The Baselbieter television station "NW1" will remain on air for the time being, although it is not covering its costs, the Allschwil-based station announced on Monday afternoon. The employees were informed by the Board of Directors on Monday morning that the station would not be closing immediately, giving them the opportunity to look for new solutions. The grace period ends on June 30, 2006. For some time now, the main shareholders and the Board of Directors have been trying to achieve synergies by means of couplings and sales talks in order to boost the economic situation of "NW1". They are now open to all ideas. However, if no new path emerges by June, the emergency brake will have to be pulled.
In mid-February, the electricity supplier Elektra Birseck Münchenstein (EBM), the main shareholder of "NW1", announced its intention to exit the loss-making local television station. At the beginning of March, the second main shareholder Christian Heeb followed with the same announcement (Werbewoche reported). Since then, buyers have been sought.

As the Basler Zeitung reported on Monday, EBM director Hans Büttiker sees the error in the overly optimistic business plan. The advertising revenue had not been recouped by a long way, and the company had also overestimated its operating performance. Attempts were made in vain to sell smaller share packages to well-known companies in Basel. In a second step, the cooperation with "Telebasel" failed. Then national media companies were approached, but there were only rejections. Büttiker already spoke of an "orderly shutdown"; the program would be discontinued in the event of liquidation in July or August. The notice periods for employees are to be observed. The closure of the station would affect 19 permanent employees and some freelancers.

Last Friday, the Swiss Public Relations Institute (SPRI) awarded the "Dipl. PR-Redaktor/in" certificate to 26 graduates of the postgraduate PR editor course. Christine Steiner achieved the best result with a grade of 4.9. The class average was 4.4. The course provides theoretical and practical knowledge to be successful as a professional writer in public relations and companies. Further courses will start in June and November 2006.

At their congress on the Gurten near Bern on Monday, the delegates of Impressum reaffirmed their willingness to discuss new collective employment agreements. In a resolution, they also called for the deletion without replacement of Art. 293 of the Swiss Criminal Code, which provides for the punishment of media professionals who publish official documents classified as secret. Impressum thus supports Josef Lang's motion calling for Article 293 of the Swiss Criminal Code to be deleted without replacement. In addition, the delegates are appealing to the Council of States to reject the motion by National Councillor Jürg Stahl. This provides for the unnecessary disclosure of the vested interests of federal parliamentary correspondents.
The collective employment agreements for press journalists are being called into question in both French- and German-speaking Switzerland and in Ticino. In French-speaking Switzerland, the current collective labor agreement is still in force until the end of the year. Intensive negotiations are underway. Journalists are willing to take account of the difficulties facing the industry in these "bad times". However, they are not prepared to make sacrifices that are not necessary, such as a reduction in the cost-of-living adjustment. With regard to the situation in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, the delegates are outraged that the Swiss Press Association is rejecting the offer of mediation before the Federal Conciliation Board instead of resuming constructive dialog.

According to a study conducted by Publicom, Swiss cell phone users are prepared to spend an average of CHF 130 extra on attractive cell phone services. However, the prerequisite is that the offer is right. 1,200 Swiss cell phone users were surveyed. They were particularly interested in services that utilize the specific advantages of mobile communication and contain information that is not already available via other channels. The greatest interest was shown in cell phone services in the areas of transport and leisure. According to the Publicom study, however, the prospects of success for mobile TV are rather bleak. The chances are better for payment and simply banking services, but the corresponding security norms and technical standards are lacking here. Nonetheless, mobile data services are considered to be a major growth market worldwide and in Switzerland, too, the turnover generated could triple to CHF 900 million within the next five years.

The Zurich-based branding and corporate identity agency MetaDesign has joined forces with Laika, the graphics, production and publishing provider. The result is MetaServices, a service provider specializing in implementation and production processes. While MetaDesign will continue to focus on strategic brand consulting and corporate identity/corporate design, the new subsidiary will offer implementation services.
MetaDesign and Laika have been working together successfully since 2001, for clients including ABB, Mövenpick, Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn and the Infras research institute. Jürg Neuenschwander will lead MetaServices as Managing Director. He will retain a stake in the company and will also be involved in the management of MetaDesign. He and his team started work at MetaHaus in Zurich Seefeld on May 22, 2006.

33-year-old Pascal Guimier will take over as editor-in-chief of the Franco-German cultural channel Arte on May 29. He succeeds Gérard Saint-Paul, who is moving to the news channel CF2I. Guimier was previously Editorial Director at the television channel France 2. At Arte, he will lead a Franco-German team responsible for the information program "Arte-Info", "Arte Kultur" and the magazine "Arte Reportage".

Football's world governing body, Fifa, has surprisingly won a case in several regional courts.
The German Football Association has obtained trademark protection for the term "WM 2006" after the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had initially ruled against FIFA. In four summary proceedings, the association has now been able to secure the rights to the "WM
2006″, as the Handelsblatt writes. The regional courts in Leipzig, Hamburg and Nuremberg have issued temporary injunctions prohibiting the use of the term "WM 2006" on T-shirts and lanyards. Otherwise, a fine of up to 250,000 euros could be imposed. According to the courts, EU law comes to Fifa's aid. However, FIFA has also registered both terms as trademarks with the European Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM). Protection as a European Community trademark is independent of the German
Procedure. This means that the "2006 World Cup" trademark is protected under trademark law throughout the European Union (EU) - and therefore also in Germany - and may not be used without a license. Accordingly, anyone who uses terms for their products that include "WM 2006" must fear being sued by FIFA. This includes, for example, "World Cup 2006", "World Cup 2006 Germany" or "World Cup 2006 Goal". Anyone who even gives the impression that they have a special contractual relationship with Fifa or that their products are officially licensed is also at risk of being sued. According to FIFA, the Stuttgart Regional Court deemed the designation "Football 2006" on a product to be "free-riding" and therefore unfair competition.

At the general meeting of SRG Eastern Switzerland on Saturday in Glarus, criticism was voiced of the new Radio and Television Act (RTVA), which comes into force in 2007. SRG Ostschweiz sees federalism at risk and eastern Switzerland at a disadvantage and is calling for more than just two television licenses for the eastern part of the country. The criticism is primarily directed at the fact that the new RTVA places far more emphasis on the regional language level than on the parts of the country such as Eastern Switzerland or Central Switzerland when it comes to public service. The new law "breaks another brick out of the system of federalism", writes SRG Ostschweiz in a press release. SRG Eastern Switzerland is concerned about this development. SRG Eastern Switzerland is committed to ensuring an optimal supply of electronic media services in its catchment area, particularly from Radio DRS and SF, but also from private broadcasters. It expects the federal authorities to award more than just two television licenses for private broadcasters in the eastern part of the country. There would be an opportunity to provide a certain "corrective" to the well-developed regional public service in western and southern Switzerland.

Tobacco consumption in Switzerland is declining. This is confirmed by the latest tobacco monitoring data, as announced by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) on Friday. Much has changed in terms of tobacco prevention in Switzerland over the last five years: according to the study, people in Switzerland, especially young people, are smoking less. The proportion of smokers in the population fell from 33 percent in 2001 to 30 percent last year. In 2001, 31 percent of people between the ages of 14 and 19 smoked. In 2005 it was still 25 percent. The FOPH is picking up on this trend with this year's campaign. Its logo "Bravo!" is intended to communicate: "Less smoke means more life." At the same time, the FOPH, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs seco and the industry association of Swiss health insurers Santésuisse are launching the "workplace.smokefree." campaign and want to motivate companies to increasingly ensure a smoke-free working environment.

The Media Institute's media law conference last Thursday focused on the "Limits of Publicity and Secrecy". Speakers discussed current legal issues with an interested audience of around 70 people, as reported by the Media Institute. Federal Chancellor Annemarie Huber-Hotz discussed the topic "When secrets become stories" with Christoph Grenacher (Editor-in-Chief of Sonntagsblick), Peter Studer (President of the Press Council) and Roland Bless (OSCE). Bruno Glaus dealt with the problem of undercover investigations. Urs Saxer analyzed the effects of the new Radio and Television Act. Christoph Born reported on the legal disputes following the NZZ am Sonntag's coverage of a heart operation with fatal consequences at Zurich University Hospital. The docu-drama about the demise of Swissair "Grounding" raises questions of personal rights. Stephan Herren, Marc Wehrlin, Willy Egloff and Rudolf Mayr von Baldegg explained how they assess these from different positions.
If you want to keep a secret, you should be concerned about it yourself, is one conclusion of the discussions. As soon as these secrets end up in editorial offices, they become information. There they are evaluated according to journalistic criteria. The debate between Annemarie Huber-Hotz and Christoph Grenacher also showed that the concept of confidentiality is interpreted and handled very differently, according to the communiqué. The administration quickly associates confidentiality with indiscretions. The media treat them as news and sensations.

The 2005 financial year of the Südostschweiz Mediengruppe in Chur was characterized by declining advertising and printing business. Profit after taxes fell by CHF 0.4 million to CHF 2.9 million. Operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to CHF 8.3 million. At 124 million francs, sales were increased by 200,000 francs. At the end of 2005, the media group employed 818 people, 7 fewer than a year earlier.
The result was burdened by the start-up of the new printing center for newspapers in Haag SG and the establishment of Südostschweiz am Sonntag, the company announced. Above-average growth had been achieved by the Internet services and the Tele Südostschweiz contract film division.

The Metzgerlehner Worldwide Partners agency is loudly ringing in the fifth season with a campaign for Bell. This is the barbecue season for Switzerland's largest meat and sausage producer. At the heart of the campaign is the well-known TV commercial "Harry", which is being broadcast on all channels in Switzerland. The spot has been given a new ending and is intended to whet the appetite for barbecues, as Bell wants to make everyone a barbecue chef this year. This message and the themes of barbecue feeling and enjoyment run through all communication measures of the broad-based campaign, as Metzgerlehner explains. Bell is inviting all Swiss people to a barbecue party in TV commercials and on petrol station posters and is giving away several barbecue parties on streetcar and bus posters.