisive success factor for printing companies. Printadvice shows print shops potentials and supports them effectively in their strategic planning. With this range of services, Man Roland also wants to underpin its claim to be one of the industry leaders in print. The Printadvice brand conveys this expertise and firmly anchors it in the market.
In terms of content, many Printadvice services and tasks are already provided by the subsidiary Eurografica Systemplanungs GmbH. With Printservice, Printcom, Printnet and Printadvice, the existing Printvalue brand family bundles the established company's entire press-related know-how and thus offers its customers decisive added value from system evaluation to productive performance. www.man-roland.de
Sabine Flaxman

 
Euro 08 Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital realizes a campaign for football fans for Swiss Airlines. 
The big football festival in Austria and Switzerland will not only get emotions running high, but should also give Swiss a boost in the summer. Swiss wants to promote itself as the "airline for all fans" not only for flying in fans worldwide, but also between the stadiums in Vienna and Zurich around Euro 08. A Swiss "Hopp Schwiiz" plane christened by Köbi Kuhn is already flying throughout Europe. Since mid-January, the Lufthansa subsidiary has also been running a "Fantram" through the cities of Geneva, Basel and Zurich. The streetcar is decorated with cheering football fans. For the photos, Swiss employees posed in front of the camera in fan outfits of the participating football nations. After all, Swiss flies to all the countries that have qualified for the finals. The three Fantrams were launched with promotional effect. In Zurich, Mayor Elmar Ledergerber was the godfather, while Basel's "Drämmli" was christened by Ralph Lewin, a member of the Basel cantonal government, and the streetcars were designed by Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital. The agency is responsible for all direct marketing and below-the-line measures for Swiss. "Euro RSCG Dialog & Digital is the official agency of Swiss Airlines and has already been working for Swiss in the area of dialog for several months," explains Frank Bodin. The mandate will therefore continue independently - even after the pitch that has now been put out to tender for Swiss's traditional budget. Here, the previous agency Jung von Matt/Limmat will continue to work "at full speed" until March, as CD Alexander Jaggy explains.  
 
Andreas Panzeri

Christa Löpfe
has found an ideal balance between challenge and enjoyment of her work with her one-woman agency for media projects. 
Has she ever regretted quitting Annabelle? The former editor-in-chief has had to endure this question countless times over the last three years. "Colleagues in particular were pretty uncomprehending. Nobody wanted to believe that you would give up a position like that of your own free will," muses Christa Löpfe: No, she has not regretted it. And: the dropout is now back in business. She has just designed a new customer magazine for Toyota.
Löpfe did not take the decision to leave Annabelle lightly. The process took six months. "I was pretty torn, because Annabelle was my child and the editorial team was my family. You don't leave something like that overnight." But she wanted "tabula rasa". First to go through the divorce peacefully. Then the resignation. Finally, sell the apartment. And then go on a big trip around the world?
"No. I hate traveling. I experience my adventures in my head," she says. So her departure ultimately turned into a journey to herself. "I wanted to take time for that. And it was worth it."
Christa Löpfe enjoyed this search for almost two years. And occasionally endured it. Suddenly there were so many opportunities. But none of the several job offers convinced her. She realized that she could no longer stand certain things. Like certain managers, for example. She laughs. In this sense, she is "extremely grateful" to Martin Kall for her new path. "Although it was never actually part of my life plan to become self-employed one day."
What did she no longer like about being an employee?
"I felt like a fir tree that had been moved to the desert, or a palm tree that you want to have at 3,000 meters. There's nothing wrong with the desert and nothing wrong with 3,000 meters. But it just doesn't fit together." Christa Löpfe realized that she "doesn't want to live" in this new culture that Martin Kall has introduced at Tamedia.
As editor-in-chief, she achieved a turnaround at Annabelle after the magazine had been in the red for years. Within a year, Löpfe was in the black and was able to maintain this for five years. This naturally resulted in a relationship of trust under the then CEO Michel Favre. "I missed that later on. Because trust is essential in a job like this." She cannot work creatively in a climate of mistrust and control.
For the turnaround, Löpfe "got to the root of the problems". She created "a good foundation" and changed the entire editorial infrastructure, introduced budget responsibility for the department heads, reorganized the sales organization as well as the technical and editorial workflows. Annabelle was also "redesigned and reorganized". The women's magazine, one third of which is also read by men, won its first journalism prize during Löpfe's time. "We have been taken seriously again by good authors."
Such results made her work fun, as Löpfe has always preferred to be an editor and manager at the same time. "I need a lot of leeway and freedom to make decisions. But in return, I also take responsibility." The current specialist for media projects has always been interested in the economic and organizational aspects just as much as in editing. "You can't have one without the other two."
She has learned this with a CV that has taken her through all areas of the media.
Christa Löpfe grew up in Glarus and moved to Zurich to study graphic design at the School of Applied Arts. She worked in advertising agencies for three years. There she received an offer from the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper in 1983. She was asked to take over the art direction for the new magazine Voilà, which was aimed at young women. This was her first managerial position with a leadership role, and Löpfe realized: "This is my world."
After Voilà, she realized her first new concept for the Beobachter. "All exciting times, because something was always changing."
The next stop was the publishing department of Ringier Print. There, Löpfe won the customer magazine for Amag. She later worked for Thomas Trüb on the development of various projects in what was then Czechoslovakia. Ringier launched Blesk, the Czech Blick, as well as Bilanz.
Löpfe commuted between Prague and Zurich, where she had her small office in a back room of the Cash editorial office, "a broom closet behind the reception desk". But she was very close to the editorial team. And so, "almost as a neighbor", she was commissioned to work with Hanspeter Peyer on the first major relaunch of Cash.
In the editorial office, Löpfe was actually only supposed to introduce the new concept. But she liked it so much on the editorial team that she stayed for seven years. After a few months, the art director was appointed to the senior editorial team. She was now Head of Production with a team of 23 people. "For the first time in my life, I had budget responsibility." Acting as a link between people and tasks gives her the greatest satisfaction.
She finally topped this experience in 1999 when she was appointed to Annabelle.
The former graphic designer turned editor-in-chief never had any additional training. "It was all learning by doing." Nor did she attend any management courses. "I had a lot of miserable bosses, from whom I learned one thing above all: I don't want to do it like that."
As her own boss, Christa Löpfe now allows herself to select her work according to three criteria. Firstly, a project has to be fun, secondly, it has to make sense and thirdly, it has to bring in the necessary money. "Otherwise, I work without much planning. I've always let everything come to me in my life." This is also how her first contact with Toyota came about by chance. Last year, Karl Lüönd was in the USA. He therefore asked Löpfe to represent him at an important Toyota meeting: It was about the 40th anniversary of the dealership. At this meeting, it became clear that although Karl Lüönd's anniversary book "Intelligence on Wheels" was available as a text manuscript, the book had to be completed within just four weeks. Löpfe solved the problem immediately and, together with AZ Verlag, also produced an anniversary newspaper.
Other projects that Löpfe has implemented include: Developing and implementing styling principles for Swiss television presenters, revamping a women's magazine in Vietnam and helping to design the lifestyle section of a newspaper. Another major project was the repositioning of the Coop newspaper, in which she was involved as a consultant.
And now Toyota: Löpfe is responsible for implementing the new concept of its biannual customer magazine, which was approved by GD Philipp Rhomberg: Project management, editor-in-chief, production - Christa Löpfe has always enjoyed "reorganization and development" the most.
Andreas Panzeri

 
Brad Adgate, a director at the media research firm Horizon Media in New York, describes the impact of the strike on television. 
WW: What impact is the strike having on network television? Brad Adgate: The networks are gradually feeling the repercussions of the strike. The lower ratings indicate that viewers are starting to look for alternatives.
What could that be? They check out what’s on cable TV or rent more movies on Netflix. Younger media consumers are increasingly turning to online platforms like YouTube and video games, but this is a demographic that is already turning away from network television.
Could viewing habits change completely in the long run? That depends on how long the strike lasts. Some of the reality shows are actually quite decent and have had good ratings. Television is an addictive medium; it’s hard to turn away from it completely. But in the medium term, it’s still possible that viewing habits will change, especially during prime time.
Interview: Gerti Schön