Lukas Frei has been promoted to Creative Director at Jung von Matt/Limmat. Over the past six years, he has shaped campaigns as Art Director for clients such as SBB, Panasonic and Health Promotion Switzerland. Lukas Frei started his creative career in Zurich as a graphic designer. Before joining Jung von Matt/Limmat in 2001, Frei worked as an art director at Dubach and Bozell Leutenegger Krüll and at McCann Erickson. Frei has been a member of the Art Directors Club Switzerland since 2004.  

 Commuter newspapers have been able to increase their circulation over the past 12 months at the expense of daily newspapers. This is according to the 2007 circulation figures published by Wemf on Monday. 20 Minuten increased its circulation from 419,684 to 435,460, Matin-Bleu from 134,500 to 183,011 copies. No comparative figures are yet available for 20 minutes. The current circulation is 195,211 copies. Heute and .ch have not been on the market long enough to provide figures.
The daily newspapers are the losers in this trend, as the SDA reports. All the major papers recorded losses. The circulation of Blick fell by almost 15,000 to 240,066 copies. The Tages-Anzeiger had to accept a loss of around 9,000 copies and now has a circulation of 216,411. The Mittelland Zeitung had to write off around 2,700 copies. The NZZ circulation fell by just under 3,000 copies and that of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung by just under 800 copies. There are no comparable figures for 2006 for the Berner Zeitung (currently 213,544 copies including the Bund).
Interest in Sunday newspapers is declining The situation with the Sunday newspapers is more varied. Leader Sonntagsblick lost around 7,000 copies, second-placed Matin Dimanche just under 5,000. Sonntagszeitung and NZZ am Sonntag were unable to increase their circulation to the same extent, each selling 900 more copies. The Sunday edition of Südostschweiz is not considered a Sunday newspaper.
In the special press segment, the Coop (plus 83,000 copies) and Migros (minus 75,000) newspapers, which are published in three languages, are the frontrunners with over 2 million copies distributed each, ahead of TCS's Touring (plus 24,000) with a circulation of around 1.38 million copies.
On the other hand, the leading publications in the consumer, financial and business press sector, Schweizer Illustrierte (minus 6,700), Télé Top Matin (minus 4,000) and Fémina (minus 4,500), suffered some significant losses. No figures are available this year for the Beobachter, which recorded the largest circulation in this sector in 2006 with 315,081 copies.
The latest circulation figures apply to the period between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007. The certification is based on the principle of self-declaration.
The Wemf readership survey published in mid-September showed a similar picture. According to these figures, commuter newspapers were picking up more and more readers: In German-speaking Switzerland, 20 Minuten again made slight gains, while in French-speaking Switzerland Le Matin bleu established itself as the strongest daily newspaper straight away.

 The Federal Council finds it "problematic" that Radio DRS1 is relegating folk music broadcasts to the music wave on digital radio (DAB). It is examining whether folk music should not be included in the SRG's performance mandate. According to SDA, Media Minister Moritz Leuenberger said on Monday during question time in the National Council that the Federal Council considers it questionable if an important part of Swiss folk culture is no longer broadcast on FM, the most widespread medium.
According to Leuenberger, it is up to the SRG to take the habits of its listeners into account. The Federal Council will examine whether the performance mandate for folk music should be adapted and made more specific when the SRG license is reissued.

The creative minds at Fisch.Meier.Direkt have designed a mailing for PostMail that forms the frame for a whole packet of vouchers with lots of offers and discounts. On the inconspicuous outside, only a wall with cracks is visible. When opened, a pop-up pigeon flies towards the recipient, carrying the vouchers in its talons. According to a press release issued by the agency, the success of the mailing was as impressive as its design. Responsible at PostMail:
Mark Friedrich (Head of Marketing Communications), Domenico Pereira (Marketing Communications). Responsible at Fisch.Meier: Remo Bachmann (CD), Suzanne Friedli (AD) Thomas Engeli (concept/text), Romeo Bucceroni (production) Gabriele Knus, Andri Hofmann, Dominic Siegrist (consulting).

The SVP's infamous sheep campaign is also spreading across the border. The ultra-right German party NPD is using it to campaign against foreigners. The Hesse section of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) is campaigning for next year's state elections under the slogan "Social only works nationally", as 20 Minuten reports. "We were inspired by the SVP poster," Jörg Krebs, spokesman for the NPD in Hesse, confirmed to the news agency SDA.
According to 20 Minuten, the SVP continues to defend itself against the claim that the campaign is racist. However, the party does want to respond: "The sheep are our idea and our campaign", says SVP General Secretary Grego Rutz. "We are therefore considering taking legal action".

 A poster by the «Pro Animali» association opposing the wearing of fur violated fair trade regulations. This was the ruling of the Fair Trade Commission, which was called upon by the Swiss Fur Trade Association (SwissFur). The poster was displayed last winter. It showed a white seal pup and denounced the wearing of fur. SwissFur criticized this as misleading and, according to the SDA, filed a complaint with the Fair Trading Commission.
The hunting of seal pups has been banned since 1987. SwissFur also pointed out that it has voluntarily refrained from importing young seal pelts since 1967. The commission agreed with this line of reasoning, according to its decision published on Monday.
It is illegal to purchase seal fur in Switzerland. Therefore, it is unfair to use this example to portray the products sold by specialty fur retailers as questionable. The commission calls on «Pro Animali» to «refrain from this type of communication in the future.».

 The film production company Condor Films is getting back into the feature film business. To mark its 60th birthday, the long-established Zurich-based company presented some big plans on Monday. Condor Films wants to become a major European player in the cinema landscape over the next six years, said Chairman of the Board of Directors Thomas Sterchi to the media. Turnover is set to more than double to around 50 million Swiss francs.
In 2007, the initial course was set for the new feature film business: A new "Features" department was created. The aim is to produce two to three feature films a year. Instead of mainstream, Condor Films focuses on sophisticated studio films.
"Dällebach Kari" and Christoph Meili Four feature films are currently in preparation, one of which is about to be realized. According to CEO and producer Kristian Widmer, this is a remake of the tragicomic "Dällebach Kari" for a European audience.
For one of the four plots, Condor is working with Swiss director Xavier Koller; Widmer did not want to give any further details. In the field of documentaries, Koller will again be filming the life of the document shredder Christoph Meili, who became known in connection with the Holocaust money affair, in 2008 or 2009.
It is no coincidence that Condor Films relies on Koller: Koller brought the company its greatest success with "Journey of Hope". The refugee drama won an Oscar in 1991. Condor wants to build on such films with its new direction.
The company also wants to tap into funds from private investors for the multi-million productions. At the same time, the TV series business is to be boosted by the Bern-based TV production company Faro TV, which was acquired in 2006.
An eventful historyCondor Films has an eventful history behind it: Founded on October 1, 1947 by Heinrich Fueter-Blanc, the husband of film actress Anne Marie Blanc, Condor developed into the largest Swiss film producer. Condor's main business, however, was in commissioned films of all kinds, from advertising, industrial and PR films to environmental awareness films.
In 1973, Condor took over the Bellerive film and TV studios from Swiss German television, which are still the company's headquarters. In 1991, the then TA-Media AG (now Tamedia) acquired a majority stake in the studios and two years ago Widmer and Sterchi became the new majority shareholders.
Big anniversary celebrationA big celebration will be held on Monday evening as part of the Zurich Film Festival to mark the anniversary. According to a Condor press release, stars such as Michael Ballhaus ("Dracula", "Good Fellas", "The Departed"), Xavier Koller ("Journey of Hope"), Dani Levy ("Alles auf Zucker!"), Suzanne von Borsody and Nina Hoss are on the guest list. The grande dame of Swiss film, Anne-Marie Blanc, as co-founder of the company, is both guest of honor and tribute recipient in one person. British shooting star Jamie Cullum sets the musical tone on stage

 Swiss Advertising SW has named Giuseppe Scaglione communicator of the month. The enterprising media entrepreneur has set another milestone in the Internet landscape with his 105TV, according to a statement from SW spokesperson Piero Schäfer: "The new TV channel is not just a channel for clips, there are various sections such as Nightlife, Freestyle, a total of nine specialty channels with content for specific target audiences. And there are even movie trailers to watch. Individual access happens in a matter of seconds and totally fulfills the demand for 'video on demand'. As the whole thing also offers interactive possibilities, it can be said that Scaglione is unique in the youth sector thanks to this broad, interactive offering. Media entrepreneur Scaglione has long been trying in vain to get an FM frequency for his radios. Thanks to the Internet, he will hardly need it any more. Schäfer assumes that the advertising industry will quickly take the new TV channel into account. A press release from 105TV also states that the channel has got off to a good start. A total of 5,000 partygoers celebrated at the launch party on Friday evening - the station had expected 2,500 and can therefore chalk the party up as a success (see 
). The main sponsor of the new channel is the car brand Seat. The list of other partners is long: Estée Lauder, Mentos, Mévenpick Palavrion, Winler, Framefactory, SBB Railcity, Universal Music, Sony BMG, Musikvertrieb, Nation Music and Ready and Action. The Zurich-based company Divio is responsible for the station's concept. The company Nine.ch is the streaming partner.

 The Flims Park Hotel Waldhaus has a new consultant. The Zurich-based communications agency Scholtysik Niederberger Kraft (SNK) is now looking after the needs of the five-star resort in Graubünden. SNK is developing a suitable brand strategy for the hotel, which is constantly expanding its range of services. The updating of the visual and communicative appearance is intended to strengthen the hotel's position on the market and establish it as a distinctive brand among the most important hotels in Europe. In the fall of 2006, the hotel hosted the fall session of the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament, and SNK is also responsible for the visual identity of UBS, Freitag, the City of Zurich and Johnson & Johnson.

 Everyone fights with the weapon that suits them best: In the case of Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher, it is rhetoric. He recently launched his own internet television channel, Blocher-TV. His colleague Moritz Leuenberger prefers to use a sharp pen. Since March of this year, he has been running his own Internet diary with great success. On average, 2500 users look at his blogs every day. Far more than the political blogs of major websites such as NZZ or Bluewin.ch.
 
Only the blogs on 20min.ch are more popular: 5000 users read the entries by Filippo Leutenegger (FDP), Daniel Vischer (Greens), Ueli Maurer (SVP), Kathy Riklin (CVP) and Anita Fetz from the SP every day. Ueli Maurer's blog is the most popular there. "The SVP obviously picks up young people better with its topics," 20min.ch editor-in-chief Peter Wälty is quoted as saying in the Sonntagszeitung. However, Leuenberger is far superior to Maurer and his cohorts in terms of authority. 127 links refer to the Environment Minister's blog. Leuenberger emphasizes that he writes all entries himself. 34 articles have been posted online since the blog went online.

 Music First launched a new television channel with a big party at Zurich's main railway station on Friday. Users can now choose from nine specialty channels on the new Internet television channel 105TV. With a strong focus on music and entertainment, Giuseppe Scaliogne's company, which already operates a radio station with Radio 105, is attempting to combine content from conventional TV stations with user-generated content. Similar to YouTube or Myspace, users are given the opportunity to intervene in the events themselves and upload pictures, videos or MP3s. The works of Swiss artists are also to be promoted intensively on 105TV.

 A poster affair kicks off the tenure of the new director of Cologne's Schauspielhaus Karin Beier. The image of a bound woman with a bin bag over her head was actually intended to advertise the premiere of the "quite violent" play "Die Nibelungen" throughout the city, according to Welt Online. However, after the advertising company expressed concerns and feared that the poster could possibly violate Section 131 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes the glorification of violence, controversy erupted around the campaign by Lucerne-based communications agency Velvet.
 First, Cologne's cultural commissioner informed the theater that he considered the poster to be unobjectionable. Then, when Beier demanded express permission from the Lord Mayor and did not receive it, he recommended that the poster be removed.
 
As a result, the theater quickly toned down the posters and put them up itself. In November, Beier wants to debate the case from the point of view of artistic freedom at a panel discussion. But perhaps artistic reasons are not the decisive factor here. In the end, the problem may have been that the picture did not show Cologne's chargeable garbage bag, but a model of a dog's commune. Who knows?