Once again, Sean Combs, alias Puffy, Puff Daddy or P.Diddy, is currently making headlines not with a new rap song or his label Bad Boy Entertainment, but with a new advertising deal. As the internet service "E! Online" reports, the rapper, restaurateur (he runs the Justin's restaurant chain), clothing manufacturer (Sean John), perfumer (Unforgivable) and sex symbol (see ) has just signed a lucrative contract with a spirits manufacturer: if Combs manages to bring the still largely unknown vodka brand Ciroc to the right customers, he will reportedly receive a 100 million dollar (around 117 million Swiss francs) bonus. The jetsetter and professional party animal will not only have an influence on the marketing strategy of the premium vodka, he will also be able to decide in which stores the firewater will be available.
This is a rather surprising step, as various manufacturers of fine alcoholic beverages have recently reacted rather negatively to the consumer confessions from the hip hop scene. For example, a representative of the French champagne manufacturer Cristal vehemently distanced himself from the free advertising that rappers have been doing for his brand for years by diligently mentioning the name in their tracks. He described the rappers as virtually unworthy consumers - he spoke of "unwanted attention" - of his expensive bubbly water. As a result, rapper Jay-Z withdrew the brand from sale in his 40/40 nightclubs.
Combs now wants to really put his foot down. The job will get his "daily attention", said the "bad boy", who is convinced of the quality of the product and now only works part-time as a music producer: "I think we can convert a lot of people." Perhaps he should found an advertising sect.

 To mark the 30th anniversary of the Solothurn Festival of Literature, SRG is stepping up its commitment to promoting culture. This commitment is focused primarily on the Internet: From now on, the websites of the radio and television stations belonging to SRG in the four language regions will feature a wide range of literature-specific online content. Specifically, the offer includes detailed information on the Literature Days, a list of links from the Swiss literary scene and dossiers on well-known authors. These can be accessed free of charge on the Internet. At the heart of the service, however, are the recordings of the 60 or so readings held in Solothurn. They will also be made available to the general public on the SRG website as audio streams and podcasts. SRG's commitment to literature is not only due to its legal mandate, but also to its firm intention to intensify its relationship with Swiss literature, SRG Director General Armin Walpen told the media on Thursday.
With this intensified media partnership, SRG is fulfilling a requirement of the new Radio and Television Act. This stipulates that SRG must actively promote culture "with special consideration for Swiss literature, music and film".

Mathieu Janin will join the PR agency Rochat & Partners on January 1, 2008. Janin will be based in the Lausanne office of Rochat & Partners, which handles a wide range of mandates - from banking to healthcare - and is also active in the telecommunications (Switel) and new technologies (Siemens and Infolearn) sectors. The 40-year-old specialist in new technologies was media spokesman and PR manager for the telecommunications company Sunrise for six years. He previously worked as a journalist and editor-in-chief of publications focusing on new technologies, IT and entrepreneurship. He also runs a blog on new technologies and corporate communications at . Mathieu Janin is also heavily involved in professional politics. He is President of the Société Romande de Relations Publiques (SRRP) and a member of the Central Board of the Swiss Public Relations Association (SPRG).

 The Swiss company Geneva Lab has commissioned Zurich-based Flowcube Communications with its PR and public relations work. Geneva Lab, based in Geneva, develops high-quality music systems. The latest development, Geneva Lab Soundsystems, are compact sound boxes with a universal iPod docking station, CD player and FM radio all in one. The models are distributed in Switzerland by Radiodays. For the launch on the Swiss market, Flowcube Communications was commissioned with communications consulting, public relations and the management of the press office.

A convincing concept: for ten years, the street magazine Surprise has been offering people in need a secure job. No matter what may have gone wrong in their personal past, as a magazine salesperson everyone has a chance to earn a living. Since the relaunch in 1999 and various personnel changes in the editorial team and management, the magazine has also been a constant enrichment for the Swiss press landscape in terms of content for several years. In addition to social issues, the magazine also regularly features the sales clerks themselves, portraits of people from the street and reports on cultural events. Issue no. 68 from 2003 with the exclusive print of the first chapter of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was a big hit.  
Around the publication date of the seventh and final Harry Potter volume (October 27), the exclusive interview by Spiegel employee Christoph Dallach with Potter author Joanne K. Rowling will also be published exclusively in German-language street newspapers. With the exclusive publication rights, Joanne K. Rowling is giving Surprise and the other German street newspapers the opportunity to increase their circulation and draw greater attention to the concerns of the social newspaper projects.
 
The provocative portrait of US physicist Bobby Henderson, who claimed in issue 115 that a flying spaghetti monster had created the world, caused quite a stir. But exciting reports, such as the one on Zurich's S-Bahn sprayers or the slightly absurd account of a night in a women's bathroom that appeared this year, also make the magazine a fascinating read time and again.
With an average circulation of 23,000 copies, Surprise reaches around 90,000 readers twice a month in and around Basel, Zurich, Bern and St. Gallen.
The magazine is celebrating its milestone birthday this Saturday from 8pm with a big party at the Rote Fabrik in Zurich. Among others, rapper Bligg and Stiller Has singer Endo Anaconda, the two cover heroes of the current issue, will be there to serenade the audience.

 The Basel tennis tournament Davidoff Swiss Indoors and Swiss TXT are extending their communications partnership for a further four years, as reported by Schweizerische Teletext AG. The partnership is to be massively expanded, according to the press release. As part of this year's tournament, Swiss TXT has also developed a new mobile portal to keep tennis fans up to date around the clock. In future, the tournament organizers want to provide information about all news and services before, during and after the tournament in a comprehensive special on Swiss TXT. Swiss TXT will also provide various editorial content for the Davidoff Swiss Indoors website and for the information screens at the event itself, as well as developing an SMS competition.

 The Swedish non-profit foundation Gapminder brought so much life to statistics that the American internet giant Google bought its Trendalyzer software and relocated the development team to its Californian headquarters in Mountain View. The presentations by Hans Rosling, founder and figurehead of Gapminder, are legendary. Over 500,000 people are said to have watched his TED presentation on the development of global health in a country comparison on the Internet.  
With the Trendalyzer software developed by Gapminder, dry statistics can be animated in a dynamic and exciting way. Last December, Google bought the Swiss company Endoxon, which was considered a pioneer in web cartography. With the know-how acquired at that time, Google hopes to improve the functionality of Google Earth and Google Maps, particularly in Europe. Something similar is now set to happen in the world of statistics thanks to Trendalyzer.
 
On November 20, the third European Futurists Conference Lucerne offers the opportunity to experience Professor Hans Rosling live. In his lecture "A Fact Based World View", he will show how statistical data merges with the dynamic animation techniques of Trendalyzer.

 The circulation figures submitted by the publishers for the WEMF/SW-certified titles will be available on the Wemf AG website from Friday, October 26, 2007:.  
On October 1, 2007, the circulation figures submitted by the publishers by September 15, 2007 were initially made available on the Wemf website. This is still an incomplete list, as publishers have the opportunity to submit their figures by September 30. However, Wemf would like to point out that not all of the figures that will be published on October 26 have yet been checked. The advertising industry will only have the circulation figures audited by the auditing companies when the Bulletin is published in November.

 The Landbote, the Schaffhauser Nachrichten, and the Thurgauer Zeitung are continuing and strengthening their collaboration in the advertising market. Starting January 1, 2008, ads in the three leading daily newspapers of northeastern Switzerland can be booked through the «Die Nordostschweiz» ad package. The discount compared to individual placements is approximately 12 percent. With the «Die Nordostschweiz» package—which replaces the ’Kombi 1a” and “Kombi 1b” advertising packages—advertisers can reach approximately 200,000 readers in the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, and Zurich.  
The «Stellen Nordost» job board will now appear in all three publications in the large edition on Wednesdays and in the standard edition on Saturdays. The combined discount for job ads is approximately 19 percent. The integration of the Jobwinner.ch job portal into the Schaffhauser Nachrichten website (shn.ch) complements the collaboration in the area of job advertisements. The real estate platform «Bauen und Wohnen» is published every Friday. The combination discount for color ads in the real estate supplement is approximately 37 percent.
 
Single copies of *Der Landbote*, *Schaffhauser Nachrichten*, and *Thurgauer Zeitung* can still be ordered from the three publishers. Effective January 1, 2008, Thurgauer Medien AG will take over direct management of *Der Landbote*. Thurgauer Medien AG in Frauenfeld is also responsible for the national sales of the advertising market bundle «Die Nordostschweiz.».

 
Important wanted notices are adorning the country: Zurich-based advertising agency JWT+H+F is searching for the second most famous duck in the world on behalf of its new client ClearChannel. A big reward awaits anyone who can find out who follows Donald Duck in second place on the popularity list. Visual clues on the posters ensure that the search is not too difficult. The main aim of the whole promotional campaign is to prove the effectiveness of POS posters with hard facts based on the number of participants. The hunting season is open. Responsible at JWT+H+F: Remy Fabrikant (overall responsibility/CD), Mike Krüll (concept/text), Isa McInnes (art direction), Vanessa Lehmann-Spalleck, Franco Elsener (consulting)Responsible at ClearChannel Plakanda: Alfred Bieri (Marketing Manager)

 On Wednesday, December 5, 2007, the commuter newspaper News will be launched. The paper, which is published by the publishing houses of Basler Zeitung, Berner Zeitung and Tages-Anzeiger, will appear in four editions with a total circulation of 334,000 copies.  
The News Basler Zeitung edition has a circulation of 42,000 copies and is distributed primarily in the cantons of Basel and Basel-Land. News Berner Zeitung is published with a circulation of 60,000 copies and will be available in the Bern region. News Tages-Anzeiger is published in the canton of Zurich with a circulation of 100,000 copies. The News Mittelland edition is distributed in the cantons of Aargau and Solothurn with a circulation of 132,000 copies. With its four editions, News covers the Basel, Berne and Zurich triangle and is the first commuter newspaper to directly address readers and advertising customers in the Mittelland region. AZ Medien is already thinking about possible countermeasures, reports Persoenlich.com.
 
News will be distributed via around 1,500 newspaper boxes, particularly in SBB stations and at public transport stops, in city centers and in various shopping centers. Most of the contracts with the landowners have already been signed, according to a press release.
 
According to those responsible, preparations for the launch of the commuter newspaper News are progressing rapidly. The team under project manager Rolf Bollmann and editor-in-chief Philippe Pfister is constantly being expanded (see
). So far, 23 of the 26.5 positions in the central editorial department of News and 6.75 of the 7.5 positions in the publishing house have been filled.

The Future of Media: Ian Pearson, a futurist at British Telecommunications, does not foresee the end of print media, but rather its expansion to include video and web displays. 
Fans of the «Harry Potter» movies are already familiar with it: the newspaper of tomorrow. Alongside the columns of the Daily Prophet, friendly faces wave at the reader in the illustrations—when they aren’t turning away from the viewer or even taking a nap. Ian Pearson is one of Europe’s leading futurists and analyzes developments in the communications market for the Chief Technology Office of the British Telecommunications Group. He sees no end to print media whatsoever, but rather an enhancement of the existing format with interactive elements and panels. WW Mr. Pearson, there’s currently a lot of speculation about the future of daily newspapers. When will the final nail be hammered into the coffin of print news? Ian Pearson:
If paper were being invented right now, it would be celebrated as a groundbreaking breakthrough of the century. Most of us have been using IT since the 1970s. We also surf the web whenever we want, but we still prefer to read newspapers and magazines. But surely there will be changes? Of course. In the 1980s, color made its way into daily newspapers. We’ll soon see touch-sensitive cells integrated that will enable video and web interactivity. They’ll likely use E-Ink or some other form of digital paper.
Won't these panels be prohibitively expensive? Admittedly, that's a problem today, but costs will fall. There are already LCD displays that use no power unless they need to display something. A screen the size of a postcard costs about $10. Given Moore’s Law, the panels will soon cost just under a dollar, and then we’ll see them on magazine covers and in newspapers.
Where do we stand today with the development of e-paper? E-paper already works very well and will begin to gain a foothold in magazines and periodicals starting in 2010. Initially, it will be used for e-books because the costs are still high. Video panels are expected to appear in 2012. Interactive touchscreens with web connectivity are likely to follow three years later.
Is there any other promising technology that could replace paper? What about, for example, information projected directly onto glasses? That’s certainly possible. Head-up displays will become much better and cheaper than the ones already available. But that will only replace a small portion of it. Television didn’t kill radio; newspapers survived the advent of radio, and head-up displays won’t be able to do much to them either. Starting in 2010, they should find their niche and coexist peacefully alongside other media without cannibalizing them. Active contact lenses will be available on the market around 2020.
Trials for widespread, free wireless Internet access are underway in various Swiss cities. What kind of infrastructure will be needed for print editions of newspapers to disappear? Some cities already offer wireless Internet access, and in a few years, others will be forced to follow suit. But as I said, Internet access is just another channel for obtaining information. It will coexist with print media and partially replace it, but it certainly won’t supplant it entirely.
Interview: Alfred Krüger
Conference of Futurists At the third European Futurists Conference in Lucerne,
November 19–21, 2007, at the Lucerne Culture and Convention Center, Ian Pearson will speak on the topic «The Future of Life on Earth.» A mathematician and physicist by training, he will outline a provocative vision of the future in which death will no longer be an obstacle to one’s career. (ed.)