The National Council's Telecommunications Committee (KVF) rejects the media agreement with the EU because it allows alcohol, political and religious advertising in foreign television advertising windows. As KVF President Franz Brun (CVP/LU) explained to the media in Bern on Tuesday, according to SDA, the agreement undermines the Radio and Television Act (RTVA), which has only just been revised by Parliament. Swiss law must not be undermined by a treaty with the EU, said Brun. This would be tantamount to a loss of sovereignty. The KVF demanded "renegotiations" from Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin, who was present at the meetingIn its joint report to the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), the KVF voted 17 to 3 against a further revision of the RTVA. As President Luzi Stamm (SVP/AG) of the lead committee, the APK, announced to SDA on Tuesday, the APK supported the agreement by 10 votes to 8. However, it postponed the final vote because the Council of States is the first chamber. Its APK will decide on November 20. However, Luzi Stamm described the KVF's demand for renegotiations with the EU as "illusory".
Participation in the Media film promotion project is linked to the condition that Switzerland applies an EU "Television without Frontiers" directive from November 2009. This means that the national regulations of the broadcaster's country of origin will now apply to advertising windows of foreign broadcasters, rather than Swiss law. The bilateral agreement signed by Switzerland and the EU is already provisionally in force. Film promotion itself is undisputed in both National Council committees.

 
Rheinfelden-based Targetmedia is taking over WPS-RCM from Dietikon as of October 1. The latter is a full-service agency active in the planning and production of retail advertising and serves a whole range of major Swiss retail and service companies. According to a press release issued on Tuesday, 100 percent of the shares were sold by the sole shareholder Ruedi Muggli as part of the succession plan. According to Muggli, Targetmedia fully shares the strategic orientation of WPS and sees itself as an ideal partner. Together, the two companies with almost 60 employees will achieve a turnover of 38 million Swiss francs in 2007. Daniel Ehrensperger will remain CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors of WPS. In addition, Michael Medweth as Chairman and Oliver Cynamon as well as the lawyers René Lenherr and Hubertus Ludwig will form the Board of Directors of Targetmedia. According to the press release, the management of WPS-RCM is fully behind the takeover.

 
The Aarau agency Mysign, which specializes in new media, has put a total of 16,000 Swiss francs on the heads of three Java specialists. However, these are not software developers who have run away, committed crimes or been exposed as hackers, but the agency has a staff shortage: finding good Java programmers as employees is currently practically impossible in Switzerland; not only is there a shortage of Java specialists, but as a small company, Mysign is also in competition with many large companies on the job market, according to a press release. With bonuses for job placements and, in particular, a YouTube commercial filmed especially for this purpose, Mysign is therefore relying on a viral effect (see this article) and hopes to make itself heard in the IT community. With the 16,000 Swiss francs, the agency may even have come out cheap if it is successful, considering the standard market placement fees. You can find out whether the heads have already been delivered or the premiums paid out via webcam on the Mysign website. Incidentally, the three Java specialists are to be delivered alive, or at least in working condition.

 The National Council's Telecommunications Commission (KVF) welcomes the fact that the SRG Chairman has waived his fee increase for the time being and that the other members of the Board of Directors will no longer receive attendance fees. Speaking to the KVF on Tuesday, SRG Chairman of the Board of Directors Jean-Bernard Münch confirmed that he would waive the increase in his fee from CHF 133,000 to CHF 180,000. The members of the Board of Directors will now receive CHF 40,000 instead of CHF 12,000, in return for which they will at least receive the attendance fee with immediate effect (see
). According to SDA, KVF President Franz Brun told the media that the SRG Central Council's decision to massively increase fees at the end of September had stirred up a lot of dust. The KVF therefore welcomes Monday's decisions. However, it had strongly criticized the unfortunate and in part non-transparent communication on the part of the SRG.

 Freedom of the press remains a highly endangered commodity worldwide. The situation is particularly bad in Asia and Africa with countries such as Burma, North Korea and Eritrea, reported the organization Reporters Without Borders (ROG) on Tuesday. One year before the Olympic Games in Beijing, China only ranks 163rd out of 169 countries in the global ranking. It is "questionable whether the so often promised reforms will be implemented and imprisoned journalists released". No progress has been made in Russia (144th place). However, Western countries such as the USA (48th place) are also cause for criticism, with Eritrea at the bottom of the ROG "press freedom ranking". "Private media no longer exist and the few journalists who dare to criticize the regime (...) end up in prison," it says. Several journalists have died in custody. The 20 countries with the worst conditions for the press include Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and the Palestinian territories, as well as the CIS states of Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Cuba and Vietnam.
Led by Iceland, Norway and Estonia, the 14 freest countries are all in Europe. Switzerland is in 11th place, behind Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. Belgium and Slovakia are also ahead of it. Germany is only in 20th place, due to investigations against journalists for aiding and abetting the betrayal of secrets and moves to undermine the protection of sources, as well as attacks on journalists researching in the right-wing milieu. France is still in 31st place.

 Cablecom must continue to broadcast the Zurich private television channel U1 TV on its analog network for the time being. The Federal Administrative Court has dismissed an appeal by the network operator against a precautionary measure taken by the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM). With this measure, Bakom had ruled that Cablecom may not ban the TV channel from the analog network for the time being (see ). The Federal Administrative Court has now confirmed this interim decision and dismissed Cablecom's appeal. According to the court, the immediate switch-off would pose existential problems for U1. The survival of a broadcaster could already be threatened by shorter interruptions in transmission.
In contrast, Cablecom's interest in having the channel in question available, but not being able to use it anyway until the decision on the main issue is available, is less important. Moreover, Cablecom has no financial losses to fear, as it is compensated for its services.

 SPRI graduates have achieved the highest success rate in years in this year's diploma examination for the federal diploma in PR. According to the press release, 92 percent of participants in the SPRI courses in German-speaking Switzerland and the College of Tourism in Samedan passed the federal professional examination. The Institute for Continuing Education IWB in Lucerne is pleased to report a 100 percent success rate. All IWB students on the "PR specialists with a federal certificate" course have passed the federal professional examination. According to the press release, this is the third time in a row that IWB candidates have achieved a 100% pass rate.

 The Publicitas Index rose by 0.4 points to 97.6 points in September compared to the same month last year. Due to the upcoming parliamentary elections, occasional advertisements in particular benefited from a massive increase. In addition, job advertisements continue to develop "splendidly", according to Publicitas. The job advertisement index rose by 3 points to 188.9 points in September.
A slight increase in commercial advertisements thanks to advertising investments by local and regional customers also contributed to the growth of the index. The communiqué also states that inserts experienced a marked upturn.
As in August, however, real estate advertisements declined. According to the advertising company, the decline of 1.3 points to 92.4 points is the sharpest since June 2003.

At Wednesday’s Screen-up event, the Electronic Media Interest Group (IGEM) is organizing the conference segment dedicated to the topic of «digitization.» Industry experts and broadcast executives will discuss its opportunities and risks. In an interview, IGEM President Stephan Küng discusses the impact of digitization on television advertising, what issues are currently on IGEM’s agenda, and how TV advertising has changed as a result of the new RTVG. What impact does the digitization of the media have on TV advertising? Stephan Küng: A major change is the ability to access television content anytime and anywhere. This gives users the option to skip commercials. I think that conventional spot advertising will decline slightly in the long term, but special advertising formats will gain in importance. So those would be the risks of digitization? Not necessarily, because in return, new forms of advertising will emerge in the mobile sector. The conditions will change: advertising surrounding live events, for example, will likely grow in importance, since such events are actually watched live even when the option of time-shifted viewing is available. A live event is simply more interesting «live.» We also need to make users aware that without TV advertising, there would be no content to watch. I can’t imagine a scenario in which a broadcaster would have access to financing models other than advertising revenue in the medium term.
What opportunities does digitization offer TV advertisers? Advertisers can become content providers: It is possible to produce and distribute content cost-effectively.
Some might see that as a risk. Well, the clear distinction between traditional programming and advertising is defined by law and remains in place. However, new formats are now available to advertisers. One example is the automotive group BMW, whose concept is being presented at Screen-up. BMW operates its own Internet TV channel and has the option to convey its messages there—without violating the separation between editorial and advertising content. It’s important that advertising remains transparent to consumers; they must not be misled. This is absolutely the case with BMW.
What do these new formats offer advertisers? They can provide added value to the target audience—more than a traditional commercial could. Offers like the one from BMW help build a closer relationship between the viewer and the brand. But one thing is clear: opportunities for some can mean risks for others. These new forms of advertising will pose a threat to traditional TV commercials. Broadcasters need to think carefully about how to handle this.
Could a solution be to show less advertising that, in turn, reaches viewers more effectively? In principle, the amount of advertising regulates itself, because consumers decide how much advertising they want to see. Too much advertising is certainly counterproductive. It’s also important to have research technology that can measure time-shifted and location-based advertising. With these new forms of advertising, providers will continue to be required to provide proof of usage.
How quickly will digitization become widespread in the television sector? Digitization is already a reality and enables a vast variety of content. No existing content is disappearing; instead, new content is being added. Traditional television is not going away. The use of electronic media, however, will become even more fragmented. This is an ongoing process.
How has traditional television advertising changed since the introduction of the new RTVG? In this regard, of course, we must distinguish between the SRG stations and the private broadcasters. Very little has changed at the SRG. As for foreign commercial stations, I believe the trend has been very positive: thanks to the new commercial breaks, the programming feels much more harmonious; previously, it often seemed fragmented. Program planners abroad had devised coherent programming concepts that were torn apart by our legislation. In my view, the new regulations represent progress for consumers as well as for media planning. However, I would like to see further liberalization, particularly with regard to advertising for wine and beer.
It’s possible that she is advocating for the advertising slots on foreign broadcasters because the media agreement with the EU requires an amendment to the RTVG. What is IGEM’s position on this? You’re asking me this question too soon—we’re currently analyzing the consequences in detail. However, IGEM has not yet taken a position on this matter.
What else is IGEM focusing on right now? First and foremost, digitalization. A second area is research, where we’re committed to driving further development. Like digitalization, research also faces major challenges. In addition, we’re focusing on training and information; in November, we’ll once again be offering a workshop on the topic of «Hands-On Digitalization.» We’re also concerned about the looming advertising bans.

 The German tabloid Bild is launching a new cell phone portal and entering the mobile telephony market at the same time. The new portal can be accessed from Tuesday. Bildmobil" gives readers access to news from society, politics and business as well as the latest sports results. For example, there is a Bundesliga soccer ticker that keeps users up to date with the results of matches to the minute, as well as moving image content. This was announced on Monday by Axel Springer, the publisher of the Bild newspaper. A separate team within the editorial team is responsible for the editorial content. A separate prepaid card will be introduced at the same time as the editorial offer. The cost of the starter set is 9.95 euros; owners of such a card can surf the Bild mobile service free of charge. However, anyone who wants to access other websites or even other newspaper pages will pay 35 cents per megabyte of data transfer, according to the German newspaper Handelsblatt. The prepaid offer is distributed via around 11,000 sales outlets that also sell the Bild newspaper.

The Biel-based agency Erdmannpeisker has won the Swiss mountain sports equipment manufacturer Mammut as a client. The team around the two agency founders Sybille Erdmann and Gabriel Peisker will not only be responsible for the image campaigns over the next three years, but also for the new corporate design of the traditional Swiss brand, according to a press release. Anyone interested will be able to see the new image for themselves from spring 2008.

 For the time being, SRG Chairman of the Board of Directors Jean-Bernard Münch has decided not to increase his salary as agreed in June. The reason for this is the stalled negotiations on a new collective labor agreement (CLA). Münch told SDA on Monday that he wanted to try to ease the stalled CLA discussion. At the same time, the members of the SRG Board of Directors are waiving their attendance fees until further notice. As SRG spokesperson Daniel Steiner told Werbewoche, the Board members want to send a signal to the staff with this step.
The increase in BoD compensation had caused quite a stir, as SRG had recently emphasized that it had to make savings (see
). Despite the renunciation now announced, the increase in fees is apparently not to be changed: The Board of Directors still stands by the increase in fees decided by the Central Council and agreed with the Leuenberger department, Münch told SDA further. The increase was justified. However, the Uvek did not agree with the proposed fee increase, spokesman André Simonazzi explained. Jean-Bernard Münch had also been told this and the Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) would propose lower fees to the Federal Council.
The Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) was surprised by the SRG Board of Directors' decision to waive the increase. It had not previously seen the increase in board fees in connection with the contract negotiations, said SSM Central Secretary Stephan Ruppen on request.
According to Ruppen, negotiations with SRG will nevertheless continue. The SSM hopes that a meeting planned for this week with SRG Director General Armin Walpen will bring them closer together. The SSM wants to clarify the extent to which the SRG will accommodate the proposals made by the SSM regarding the planned annual working hours.