Migros advertising manager Beat Mühlemann (57) is moving to Publicitas. In future, Mühlemann will head a team of specialists at "P" who will be responsible for market observation in Switzerland and abroad, pricing and offer design as well as market research. Mühlemann will take up his post on February 1, 2008 - his new area of responsibility covers all types of media in Switzerland and abroad.  
Mühlmann worked for advertising agencies in Switzerland and abroad for 35 years in various roles, some of them as owner. He managed mandates for domestic and foreign clients from practically all sectors. In 2000, he took over as Head of Marketing Communications at Migros Genossenschafts-Bund, the most important Swiss advertising client. In 2005, he was voted Advertiser of the Year - the only advertising client to date to do so, according to the Publicitas press release. But Werbewoche, as the organizer of the
Better advertiser of the year: Fredy Collioud, CEO of Publicis, was named advertiser of the year back in 1985 - also as advertising manager at the Migros Cooperative Federation.

Ueli Maurer, president of the Swiss People's Party (SVP), is considering a move from managing director of the Farmers' Union to the communications industry.He will also relinquish the party presidency, which he has held since January 1996, next year. According to an SDA report, Maurer has resigned from his position at the Farmers' Union as of mid-2008 and will probably start his own business, but there are "still two or three other options.

 With its international campaign for GAM Global Asset Management, Euro RSCG Zurich has been nominated for the Midas Award in the "Best Magazine" category. This is not the first time that the print campaign with the hidden animals has fascinated a creative jury. The Midas Award, which takes place as part of the New York Festivals and is open to entries from all over the world, honors innovative and creative advertising for financial service providers.

Marc Kowalsky will join Weltwoche's business department on November 1. The 37-year-old was previously head of the economics department at the news magazine Facts.With Kowalsky, Weltwoche is gaining an expert in the world of business and an experienced journalist, according to a communiqué. The 37-year-old Kowalsky was previously a member of the editorial board and head of the economics department at the news magazine Facts and before that worked in various functions at the business magazine Bilanz, most recently as an author and member of the editorial board. He gained additional experience at the news magazine Spiegel and Fortune Magazine in New York.

 The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) is not opening supervisory proceedings against Blocher TV. According to a press release, the suspicion that sponsorship money was improperly used for these political broadcasts has not been confirmed.  
Schaffhausen Television is currently producing and broadcasting a series entitled "Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher in conversation with Dr. Matthias Ackeret". Parts of this series have also been taken over and broadcast by other local television stations.
 
Media reports quoted representatives of Schaffhausen Television in particular as saying that the series had been financed by third parties with the help of sponsors. This called OFCOM, as the supervisory body, into action because the Radio and Television Act prohibits the sponsorship of programs on current political events. OFCOM requested information from all local television broadcasters concerned about the financing of the series or the individual broadcasts. The suspicion of third-party financing was not substantiated. The opening of supervisory proceedings was therefore waived.
 
However, OFCOM has not examined whether the controversial Blocher series violated programming regulations, in particular the principle of fairness and diversity. The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) would be responsible for this following a complaint, writes the Federal Office.

 Publicis Zurich has been nominated six times for the Midas Awards in New York for Zurich Financial Services and twice for Ringier (Cash Daily). The Midas Award is an international award of the New York Festivals, which honors creative advertising for financial service providers. The winners will be announced at the end of November.

 25 years after its development, the standard language Rumantsch Grischun (RG) is making its way into SRG's electronic Rhaeto-Romanic media. From November 2007, the written language will become the reading language for the news. Radio e Televisiun Rumantsch (RTR) and its audience are ready for this step, explains RTR Director Bernard Cathomas to SDA.  
Initially, only the evening news on the radio will be read in the standard language, but by March 2008 at the latest, all news, both on the radio and on television, will be read in Rumantsch Grischun. However, the news will continue to be presented in Rhaeto-Romanic dialects, emphasized Cathomas, who described the introduction as a reading language in the electronic Rhaeto-Romanic media as a logical step. Radio e Televisiun Rumantsch is predestined to play a responsible role when it comes to reading the written language professionally and developing a reading standard.
 
However, there is also skepticism about the linguistic innovation in the radio and television editorial offices: in an internal survey conducted by the media union SSM, the written language was rejected by the majority. According to Cathomen, however, the survey was not conducted scientifically enough. The comments on the questions posed were interesting and showed both the problems and the opportunities of Rumantsch Grischun. Cathomen nevertheless expects the public to have reservations.

 Marc Frischknecht, head of music at St. Gallen radio station Toxic.fm, is leaving the station at the end of January 2008. Frischknecht has been head of music at Toxic.fm since September 2004 and has been in charge of the station's musical fortunes ever since. The fact that he now wants to take on a new challenge outside of the St. Gallen radio station was his own initiative and is by mutual agreement, according to a press release. His successor has not yet been appointed.

 The Government Council of the Canton of Zurich has appointed Christiana Schiavi as the new Deputy Government Spokesperson. The 35-year-old journalist succeeds Urs Rüegg, who is moving to the Health Directorate. Schiavi will take up her position in the communications department of the government council on January 1, 2008, as reported by SDA. She has been working as a television editor and producer at the business magazine "Cash TV" in Zurich since 2001.

 On November 10, Valais Tourism is promoting the Alpine canton in German-speaking Switzerland ahead of the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel on December 9. 14 towns in "Üsserschwiiz" are to be symbolically transformed into Valais suburbs, as reported by SDA. Thanks to the new connection through the Lötschberg, which will shorten the train journey by up to an hour, Valais is expecting 400,000 additional guests a year in future.  
The people of Valais wanted to demonstrate their hospitality with events in German-speaking Switzerland. Delegations of around 1500 Valaisans will be promoting the region on November 10 with festivities in Zurich, Basel, Bern, Winterthur, Lucerne, Biel, Thun, Aarau, Liestal, Frauenfeld, Zug, Solothurn, Schaffhausen and Münsingen. In Zurich, the Bettmeralp region will represent Valais at the promotional event for the opening of the new Lötschberg tunnel on November 10. Crans-Montana will be a guest in Winterthur. According to the SDA, Zurich residents will be treated to a day of typical agricultural products from the immediate region on Bürkliplatz.
 
In an "official act", Valais, which has 13 stars as a symbol of the 13 districts in its cantonal coat of arms, will hand over a symbolic 14th star to the cities of German-speaking Switzerland. German-speaking Switzerland will thus become the 14th district of the tourist canton. The star, as a symbol of hospitality, will be officially presented to the Mayor of Zurich, Elmar Ledergerber, by State Councillor Jean-Michel Cina and the Mayor of Bettmeralp, Heidi Kreuzer, at a ceremony in the foyer of the town hall. In Winterthur, the celebration will take place on Neumarktplatz with Valais specialties and entertainment. As a gift from Bettmeralp and Crans-Montana, children from Zurich and Winterthur will be invited to spend a special day in Valais.

 The e-marketing agency Orange 8 has taken on the redesign of the website of the Neuchâtel watch company Certina. A video animation emphasizes the values of precision, reliability, innovation and dynamism that have always linked Certina to the world of motorsports. Based on Kentico-CMS, a website was created in six languages that focuses on the watches and their functionality. The presentation of the collection is complemented by information on the production and history of the company from Le Locle.

 Jung von Matt/Limmat is nominated for the final of the 2007 New York Festival Midas Awards with its client Migros Bank in three categories: the TV spot "Pickpocket" in the "Banking" category, "Bird box" in the "Best Point-of-Purchase" category and "Don't Flip" in the "Best Newspaper Advertisement" category. Jung von Matt/Limmat is also represented in the final in the "Best Copywriting" category with the "True to you" campaign for Bank Julius Baer. The Midas Award is an international award of the New York Festivals, which honors creative advertising for financial service providers. The winners will be announced after the next judging.