Apple's iPhone has been on the market in the USA since Friday evening at 6pm local time. The buzz surrounding the phone has been huge, with Apple fans licking their fingers since the day it was announced. People eager to buy camped out in the rain for hours in front of the store selling the promised devices. There was a roar of applause when the first phone went over the counter. Although the device will not be launched on the European market until the end of the year, it is dominating the media in this country too. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, over ten thousand articles on the subject have appeared worldwide in the last few days. If Google News is to be believed, hundreds of media reports are added online every hour. New York magazine put Apple boss Steve Jobs on the front page with the headline "iGod". Even the serious Wall Street Journal got carried away with the headline "Jesus Phone". While social scientists can now rack their brains as to why a simple cell phone has suddenly attained the status of a religious remedy, communication experts have to admit: Apple has pulled off a magnificent coup. One hardly dares to calculate what all the media attention would have cost if one had wanted to buy advertising space for it. The hustle and bustle only drowns out the quiet sighs of advertising managers around the globe: They wish in their wildest dreams that the iPhone would dominate the advertising pages as much as the editorial section.

 A tug-of-war over the name «Sonntag»: The Mittelland Zeitung had announced that its seventh issue would bear that name. However, as the Sonntagszeitung reports, a Catholic weekly newspaper has already been on the market under the same name for over 60 years. According to publishing director Fabian Egger, the publisher CAT-Verlag intends to defend its title by any means necessary. AZ Medien, the publisher of the Mittelland Zeitung, is also claiming the name “Sonntag” and has filed a corresponding application with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. CAT-Verlag immediately followed suit and now intends to have its name and logo protected. According to the Sonntagszeitung, trademark law experts are divided on whether “Sonntag” can even be protected as a trademark.
AZ Medien is also facing problems online: Sonntag.ch is the website for the TV magazine show «Fenster zum Sonntag» on SF 1. The Aargau-based publishing house will find its requests ignored in any negotiations over the domain: According to «Fenster zum Sonntag» spokesperson Peter Stolz, Sunday is «sacred and therefore not for sale.».
Nevertheless, AZ Medien intends to keep the name «Sonntag.» However, according to spokeswoman Eva Keller, it is possible that the name could be supplemented with additions such as “AZ” for the Aargau edition and “SZ” for the Solothurn edition.

 Erat, Thoma & Herzog Werbeagentur BSW has a new, shorter name as of July 1, 2007: E,T&H Werbeagentur BSW. Chairman of the Board of Directors Peter Thoma commented on the decision in a press release as follows: "Two of the three namesakes are no longer with the company. We decided on E,T&H because this name is already familiar: in the labeling of our advertising material, in internal working papers and in verbal communication." The agency has also become "much more agile" in recent years. This development is documented by a more elegant name. The agency has been in existence since 1976 and, according to its own figures, generated gross operating income of CHF 3.9 million with 18 employees in 2006. E,T&H will be showcasing its new image and latest work in the agency magazine Position, which will be published in mid-July, and on its website.

 The capital market expert Reinhold Röhrig has been exclusively contracted by News Aktuell as a freelancer. The former head of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Adhoc-Publizität (DGAP) will use his excellent contacts in the capital market to support Euro Adhoc, News Aktuell's international investor relations service. Before the 62-year-old was engaged by News Aktuell, he worked as a freelance management consultant for mandatory and regular publicity. He was previously Managing Director of DDGAP, which he played a key role in founding. From 1978 to 2001, Röhrig held various management positions at Reuters. At Euro Adhoc of News Aktuell, he will be responsible for the dissemination of all mandatory announcements to supervisory authorities, stock exchanges, company registers, sector publics and the media.

 The sellers of 80 percent of Espace Media to Tamedia are now known: Erwin Reinhardt, Franziska Reinhardt-Scherz, Charles von Graffenried, Albert P. Stähli, Urs Schweizer, Guido Albisetti, Zug-based Epicea Holding and Montalto Holding are selling their shares, according to a Reuters report. Previously, only Charles von Graffenried and Erwin and Franziska Reinhardt-Scherz were known to be selling. It is now clear that Group Executive Board members Albert "Polo" Stäheli, Urs Schweizer and Guido Albisetti are also among the sellers. On May 23, 2007, these former Espace shareholders concluded an agreement under which 80 percent of the share capital of the Bern-based media company will go to the Zurich publishing house. In return, they will acquire a total of 600,000 new registered shares of Tamedia with a nominal value of CHF 10 each, according to Reuters. Following the capital increase, the above shareholder group will hold 5.66 percent of Tamedia. Measured against the share capital of the Zurich-based media company currently entered in the commercial register in the amount of CHF 100 million, the 600,000 shares still to be created will result in a shareholding of 6 percent.

 The future free newspaper .ch wants to bring its standard mix of news, service, sport and expert columns to its readers with a higher standard than Blick and 20 Minuten. The early morning delivery of the newspaper should be a decisive factor in the highly competitive environment. "Drivers who drive to work also have .ch," explains editor-in-chief Rolf Leeb to Swiss Journalist. His aim is not only to challenge the market position of the big names, but above all that of the regional newspapers. Otherwise, Leeb dabbles in generalities in the interview: "We want to offer news and service", "We prepare the news in such a way that it is understandable" or "We also explain difficult political topics" are just the best examples. But if you want to reach 750,000 readers within a year, you can't get involved in experiments, as the former PR man Leeb knows: "I'm not going to revolutionize the press." So the motto is: politically neutral, clean in terms of design, editorially profound, but not too much. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to make the competition learn to fear it - especially the battle-hardened Tamedia.

On the Wednesday before Cannes, the ADC showed the reel of international Cannes favorites compiled by Leo Burnett. Of the 47 spots and three integrated campaigns, a total of 29 were awarded a Lion. The Grand Prix (Dove "Evolution") was also on the Cannes Predictions reel.
This year's best Cannes predictions were made by Sam Bolleter from BMB Werbeagentur (350 points), followed by Catharina Steiner from Persoenlich.com and Patrick Suter from SFLB with 320 points each.

 The company Netz.Lokalpresse.ch is to support SME publishers from the fall. The planned service company was initiated by Winterthur Stadtblatt publisher Guido Blumer and Bernese media lawyer Franz Zölch. "We want to support small publishers in all matters," Blumer told Werbewoche, confirming a report by the industry service Kleinreport. "But this is anything but a new association". Netz.Lokalpresse.ch will be set up as a limited company and will help SME publishers with various services. Whether it's exchanging texts, looking for staff, designing a new website or managing the IT infrastructure outside the company: The organization should be able to offer advice.
The initiators have written to around 70 publishers and will present their model to them at a founding meeting. "Of course, we hope that as many as possible will be there," says Blumer. The company is to be financed by the agency fees for the individual services; the founding capital is expected to come from the member publishers.
"Our aim is not to compete with the publishers' association," explained Blumer, who is himself a member of the Schweizer Presse executive committee. Instead, he hopes that other SME publishers will decide to join. "But we want to create an organization that will help small publishers retain their independence. In contrast to the large media houses, which are currently merging." The move comes in response to numerous comments from SME publishers that they feel they need a supportive network.
It is still unclear who will take over the management of Netz.Lokalpresse.ch. The organization will be operational from September. The website at Netzlokalpresse.ch will be launched on August 1.

 
Zug-based Marquard Media and Germany's Axel Springer are swapping their publications in Poland. While Marquard is taking over Springer Verlag's women's magazines, several sports media are moving from Marquard to Springer. The transactions still have to be approved by the relevant authorities. In order to strengthen its position on the Polish market, Marquard Media has taken over four women's magazines from Axel Springer: The weekly Pani Domus and the monthly titles Olivia, Clieni i Blaski and Skrty Serca. Marquard has thus increased the total number of titles published in Poland to ten. The Zug-based publishing house already publishes well-known magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Joy, Shape and Playboy in Poland, according to an SDA report.
In return, Springer is taking over the daily sports newspaper Prezglad Sportowy, the supplements Tempo and Scrab Kibica and the online portal Sports.pl from Marquard, further expanding the Polish portfolio of the German publishing house, which already publishes two daily newspapers and numerous magazines.

 Last Wednesday, Rivella won a silver award at the Best of Corporate Publishing Awards (BCP) for its Annual Report 05. The 2006 activity report, for which Basel West is once again fully responsible, will now be published on Monday. As the Zurich-based corporate communications agency writes in a press release on Friday, the most important topics alongside the key figures are the relaunch with the refreshed brand image, the new Rivella green with less sugar and the new collaboration with Max Havelaar. These are covered in depth in reports and interviews. The design concept is based on the familiar color scheme, which divides the annual report into three thematic areas: "People", "Products" and "Markets".

 The new weekend edition of SF People magazine will be hosted by 33-year-old Christian Franzoso. From Saturday, August 25, he will be reporting from the world of stars and starlets in Glanz & Gloria Weekend.  
The Basel native is best known to the general public as a finalist in the presenter casting "G&G sucht ...", which Annina Frey ultimately won. Christian Franzoso is almost a media veteran, as the SRG press release from Friday shows: he presented the program Netgate on Star TV, was in front of the camera for various music programs on Viva and worked as an editor and presenter for DRS Musigwälle on Swiss Radio DRS. Daniel Pünter, Editorial Director of "G&G", is delighted with the new addition: "As an experienced presenter and qualified journalist with a lot of experience in conducting interviews, he is the ideal choice."

 The post of Editor-in-Chief at Finanz und Wirtschaft has been filled again after a lengthy vacancy. The 57-year-old Peter Schuppli, who has been managing the editorial team ad interim since October 2006, will take up his new position at the beginning of July 2007. Schuppli has been working for the business newspaper for over 30 years and was previously head of the Switzerland section. According to a Tamedia press release, the economist, who has excellent roots in the editorial team and good knowledge of the financial sector, has made a significant contribution to the continuous development of the high-quality investor newspaper in recent years.