Printed newspapers are more profitable than ever in the eyes of Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. His company achieved a record result in its fourth year, he told Sonntagsblick. Döpfner explains the fact that the tabloid Bild has had its most successful year ever in business terms, despite a loss in circulation, with a "consistent multimedia strategy": daily newspaper, Sunday newspaper, subsidiary newspapers with special topics, online platform and so on. For Springer, the Internet is not just a "hope for the future that might one day make money": of Springer's ten largest online activities, seven are already profitable. Boulevard is mainstream today, Döpfner continues. In order to differentiate itself as a traditional tabloid medium, it would be wrong to become "even more aggressive, even louder". Instead, the tabloid should return to its "old virtues": a direct approach, emotionality and authenticity. Döpfner remains skeptical about the long-term success of free newspapers: he sees free newspapers as a "transitional phenomenon" on the way from paid content in a printed newspaper to content financed by advertising on the Internet. In the eyes of Springer's CEO, this transformation process is "good news" in the long term.
Döpfner has nothing but praise for Axel Springer Switzerland. The independence of the Swiss subsidiary is maintained, among other things, by the fact that there are hardly any Germans in the management of the publishing house in this country: "Compatriots do journalism for compatriots." Swiss employees are also to benefit from a profit-sharing scheme in the near future.

 In addition to Radio 1 in Zurich, Roger Schawinski also wants to go on air in the canton of Aargau: With "Radio AG", he is planning to launch a new local radio station in Aargau. He is applying for a license with the station; the application must be submitted to the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) by next Wednesday. The new station is aimed at listeners aged between 14 and 60. As Schawinski announced on Sunday, Radio AG will place a strong emphasis on spoken word programs such as talk shows, background programs and radio plays. Two people from Aargau are on board at Radio AG: Heinz Lang, former program director of Tele M1 and member of the editorial board of RTL/ProSieben Schweiz, and Christoph Bürge. The latter was head of entertainment at Swiss Television and TV 3, and is now head of a radio and television group in Romania. As Bürge told the Sonntagszeitung, Radio AG should not be a "Zurich station for Aargau residents". Schawinski wants to make the employees of Radio Argovia a takeover offer if he receives the license from the federal government.
Radio Argovia is also the station that is being directly attacked by Schawinski's new plans. According to the former radio pioneer himself, he is directly targeting the radio, TV and newspaper monopoly of Peter Wanner's AZ Medien Group. "Aargau is one of the last multimedia monopolies in the world that is controlled by a single person," says Schawinski. He now wants to break this monopoly: "I have dedicated my entire professional life to the fight against monopolies," the former Sat.1 boss told the Sonntagszeitung.
Radio AG is to offer a journalistically independent and qualitatively better product than Radio Argovia, Schawinski further announced. The financial, professional and personnel resources are available for this. The federal government will only award one license in Aargau. There is no doubt that Radio Argovia will also apply for this. According to the new RTVA, in the event of equal applications for a radio license, the provider that most enriches the diversity of opinion and offerings should be awarded the license. The Sonntagszeitung concludes from this that the federal government would have to award the license to Schawinski if Radio Argovia and Radio AG submit equivalent applications.
Schawinski's attack puts Wanner under further pressure: from next Wednesday, he will have to live with stronger competition from the daily newspapers: Tamedia will then launch the free newspaper News, which will be published with a large circulation in the Mittelland.

The Sunday press, which is otherwise fond of attacking the SRG in general and Swiss television in particular, was conspicuously quiet this weekend about the new SRG concession. In the Mittellandblatt Sonntag, however, former television boss Peter Schellenberg is a prominent voice on the subject. He delights us with the insight that "the SRG mountain is going to the central state massif" and implies that the conditions here would be called state television elsewhere. The NZZ am Sonntag, on the other hand, contented itself with a 15-line commentary, but it really lets its hair down: the SRG's salami tactics must be stopped, it says. SRG boss Armin Walpen, who the Sunday edition of the NZZ had already dubbed "the expense knight of the fee-financed figure" elsewhere, is expanding his company slice by slice. And the media public is reacting to this with "little concern"! It's just strange that the NZZ am Sonntag didn't give itself a little more space to explain to us exactly how Walpen's sausage technique works.

 
The "healthy body weight" campaign of the Basel-Stadt Department of Health (GBS) is being continued in December with a seasonal, festive touch: On F200 and F12 posters, GBS wishes the population throughout Basel all the best with health tips for the festive and winter seasons. In addition to posters, the campaign developed by Crbasel with eight different motifs also includes Christmas cards, envelope stickers and rotairs for chestnut stands, which draw attention to the health benefits of the hot winter specialty:
/ / / / / / / Responsible at the Basel-Stadt Department of Health:
Dr. med. Thomas Steffen (Head of FMH for Prevention and Healthcare), Jan Kirchhofer and Caroline Guggisberg (Academic Staff) Responsible at Crbasel:
Gabriel Heuberger (CD), Philipp Schweizer (text), Roger Horvath (AD/illustration), Thomas Fux and Raphaela Brühlmeier (consulting).

 
Fritz Ammann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Valora, the Berne-based consumer goods group, is stepping down with immediate effect. He will be succeeded on an interim basis until April 29, 2008 by Beatrice Tschanz-Kramel, who became known as Swissair's head of communications. Ammann's departure was the demand of a group of shareholders led by Adriano Agosti, who sees a greater need for reform in the company, according to the SDA release. Valora shares rose slightly following the announcement of Ammann's resignation. Valora owns the K Kiosk chain.

 
As a precautionary measure, the Vaudois judiciary has blocked a website run by state employees. In the exchange forum, anonymous authors had harshly criticized the management of the cantonal IT service DSI, as reported by SDA. State Councillor François Marthaler (Greens) was also accused of passive behavior in the blog. The government then decided to take legal action to have the website closed down. Construction Director Marthaler had in particular denounced the anonymity and defamatory nature of the comments on the blog, which concerned three people responsible for the DSI. The Parolesdecafe.net blog, which had around 20 anonymous posts on Thursday, bears witness to the displeasure at the hierarchical relationships within the DSI. The initiator speaks of a breach of trust, demotivation and general dissatisfaction. François Marthaler was shocked. His employees had the opportunity to make their voices heard and get in direct contact with him. "I have always answered the letters, unless they are anonymous."
An author of the internet forum who publishes under the name Arthur regretted on Thursday that the public had found out about the blog via the media. The forum was reserved for employees of the IT department. At the same time, however, he also mocked the overreaction of the authorities and the inefficiency of closing a blog because it would immediately go elsewhere. Ultimately, however, the writer is concerned with solving the problems raised internally, as can be read on the blog.

Unicef ambassador Roger Federer makes a strong case for children in a video message to mark World AIDS Day on December 1. The number one tennis player points out that the youngest children must not be forgotten in the fight against AIDS: "Every minute a child is born with HIV," is the worrying message. Federer has been an ambassador for the aid organization since 2006 and has since visited various regions in Africa and India, where he has met children suffering from AIDS. According to Unicef, the number of HIV-infected children worldwide has risen by around one million in the last six years to an estimated 2.5 million. Every day, 1,100 children are infected with HIV. The aid organization is fighting against this: It wants to prevent the transmission of the virus from mothers to children, ensure medical treatment, provide preventive education and provide appropriate care for affected children.

 
As part of the consultation process for the parliamentary initiative, the Swiss Press Association is now also speaking out. It opposes the idea of free advertising for political parties as well as initiative and referendum committees on private radio and television stations with a fee share. According to the press release, the proposal is extremely questionable in terms of state policy. The state compulsion to provide free advertising would come dangerously close to indirect party financing and lead to distortions of competition, while reiterating its call for a general lifting of advertising bans, particularly for paid political advertising. This is still prohibited by the new RTVA. The regulations should be adapted to the minimum European standards. This would also be necessary if Switzerland wanted to continue to participate in the EU Media Agreement.

 The winners of the Eurobest Awards 2007 have been chosen. Switzerland has won two gold, five silver and three bronze awards. The most decorated among the Swiss creatives is the Walker advertising agency: it received gold for Amnesty International, one silver award each for Maxiprint and Fleurop and one bronze for Fleurop. Draftfcb/Lowe also received gold for Artesanos Camiseros. Ruf Lanz won two silver awards for Energy Zurich and bronze for the campaign for Sport Factory Outlet. Advico Young & Rubicam took silver for the Leica campaign, and Jung von Matt/Limmat took bronze for Beach Mountain.
The Eurobest judges presented a total of 277 awards: 46 in gold, 81 in silver and 144 in bronze. The Grand Prix went to Nordpol+ Hamburg in the "TV/Cinema" category, DDB London in "Outdoor", Hjaltelin, Stahl & Co. Copenhagen in "Direct & Sales Promotion", DDB Berlin in "Media" and Jung von Matt/Neckar in Stuttgart in "Interactive". Contrapunto Madrid won the Campaign Grand Prix.
The Swiss winnings in detail: Walker advertising agency:
Gold in the Media category: "Not here but now" for Amnesty International
Silver in the Media category: "Newsweek" for Maxiprint.com
Silver in the TV/Cinema "Anniversary" category for Fleurop
Bronze in the TV/Cinema category: "Tent" for Fleurop
Draftfcb/Lowe:
Gold in the Alternative Media & Field Marketing category: "Any Shape" for Artesanos Camiseros
Ruf Lanz:
Silver in the Direct & Sales Promotion category (sub-category Business to Business: Advertising & Media): "Letters of Application" for Energy Zurich
Silver in the category Direct & Sales Promotion (sub-category Flat Mailing): "Letters of Application" for Energy Zurich
Bronze campaign in the Print category: "George W. Bush" campaign for Sport Factory Outlet
Advico Young & Rubicam:
Silver campaign in the Outdoor category: "Zoom" campaign for Leica
Jung von Matt/Limmat:
Bronze in the Outdoor category: "Wave" for Beach Mountain

 
At an Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders of Radio Emme AG approved an increase in share capital of up to CHF 480,000. According to a statement, the Board of Directors views this approval as a declaration of confidence in the current management team. The capital increase comes only around three and a half weeks after the station's realignment (), which was decided on due to its moderate success over the past ten years, dwindling listener numbers and poor financial basis. Criticism had already been voiced at the time, but there were apparently also very emotional reactions from the public in the run-up to the AGM. According to the press release, three quarters of the critics were clearly destructive and even personally insulting and indecent towards the current management. Nevertheless, the share capital increase was ultimately approved.

 
In the consultation procedure on the parliamentary initiative "Fair voting campaigns", the governments of the cantons of Aargau and Graubünden have now also expressed their opposition. Fairness cannot be prescribed by law, said the Graubünden government. Aargau also rejects state regulation of political advertising, but goes one step further: it is in favor of lifting the ban on political advertising in the electronic media in principle. It is currently prohibited. The initiative wants to create free airtime on radio and television for political advertising spots before federal referendums. All parties organized as parliamentary groups in the Federal Assembly as well as initiative or referendum committees should benefit from this.

The new Head of Magazines at Tamedia has been appointed: Christian Haberbeck will take over this position in the new Media Switzerland division. On May 1, 2008, he will succeed Uli Rubner, who is leaving the company (see ). Haberbeck has been Managing Director of Huber & Co. in Frauenfeld since last June. In his new role, he will be responsible for Annabelle, Automobil Revue and Moto Sport Schweiz, Das Magazin, Schweizer Familie, TVtäglich and Zeitschriften-Online. He will report to Christoph Tonini, Head of the Media Switzerland division.
Before joining Huber & Co., Haberbeck was Managing Director of the German printing house Haberbeck for three years. Between 2001 and 2003, he managed the Slovakian magazine publisher Euroskop Ringier in Bratislava. From 1997 to 2001, the business administration graduate held various positions at Ringier.