The Ringier media company announced on Tuesday that it intends to launch a free newspaper called "heute" before the summer. The future editor-in-chief, Bernhard Weissberg, explains in an interview with Werbewoche how the new evening paper will be positioned.WW: 20 Minuten is already a dominant and successful title on the market. How do you intend to compete with "heute"? Bernhard Weissberg: We are not competing against 20 Minuten. 20 Minuten - like Metro, the world's largest free newspaper - has opened up the market for free titles. Free newspapers are now accepted, even in the advertising industry. That is crucial, otherwise 20 Minuten would not exist. The question was what areas of development there were for us. The classic way would have been to also publish a newspaper in the morning. Then there would be a newspaper war and so on. But that doesn't benefit the companies, the advertisers or the readers. It's also not particularly creative to bring the same thing to the market. WW: The danger is to compete with Blick with a free paper. Was that the reason for the Abendblatt decision? Bernhard Weissberg: We have been dealing with the question of what is happening in the free newspaper market for some time. You have to be able to look at this independently from an entrepreneurial perspective. You also have to ask yourself what developments are in store for paid newspapers and the tabloid press. If that can be ideally combined, then all the better. WW: Not so long ago, publisher Michael Ringier said that journalistic content should not be free. What goes through your mind when you hear this statement? Bernhard Weissberg: As a journalist, I am convinced that content must have a certain value. Interchangeable content has no value. You have to make a distinction. But there are social developments that we have to take note of and accept. Ten years ago, advertisers thought that readers should pay more. Now they probably see things differently. You can read the full interview in the new Advertising Week on Thursday.

Interview: René Worni

Press The winners of the second round of the
Young Creative competition "Only an advertisement can do that". What
is what Swiss television does when it appoints a new director.
is looking for a new director? That's right! It makes an ad - just like everyone who
want to reach a selected audience with relevant messages.
The job advertisement actually appeared - on September 21, 2002,
after Peter Schellenberg resigned. Nik Hodel has made
created an ad for the "Only an ad can do that" campaign and the
won first prize. Second place went to a boy's room, the walls of which
are adorned with car ads. Headline: Advertisements bring dreams
closer. Senders: Alain Szerdahelyi and Achim Kaufmann. The three
Winners travel to Berlin for "Best YET" from May 11 to 13, 2006
(best young european team), the international equivalent of the Swiss
Young Creative Competition. The YET winning team will in turn travel in June
to the 53rd International Advertising Festival in Cannes.

The Zurich-based digital communications agency Station has created a not entirely serious home test for the internet comparison service Comparis. Wohnopoly is the name of the activity, which is available at www.comparis.ch and asks about furnishing style or cleanliness requirements and identifies types of homes. The 13 questions and three possible answers for couples and singles were written by Peter Schneider, psychoanalyst and satirist, known from the acerbic press review on Radio DRS 3 and from columns in the print media. With questions such as "What do you think of pets?" and answers such as "At best, a genetically modified hairless animal without a metabolism would be an option for me", the home test is rather entertaining. In addition to the type of home, the test result also shows the effect of combining different types of home. Wohnopoly was implemented in German and French and complements the Comparis services in the real estate sector.

Only 13 percent of Swiss people are in favor of the European Union having a greater influence on their country, while a third believe it is already too great. This is the result of the Reader's Digent European Trusted Brands 2006 study, which asked over 25,000 people in 14 countries, including around 1,100 in Switzerland, about their most trusted institutions and brands. For just under half of the Swiss respondents, the current relationship with the EU and the bilateral approach are fine. The reason for the rather negative vote is that 89% of the Swiss consider the bureaucracy in the EU to be too great. This is also why 79% of Swiss respondents have more confidence in the Swiss Federal Council than in the EU government. The EU member states Austria, Finland and the UK are even more critical of the EU. In addition, Reader's Digest also asked participants about their trust in their own country's politics. Security policy scored best in Switzerland, with 67% having great confidence in it. Switzerland's environmental policy (56%) and trade policy (56%) also earned the great trust of its citizens.

The jury for the Euro Efficiency Award (Effie) 2006 has been selected. Switzerland will be represented by four jurors. In addition to David Allemann from Advico Young & Rubicam, Mathilde Delhoume from Procter & Gamble, Trevor Isherwood from General Motors and Pascal Schaub from Publicis will represent Switzerland. The winners of the Euro Effie 2006 Awards will be announced on September 27 in Brussels.

The Walker advertising agency convinced the ADC Germany jury in the dialog marketing category with a Passugger bottle in a festive champagne outfit. The reason for the special packaging: In October 2005, the Passugger and Allegra brands returned from the Danish Carlsberg Group to Graubünden.

According to Radiocontrol data, SR DRS stations increased their overall market share in German-speaking Switzerland by 1.3 percent last year, but lost 0.4 percent in terms of reach. As announced at the media briefing on Tuesday, Swiss radio is seeing a decline in the high
market share of 62.8 percent last year is a confirmation of the trend seen in recent years.
the renewal strategy we have adopted. This is the highest
value since the introduction of Radiocontrol measurements in 2001.The figures for the individual stations:Market shares 2005 (04) Reach 2005 (04)(in percent) (in percent)SR DRS total 62.8 (61.5) 63.6 (64.0)DRS 1 41.6 (40.1) 44.6 (44.9)DRS 2 5.0 (4.8) 9.9 (9,4)DRS 3 12.5 (13.0) 23.5 (23.7)DRS Musigwälle 3.6 (3.5) 7.3 (7.0)Virus 0.1 (0.1) 0.6 (0.7)Private stations 25.5 (26.4) 53.9 (53.9)Abroad 7.6 (8.2) 40.6 (41.3)

As the Jean Frey Group announced on Tuesday, it closed the 2005 financial year with a 3.3 percent drop in sales to 93.2 million Swiss francs and a net profit after tax of 6.6 million Swiss francs. The overall result is described as "satisfactory". It is in line with the generally difficult economic conditions for the print media. The reduced volume of advertising orders is cited as the primary reason for the decline in earnings. Following the successful turnaround with intensive cost reductions in recent years, the Jean Frey Group is now focusing on investing in successful products, the press release continues. This refers in particular to the Beobachter and Weltwoche, both of which have increased their reach. No comparative figures are available for the business magazine Bilanz (due to the change in rhythm from a monthly title to a bi-weekly publication) and the TV program guide TV-Star (due to the rebranding).

Gion Stecher (38) will take over from René Hildbrand on April 1. Stecher has been working for the TV program guide since 2003, most recently as deputy editor-in-chief. As Jean Frey AG announced on Tuesday, he is therefore ideally equipped for the new role. Stecher began his journalistic career at the Tages-Anzeiger. He later became a reporter at Sonntagsblick and media editor at the news magazine Facts before moving to TV-Star, which was still called TR7 at the time. René Hildbrand "stepped down" from his position on February 26, as Jean-Frey AG had previously announced.

In 2005, the Zurich-based media company Tamedia increased its sales by 14.7 percent to CHF 650 million and its profit by 55.6 percent to CHF 79.7 million. The operating result EBIT rose by 51 percent to CHF 95.2 million. The Board of Directors of Switzerland's third-largest publishing house is proposing to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of CHF 2.50 per share be distributed. Tamedia has thus returned to its growth course, the publishing house announced on Tuesday. The increase in turnover is largely due to the acquisition of 20 Minuten AG and Huber & Co. The publishing house intends to refocus on its core business of newspapers, as this is where Tamedia expects the greatest growth in the coming years. Tamedia also intends to continue investing heavily in newspapers and in its regionalization strategy.
The newspaper business developed positively with strong sales and earnings growth, increasing sales by almost 30 percent to CHF 445.6 million. 20 Minuten AG made a significant contribution to this result. The Newspapers division contributed 68.6 percent to total sales and 75.2 percent to the operating result. Magazines reported a 3.6 percent decline in sales to CHF 87.1 million. Investments in the reader market and the associated higher production costs led to a decline in operating income of over 20 percent in the Magazines division. The problem child "Facts" gave the publisher little pleasure. However, Tamedia has not yet given up hope of getting the weekly newspaper back into the black.
In the electronic media segment, the operating loss was reduced from CHF 5.6 million to CHF 3.2 million. Due to the unsatisfactory business performance of Radio Bailisk, its value had to be adjusted by CHF 7 million. Without this write-down, the electronic media division would also have been in the black, according to Tamedia.
Tamedia does not expect any significant impetus from the advertising market in the current year. The course of the first three months would confirm this assessment. Tamedia CEO Martin Kall expects "nothing" from the economy in the current year, as noted in the SDA communiqué.

Swiss Radio DRS wants to expand its public service offering. As Radio Director Walter Rüegg explained at the Swiss Radio DRS annual media conference in Zurich on Tuesday, the public service is not yet fully developed. That is why the journalistic offering is to be expanded in all programs. Radio DRS wants to be the leading information medium.
in German-speaking Switzerland. The quality and credibility of the
journalistic achievements are always in the foreground. At the beginning of April, DRS 3 will launch a
Sunday morning show that is more targeted to the interests of listeners.
should be taken into account. Stronger reporting on knowledge and
Finally, DRS 2 plans to focus on education in the program "Hörpunkte." Other focal points are the anchoring of the complementary programs DRS Musigwälle and Virus as well as the planning of multimedia offerings, which are becoming increasingly important. A newly created "IT and New Media" editorial team will therefore be in charge of the "DRS 3 Digital" program from April. As business reporting at SR DRS is to be strengthened overall, DRS 3 will include a business section in its program next year, and sport will be repositioned next autumn as an important part of Swiss radio's information mandate. In the concept, trend and popular sports will be given a stronger emphasis, and DRS 3 will become the leading program for live sports.Multimedia is also an important development track in the expansion of the public service, said radio director Rüegg. The use of SR DRS podcasts has increased rapidly. One of SR DRS's planning priorities is therefore "Digital Audio Broadcasting". SR DRS is relying on DAB as one of the future key technologies for broadcasting its programs. A special information channel via DAB has priority in the considerations.

The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU) and Suva are continuing to promote the voluntary wearing of bicycle helmets. As part of the bicycle helmet campaign from April 1 to May 15, 2006, the BFU is offering all cyclists a refund of CHF 20 on the purchase of a bicycle helmet while stocks last. In addition, SuvaLiv's sixth Central Switzerland Bike Helmet Day will take place on May 14, 2006 at the D4 Business Center in Root/Längenbold. Anyone wearing a bicycle helmet will be rewarded with a raffle ticket and an autograph by prominent bicycle helmet wearers from the worlds of sport, politics and business. The Suva and BFU cycling helmet campaign, which was realized by the Ruf Lanz advertising agency, was named "Campaign of the Year" in January.