Money Trevin AG has 42 years of experience as a trustee, accountant and auditor. This experience is already benefiting numerous SMEs, for example in tax optimization. To draw the attention of more SMEs to the benefits of Trevin AG, the creative agency Ruf Lanz has designed a surprising direct mailing. The eye-catcher is an attachable button with the unusual imprint "I love Steueramt". Because when the tax burden decreases, so the resolution, the relationship with the tax authorities also becomes more cordial again.

 Publigroupe is divesting its stake in the American company 24/7 Real Media. The buyer of the US stake is the British WPP Group. The sale will result in proceeds of CHF 36.3 million for Publigroupe. According to a press release, these will be used to finance the acquisition of online marketer Zanox, which was announced in May. The Zanox marketing portal is the most expensive purchase in Publigroupe's history to date (see "P wants to rise on the web"
).

 The new three-way constellation of the agency JWT+H+F with Mike Krüll is bearing its first fruits (see ). As part of a competitive presentation, ClearChannel, the number 2 among Swiss poster providers, has given the Zurich agency a significant partial budget in the Maag Areal - the one for the "Shopping Center Posters" area. According to the agency, the first works will be on display after the summer vacation.

Television The new RTVA has been "on air" since April 1. What has changed for private TV broadcasters? José Fernandes, the new Head of Marketing at Star TV, analyzes the opportunities. WW: Private broadcasters were eagerly awaiting the revised RTVA. Has life become easier for Star TV, for example?  
José Fernandes: There has been some liberalization, but less than the private sector had hoped for. However, customers have become more curious as a result of the debate. They are showing more courage for new implementations in the medium of TV. They want to explore the possibilities more consistently. The classic commercial will continue to have its place. But customers are increasingly planning their communication in networked disciplines. There is great potential in this for private broadcasters.  
WW: What more can the private sector offer?  
JF: Apart from the legal aspects, we are more flexible and faster than a big steamer. Apart from that, the revised RTVA offers private broadcasters the familiar possibilities such as split screen, virtual advertising and interstitial advertising. We will certainly offer such formats at Star TV and are already in talks with various advertising agencies to offer suitable concepts. Split-screen advertising, for example, is still unheard of in Switzerland, which is why we are all challenged to develop new ideas here.  
WW: Are the creatives already involved?  
JF: The RTVA came into force in April, but clients have not yet put any pressure on us because all campaigns naturally run on a long-term basis. As soon as the corresponding demand from clients is high enough, agencies will have to react and certainly offer creative approaches. After all, it is clear that clients want advertising to be positioned when the viewer is sitting in front of the screen and not during a beer break.  
WW: What about alcohol advertising?  
JF: That is still not allowed on a national channel like Star TV. Only local stations are allowed to advertise beer and wine. Here, advertising for non-alcoholic beer is also strictly controlled. A 30-second beer commercial that quickly says "alcohol-free" at the end is still not tolerated.  
WW: Sponsorship is a booming element. Is that getting easier?  
JF: I was brought on board for Star TV to promote the entire sponsorship sector. There is great acceptance among customers for this type of communication on television. Star TV has always been innovative in this area, quite simply due to economic constraints. The fun sports magazine "freestyle" has been around for several years. We can integrate customers into our programs in a very imaginative way. Of course, always in compliance with the Bakom guidelines. 
WW: Examples?  
JF: A key example is our collaboration with Nokia and Sunrise. Together with these customers, we created the music program "lautstark" two years ago. Both sponsors are satisfied and have committed to another annual season of 44 broadcasts.  
WW: What's new?  
JF: We were able to make deals for this summer with the festival organizers of the Openair St. Gallen and the Gurten Festival. These are the two biggest open-air festivals in Switzerland. Star TV is broadcasting the live concerts under the name "Star Festival Sommer 2007", replacing Swiss television as the host broadcaster. The platform thus created provides artists, sponsors and organizers with a much broader communication platform.  
We produced one-hour previews of both St. Gallen and Gurten. Clips were used to whet people's appetite for visiting the festivals. Trailers were used daily to draw attention to the events and broadcasts. The broadcasts from St. Gallen can be seen next weekend. There will be another revival at Christmas. These are very nice platforms for the sponsors.
 
WW: Which sponsors showed interest?  
JF: For St. Gallen and Gurten, we have landed four very large sponsors in Migros, Swisscom mobile, MyCoke Music and Star Ticket. They were interested because they are much closer to the program in this format than in a hinge advertisement in the classic area. We can also back this up with figures.  
WW: What will follow? We will continue to work on existing formats and come up with new broadcasting concepts. Another new feature is "swiss made", where we report weekly on new developments in Swiss film as well as on Swiss commercial filmmakers.  
Interview: Andreas Panzeri

Since Monday, Job-Source.ch, a new Swiss job portal for the media, communications and marketing industry, has been online. The aim of the job platform is to present the most interesting positions in media and marketing as up-to-date and comprehensively as possible. The website originates from the brainchild of recruitment consultants Hans Hofmann und Partner and operates as an independent company. In addition to job advertisements, Job-Source.ch offers job seekers tips on how to successfully apply for a job and self-tests to help them better assess their application chances. Barbara Wieser is Managing Director and Nadya Roth is Account Manager.  
Does the industry need a new job portal? "Nobody was waiting for us," explains Nadya Roth. However, the up-and-coming classifieds market has spurred the realization of the idea. And Roth is convinced that it is possible to get even closer to people in the industry. Wieser and Roth regularly attend industry events, take photos of visitors and show the pictures on their website. And they want to do this a little better than the well-known portals with their people pictures. "We also ask people questions about their professional lives and write texts to accompany the pictures."
 
In July and August, advertisements on the site are still free of charge. The final rates will be announced next August. However, apprenticeships will always remain free of charge. There are currently around 140 jobs online and things seem to be going well. On the second day, there are already eight media jobs on Job-Source, compared to just three on Medienjobs.ch and only two on Persönlich.com. (rw)

Radiotools Media agencies praise booking tools for the medium of radio, but primarily they expect a simple, permeable industry solution from the radio scene. On July 1, Publisuisse subsidiary MediaSense entered the radio market. Since then, it has also been offering its Publiplan booking tool as an industry solution to marketers, media agencies and radio stations. This puts it one step ahead of its competitors IP Multimedia and PubliGroupe, who are also planning to launch a tool for the radio industry (see WW 25/07).  
The agencies generally welcome these tool efforts. "An electronic booking tool for radio brings real advantages. Until now, you had to first obtain offers for this medium in an almost stone-age manner and then book by fax or e-mail," says Urs Schneider from the MediaSchneider agency. "A booking tool for radio is absolutely positive and definitely in keeping with the times," agrees Peter Hofstetter, owner of Mediaxis-MPG. But there are limits to his delight: "Three tools are too many," he says. Monica Jäggi, co-owner of the Konnex agency, has a similar opinion: "Three different tools? I don't see any advantage there," she says. Schneider even speaks of a "jungle of different booking systems" and points out that things can be done differently elsewhere: the travel industry, for example, manages with just two systems for booking airline tickets - worldwide!
 
Even if no one says it so clearly: The criticism is primarily directed against the marketers' probable intention to conclude exclusive settlement agreements with pools and individual radio stations: The Swiss Radio Pool (SRP), for example, does not have to be booked via MediaSense, but as of now via Publiplan. This is the agreement between MediaSense and SRP. In concrete terms, this means that anyone who wants to book the SRP and knows how to use Publiplan can book online independently. Otherwise, everything has to go through MediaSense - a classic full lease situation. It will probably be handled similarly at Radio Energy Zürich, except that this station will then have to be booked via IP Multimedia's MediaPro tool. It remains to be seen how other individual radio stations and the few small pools will decide. "But if we have to change the booking tool for every station during the radio planning process, it will be time-consuming," says Andy Lehmann, Managing Director of Aegis Media Group Switzerland. And Monica Jäggi adds: "Why should I book the SRP via Publiplan now? That only makes my work more difficult. I'd rather continue booking everything together by mail via a marketer or intermediary."
 
Not that the agencies shy away from dealing with the technology - in the TV sector, after all, they also accept different systems. It's just that they have much larger budgets to place there, which is why the training effort and the regular system changes are more worthwhile, they say in unison. In the case of radio, on the other hand, which generated only 2.5 percent of the total advertising pie last year with a gross figure of 96.5 million Swiss francs, three tools would be disproportionate - even if the agents were to make them available to the agencies license-free and pay them an online booking fee on top of that.
 
Andy Lehmann brings up another aspect: "It looks very much as if the radio marketers want to push us agencies to do the work that they actually have to do," he says. "That could lead to the position of intermediaries like IP or Radiotele being strengthened again, because the agencies don't want to or can't do the work themselves."
 
Peter Hofstetter also recommends to the radio stations not to enter into any exclusive processing contracts, but to be connected to all tools. He also calls for interfaces from one tool to another. "That's the only way the industry can move forward," he says. "Monopolies make no sense." And further: "We will certainly not install three tools, but decide on one." This must primarily be user-friendly. Urs Schneider takes a similar view: He considers the criteria of "simplicity, security and speed" to be decisive for a tool. He also expects "the radio industry to finally get its act together. Monica Jäggi is on the same wavelength. In a nutshell, she wants "all radios and pools to be bookable via all tools.
 
Markus Knöpfli

Fruit Crisp, juicy, sweet and strikingly pink. This is how the Pink Lady came onto the market a good 10 years ago as a cross between Lady Williams and Golden Delicious. The new apple variety was a success right from the start. A national campaign is now being launched to bring the Pink Lady even closer to the Swiss. Supported by a poster campaign, Unikat's advertisers are ensuring a healthy presence on the market. This is a first, as never before has a specific apple variety been promoted using traditional advertising. The motifs dramatize the sweetness of the pink apple and compare it with less crunchy and also less healthy treats. The campaign is used in summer and winter.

Media budget The Swiss spent CHF 3137 on media last year - two percent more than in 2006. The third edition of the study on the media budgets of Swiss private households, conducted by the Swiss Press Association, also shows that the Swiss are spending a little more on their media consumption every year. Expenditure rose by two percent last year to an average of CHF 3137 per household. The cinema and television segments benefited the most from this upward trend, while print media remained stable with total sales of CHF 1.8 billion.  
Total media consumption in the country with one of the highest media densities in the world is correspondingly high and amounted to an impressive CHF 10.4 billion last year. Content accounted for CHF 5.8 billion, devices for CHF 3.1 billion and access for CHF 1.5 billion. While the market for content and access continues to grow, the market for hardware declined slightly.
 
With a 30.6 percent share of the total content budget of CHF 5.8 billion, the press is still the largest producer of content and therefore also the largest opinion maker. The three best-selling newspapers are Blick, SonntagsBlick and Tages-Anzeiger. In the consumer, financial and business press, they are Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte and Das Beste/Sélection, and in the specialty press K-Tipp, Saisonküche and Saldo.
 
IT and telecoms are in second place with 19.3%, ahead of television with 13.6%. According to the study, this documents the socio-political role of the press, which largely sets the topics of public debate with news and information. It can also be concluded that despite the many new free offerings, the Swiss are still prepared to pay for attractive content.
 
Television continues to grow Radio and TV are the second-largest expenditure item with a combined total of almost three billion francs and a rising trend. With TV reception fees remaining the same, sales of television sets exceeded one billion francs for the first time. As in the previous year, flat screens were the top seller. Although digital cable television grew by around twelve percent, this was below expectations. At the end of the year, Bluewin TV recorded around 20,000 new connections. 55,000 satellite dishes were sold in 2006, 10,000 more than in the previous year. While fee income for the radio medium remained practically stable, sales of radio receivers fell by a third.
 
The turnover for Internet downloads grew by 24 percent, that for mobile downloads by 38 percent in 2006. Last year, a total of over one billion Swiss francs was spent on paid content via the Internet, mobile or landline telephone. Expenditure by private households on broadband connections rose by around 16%. By contrast, spending on computers has fallen. Desktop devices even saw a slump of almost 30%.
 
The Swiss went to the movies more often again in 2006. Revenues rose to 245 million francs. DVDs are also becoming increasingly popular. The Swiss spent around 360 million francs on films on these glittering disks in 2006. The market for computer and video games also grew by 14.4 percent. At around 689 million, books are still an important budget item, even if their sales are on a slight downward trend.
 
The detailed media budget can be downloaded at www.medienbudget.ch.
 
Swiss Press Association/(rw)

Distribution Mit der neuen Presseförderung ist niemand ganz glücklich – weder die Post noch die Verlage. Das neue Modell schafft offene Fragen. Diese erläutert Hanspeter Kellermüller, Geschäftsführer beim Verband Schweizer Presse. WW: Bei der Presseförderung kam das Ständeratsmodell durch – aus Sicht des Verlegerverbandes die zweitbeste Lösung. Welches sind die Folgen?  
Hanspeter Kellermüller: Gute Frage. Das Modell bringt uns und die Post in eine Situation, in der wir noch nicht alles abschätzen können. So ist etwa unklar, wie die Profit- von der Nonprofit-Mitgliedschaftspresse abgegrenzt werden soll. Auch die Ausgestaltung des Gesamttarifs ist offen. Das Hauptproblem aber sind die Titel, die nicht unter die Sonderförderung fallen, bei der Post aber zu wenig Volumen erreichen, um mit ihr Grosskundenrabatte aushandeln zu können. Wir befürchten, dass dieses Mittelfeld am Ende die Zeche bezahlt und dass es an den Grenzen zu Marktverzerrungen kommt. Letzteres passiert zwar bei jedem Förderungsmodell, aber unseres Erachtens wäre das nationalrätliche Modell ausgewogener gewesen. Schliesslich stehen auch 50 Millionen Franken weniger zur Verfügung, so dass wir Tariferhöhungen befürchten.  
WW: Das hat die Post auch mehrfach angedroht. Welchen Spielraum hat sie tatsächlich?  
HK: Auf Grund des neuen Entscheids besteht diese Möglichkeit. Dies wäre angesichts der bisherigen Preisentwicklung für die Branche untragbar und wir erwarten deshalb von der Post keine volle Überwälzung. Im Tarifbereich, den die Post nicht mehr vom UVEK genehmigen lassen muss, wird für uns aber rein rechtlich die Handhabe kleiner. Immerhin gibt es noch den Preisüberwacher, der bei marktmächtigen Unternehmen mitredet.  
WW: Was wissen Sie schon über die Zeitungstransporttarife ab 2008? 
HK: Nichts Konkretes. Die Post muss erst alles durchrechnen und entscheiden, wie viel von den fehlenden 50 Millionen Franken sie auf die Verlage abwälzen will. Konkrete Zahlen sollen in der zweiten Hälfte August vorliegen. Das ist knapp, denn das fällt genau in die Budgetphase der Verlage. Kommt dazu, dass auch das UVEK und der Preisüberwacher noch Zeit benötigen.  
WW: Ihr Verband und die Post haben das Pressetarifsystem überarbeitet. Ist das nun Makulatur?  
HK: Hoffentlich nicht. Wir erwarten, dass die Post das vorgeschlagene Tarifsystem nun in dem Bereich anwendet, der nicht mehr vom UVEK genehmigt werden muss. 
WW: Worin unterscheidet es sich denn vom geltenden Tarifsystem?  
HK: Das bisherige System enthielt Aspekte, die nicht betriebswirtschaftlich, sondern pressepolitisch motiviert waren: Grob gesagt kamen die leichten Titel relativ gut davon, die schweren Zeitungen bezahlten eine Art Solidaritätsbeitrag. Wir einigten uns dann mit der Post auf ein transparenteres, kostenbasiertes Tarifsystem, bei dem die pressepolitischen Aspekte in Form von Förderungsrabatten abgezogen werden. Das war übrigens auch die Basis für das nationalrätliche Presseförderungsmodell.  
WW: Die Verlage scheinen sich damit abzufinden, dass ihnen ein Teil der wegfallenden Millionen überwälzt wird. Das Verbandscommuniqué vor 14 Tagen klang da noch kämpferischer: Sie forderten von der Post Kostensenkungsmassnahmen, die die Kürzungen auffangen.  
HK: Diese Forderung ist in einem speziellen Kontext zu sehen: In den letzten zehn Jahren überwälzte die Post den Verlagen insgesamt 120 Millionen Franken an Mehrkosten. Diese ständigen Preisanstiege wollten wir als wichtige Kundengruppe nicht mehr akzeptieren und verlangten von der Post Einsparungen. Diesbezüglich haben wir gemeinsam mit der Post auch einiges erreicht, etwa bei der Zeitungslogistik. Aber wir sehen weiteres Potenzial. Der nun wegfallende Betrag verändert zwar die Ausgangslage. Aber unsere Grundforderung nach Kosten- und Tarifsenkungen bleibt aktuell.  
WW: Dies, obwohl die Post derzeit bei der Zeitungsdistribution ein Millionendefizit geltend macht?  
HK: Das Defizit der Post bezweifeln wir zwar in dieser Form. Allerdings ist es sehr schwierig, von aussen ein klares Bild über ihr Kostensystem zu erhalten.  
WW: Im Communiqué gingen Sie noch weiter und verlangten von der Post gar Tarifsenkungen. Ist das realistisch?  
HK: Wir sind nicht so naiv, nun eine globale Tarifsenkung zu erwarten. Aber wir verlangen Reduktionen vor allem für die mittelgrossen und schweren Zeitungen, weil sie vom geltenden Tarifsystem überdurchschnittlich zur Kasse gebeten werden. Es darf nun nicht sein, dass die Post den Solidaritätsbeitrag einfach beibehält und noch x Millionen an Kosten obendrauf setzt.  WW: Die Post-Tochter Direct Mail Company (DMC) bietet der neuen Gratiszeitung .ch die Distribution wesentlich günstiger an, als es die Post je tat. Verlangen Sie die Tarifsenkungen auch deshalb?  
HK: Das hängt für viele Verleger sicher eng damit zusammen. Die rund 30 Rappen pro Exemplar, die sie heute der Post bezahlen, sind ja bereits ein staatlich geförderter Vorzugspreis – und nun soll dies plötzlich ohne Presseförderung für gut 7 Rappen möglich sein? Zwar bietet DMC keine adressierte Zustellung, sie geht aber in die Häuser, und das erst noch frühmorgens. Logisch, dass nun mancher Verleger auch von der Post einen deutlich besseren Tarif will.  
WW: Wegen des DMC-Angebots warf Ihr Verband der Post vor, es mit der Wahrheit nicht genau zu nehmen. Im Juni fand dann eine Aussprache mit Post-Chef Ulrich Gygi statt. Hat er den DMC-Preis von 7,2 Rappen bestätigt? Und vertrauen Sie ihm nun wieder?  
HK: Ein solches Gespräch fand statt. Zum Inhalt kann ich sagen, dass wir verschiedene Aspekte des Projektes .ch diskutierten und auch Bezüge zur laufenden Tarifdebatte und zur Presseförderung herstellten. Wir haben seitens des Verlegerverbands signalisiert, dass wir unsere Partnerschaft nicht als beendet ansehen, dass sie aber wesentlich vom Tarifangebot der Post abhänge. Wir sagten auch, dass die Verleger Hand bieten für weitere logistische Verbesserungen.  
WW: Die Verleger haben ja über ein offizielles Post-Papier von den 7,2 Rappen erfahren. Hat sich Postchef Gygi davon distanziert?  
HK: Ich persönlich weiss nicht, woher dieser Preis kommt. Meines Wissens wurde dieses Preisniveau aber auch nie dementiert. Offenbar liegt dem Preis jedoch ein anderes Berechnungsmodell zugrunde als bei der Post. Seitens der Post wurde uns aber versichert, dass DMC von der Post nicht quersubventioniert werde.  WW: Zurück zu den Folgen der neuen Presseförderung: Treibt die Politik mit ihrem Entscheid die Mittelfeldzeitungen den Grossverlagen in die Hände?  HK: Im volumenmässigen Mittelfeld finden sich auch grosse Titel, die ihre Auflage grösstenteils über private Frühzustellfirmen und nur zu einem kleinen Teil über die Post vertreiben lassen. Sie werden nun vermutlich nach Post-Alternativen Ausschau halten und vielleicht auch eigene aufbauen. Ihr Problem dabei: Der Postmarkt ist noch nicht voll liberalisiert. Wäre dies der Fall, hätte dies einen disziplinierenden Einfluss auf die Post. So aber hat sie bei der Briefpost weiterhin ein relativ hohes Monopol, was Konkurrenten davon abhalten kann, in die Distribution einzusteigen.  
WW: Dennoch entwickelten einige Verlage bereits ein Modell für eine alternative Tageszustellorganisation (AZO), die vom Verband auch begleitet wird. Nehmen Sie diese AZO nun wieder aus der Schublade?  HK: AZO ist nicht in der Verbandsschublade, sondern bei den Verlagen, die das Modell ausgearbeitet haben. Was diese nun konkret vorhaben, weiss ich nicht. Aber sobald man mehr über die Preisentwicklung bei der Post weiss, wird sich die Suche nach Zustellalternativen sicherlich intensivieren. 
Interview: Markus Knöpfli
 
 
 
Eine Idee – zwei Modelle Bei der indirekten Presseförderung
kamen bisher Bund, Post und Verleger gemeinsam für die Verbilligung der Transporttarife für abonnierte Zeitungen und Zeitschriften auf. 2003 wurde der Bundesbeitrag von 100 auf 80 Millionen Franken gesenkt und auf Ende 2007 befristet. Der Nationalrat verlangte aber eine Fortführung, wobei er vom Bund neu 60 Millionen Franken pro Jahr für die allgemeine Verbilligung der Pressetarife verlangte, dazu weitere 20 Millionen, um die Beförderung kleinauflagiger Titel zusätzlich zu vergünstigen.  
Der Ständerat sprach dagegen
nur 30 Millionen Franken – 20 Millionen für die Regional- und Lokalzeitungen (Auflage bis 40000 Exemplare) sowie 10 Millionen für Mitgliederzeitungen nicht gewinnorientierter Organisationen (Auflage bis 300000). Die Organe von Coop, Migros und TCS fallen damit raus. In der Differenzbereinigung kam schliesslich das Ständeratsmodell durch. (mk)  
 
 
Die Post schweigt Ob Gratiszeitung .ch oder Presseförderung
– die Post schweigt seit Wochen. Ulrich Hurni, neuer VR-Präsident von Direkct Mail Company (DMC) und auch Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung von Swiss Post International, wäre zwar für ein Interview bereit, er wurde aber von Post-Sprecher Richard Pfister zurückgepfiffen. «Es ist aus unserer Sicht der falsche Zeitpunkt», sagt Pfister, Auskünfte zu den erwähnten Themen gebe es im September. Zudem sei der Presseförderungsentscheid ja erst gefallen. «Da macht es keinen Sinn mehr, über die Vergangenheit zu reden. Wir müssen jetzt den Entscheid umsetzen und mit den Verlegern reden. Das braucht Zeit», sagt er. (mk)

 Giuseppe Scaglione, the founder of Radio 105, is now also active in the television business and is launching the 105TV channel in the fall. The program will be broadcast exclusively via the Internet. According to the press release, this is the first completely interactive television program in Switzerland. 105TV aims to combine the content of conventional television channels with user-generated content à la YouTube or My Space. It is aimed at a young, urban audience. Music lovers, clubs, promoters, labels and bands will determine the content of the channel, according to the press release. The focus will be on music, but films, lifestyle and nightlife will also be covered.
The main sponsor of the program is the car brand Seat. 105TV will go live in September, accompanied by a big launch party. Interested users can already register at www.105tv.ch.

Column Are we slowly having to say goodbye to the idea that the media determine their own content? The disgraceful drama put on by the supposedly liberal Liberal Party around the TV show "Classe Politique" suggests that this is the case. Party President Fulvio Pelli felt that discussing Christoph Blocher's chances of re-election was currently unimportant - and refused to take part in the program. And immediately before the broadcast, the SVP is said to have tried to dictate the content on which it would comment.  
When asked, Editor-in-Chief Ueli Haldimann disputes the main points of the SonntagsZeitung report. He has long since prepared himself for a hot autumn. The fact is that the parties - just like some corporations, associations and institutions - are increasingly trying to control the media coverage of their activities. What is required is the courage to make it crystal clear to the parties' scene-shifters (or even a Federal Councillor in the make-up chair): either according to our rules or not at all. And if the Federal Councillor runs away from the studio - so what!
 
Where, please, do we actually live? According to their own statements, top liberal politicians want to dictate to a leading medium such as television what it should and should not cover as a current topic. Behind this lies the rather impudent claim to set the topics when they suit you and to determine the "right", i.e. politically useful, time yourself. Here we can see the ever-growing arrogance of the interpretation industry. While the editorial offices of the printed media are reducing their budgets and thus their content expertise to the point where they can only just cope with day-to-day business, the manipulation apparatuses of companies, parties, institutions and authorities are arming themselves. This is the second really sad piece of news from the media theater in the week that saw the departure of Facts.
 
As understandable as the reasons for the news magazine's closure are: Once again, a voice of independent journalism is being silenced as the media theater, staged and controlled by interest groups, puffs itself up. It is no longer the independent journalists who are directing the show. Those being described want to set the rules of description themselves. They insist on playing the leading role, and they also want to prompt the appropriate text. At the same time, to make the beleaguered press as tame as possible, postal subsidies are withdrawn. This does not weaken the large publishing houses that were targeted, but the small ones.
 
As expected, the Federal Office of Communications has barely decided on fee-splitting before launching dubious "performance mandates" and "quality requirements" into the world. On what legal basis, actually? Nobody asks, nobody talks about it. It was the doomed "Facts" of all things that uncovered this veritable scandal. In plain language, it's like this: through the long arm of Bakom, the easily offended Federal Councillor Leuenberger is getting in the way of determining how television news is presented and what content should be banned or frowned upon in future. There is talk of a "model concession", which contains monstrosities such as this: "The department can prohibit the broadcasting of certain programs in the concession that run counter to the fulfillment of the performance mandate." This refers to warnings about speed traps or certain competitions, the Bakom spokeswoman rebuffs. However, she confirms a few lines later that this is just the beginning. Original quote from Facts: "The model license also requires private radio and TV stations to pay minimum wages and provide training and further education courses for employees. They should have their operations evaluated annually by an external organization (I wonder which one?)." Of course further training makes sense; I'm not so sure about minimum wages. The fact is, however, that politicians are forcing unsuccessful trade union demands on media companies via fee splitting. That's what the political amoebas in the media houses get for it now: willingly stretching out their hands for concession money and closing their eyes to the fact that the state, which gives or redistributes money, always makes demands as well. The Leuenbergers and Dumermuths may call it a "performance mandate" or "evaluation". I call it a brazen attempt to control the content and to control the business. The fact that the majority of the printed media no longer even realize what is being played out only makes things more tragic. It will come to the point where the last hopes for reflective and journalistically honest background reporting will rest on the state-sponsored SRG media!
 
Karl Lüönd is a freelance journalist and author.

 Daniel Vollenweider has joined the team of the full-service agency Ruf ASW in Bülach. Vollenweider's previous positions include 9 years at Advico Young & Rubicam, 7 years at McCann-Erickson and 5 years at Blue Spirit as a consultant, consulting group and unit leader. The federally certified advertising manager joins Ruf ASW with immediate effect as Head of Consulting and member of the Executive Board.