Free newspapers Ringier has succeeded with its
free project seriously. What are the requirements for a new title in the
The age of 20 minutes? It's an open secret that in the
Ringier is working on its own free newspaper under the working title "Day"
is being worked on. So far, however, those responsible have remained silent about
Concept and launch dates covered. Head of newspaper Bernhard Weissberg
for example, only states that the aim is to publish a free newspaper in
this year. CEO Martin Werfeli gives an interview in the
the latest issue of Ringier's in-house magazine Domo, that the
working at full speed on a corresponding project: "I personally
assume that we will succeed in creating a free Swiss newspaper.
realize." No News.

SBB is also keeping a low profile. In the
Last summer, the locations of the newspaper boxes at railroad stations were
with a start of use from January 1. Which of two,
possibly three applicants were awarded a contract - an unmistakable sign that
indication of launch plans - is open in German-speaking Switzerland. "The
The decision will be made in the next few weeks," says SBB spokesman Roland Binz.
At the end of October last year, Ringier opened its first
experiment in the free store with 24 hodin (24 hours) in order to - like
it meant - gaining experience. They were there with 200,000 copies
rival Metro (160000 units), which has been on the market since 1997.
market is. Meanwhile, Metro is spreading nationally, a scenario,
which, according to company spokesman Marco Castellaneta, was foreseeable,
but 24 hodin is developing well. Analogies for behavior in the
Swiss market cannot be derived from this. This is determined by the
currently the most successful print title owned by Tamedia, 20 Minuten
mastered.

The additional difficulty lies in getting the company into the red.
not to cannibalize the faltering tabloid flagship Blick. Because
Blick is not a real tabloid, but rather one that is lost in the shallows of the
"serious tabloid" meanders, new newspapers must be created around it.
be tinkered with. However, publisher Michael Ringier, who attended the
publishers' conference last September, journalistic
Content should not be given away for free, seems to be his
Having overcome bite inhibition. What options are there?

Six possible scenariosDirect competition with a second commuter newspaper:
The situation
already existed for two years between 20 Minuten and Metropol.
This disappeared from the market in 2002. From March 8, the
Constellation under different auspices between Le Matin Bleu
(Edipresse) and 20 minutes (Tamedia) on Lake Geneva. Whoever
observes the reading habits of commuters, finds that 20 minutes is
is popular with all age groups and is no longer a youth phenomenon.
is. This has made it more difficult to focus on one target group.
Blick will be free:
A nice mind game from
Weltwoche media columnist Kurt W. Zimmermann. However, the
about 60 percent of the circulation (262262 copies) by subscription, why
so break these reader ties? What would Ringier have done
Blick subscribers as a replacement? Would the
free version, the Blick brand would be lost forever.

Ringier's "Neue Zeitung" project combined with free Blick: The
Blick subscriptions are converted into subscriptions to a new (whatever) 
newspaper, with a free copy of Blick. About the "new newspaper"
has become conspicuously quiet. Boulevard would also have to be
and be geared more towards an urban audience. Because
the majority of Blick's core readership lives in rural areas and
has a relatively high average age. Among the common
distribution channels (analogous to 20 minutes), the mailing would be sent to a non
or people who do not commute by public transport.

Blick light: Analogous to Le Matin Bleu, the challenge would be to
to explain to readers the difference between a paid-for newspaper and a
a free spin-off (otherwise see above).
Abendzeitung:
This is a niche market. Since the mid-90s
years, no publisher has dared to venture into the evening business. A
concept, however, is available with Cash Daily, the multimedia
Ringier project, which among other things is planned as an evening paper from 4 p.m.
is. At the launch of 20 Minuten, the idea was rejected because the
morning generates too little topicality. It is questionable whether advertisers
how the retail giants Migros and Coop make the evening attractive.
find. However, an evening paper would offer the opportunity to set thematic accents.
to set: Business, culture, the agenda, processing individual news from the competition and so on.
Blick am Abend:
The Abendzeitung idea would also be possible in the version
evening view is conceivable, provided that the urban audience would be more
taken into account. Whether this makes readers more likely to return to the
parent paper would be left open.

The crucial question of how a future free title can be
view is to be maneuvered past, however, is not compatible with any of the aforementioned
Examples answered conclusively.    

What the experts say
Josef Trappel, media scientist and head of IPMZ Transfer at the
Media Institute at the University of Zurich, describes Ringier's intentions as extreme
difficult. Picking up the commuters in the evening during the return journey,
he considers more promising than, for example, looking into a
free sheet.

Management consultant Klaus J. Stöhlker sees Ringier's "escape into the
free business" as a "terrible mistake", 20 minutes for "almost
perfect". A new free title would have to convey the joy of consumption or serve as a
Abendblatt are "hotly boiled".

For communications consultant Sacha Wigdorovits, ex-Blick editor-in-chief and at the time responsible for the concept and
Launch of 20 Minuten Switzerland responsible, decide content concept
as well as the financial strength and staying power of the new competitor over the
Success. Wigdorovits estimates the investment costs at CHF 50 to 120 million, including marketing and sales.
He believes that there is room for a second title alongside 20 Minuten.

René Worni

PresseTV Five out of twelve PresseTV programs have lost market share, seven have lost viewers.
lost market share, including the programs of publisher television
PressTV (PTV) was watched less by the majority of viewers. In particular
the PTV highlights "Gesundheit Sprechstunde" (GES) and "Konsum.tv"
each lost one percent market share among the total audience (3+) in 2005.
compared to the previous year and now stand at 11 and 10
percent. Other programs such as "Café Bâle" and "NZZ Format"
(105,000) lost ground. The only market share winner is
"Motor Show" - it increased by one percentage point to 6 percent.

Some declines are even sharper in a longer-term comparison:
In 2001, GES achieved a market share of 16 percent and 100,000 viewers
more, and "Café Bâle" also had 30,000 more fans back then.
PTV Managing Director Hans Jürg Deutsch is not surprised by this development.
surprised, he foresaw it two years ago. "That has to do with
that SF, like other public broadcasters, also had a few years ago.
only discovered the potential of Sunday evenings a few years ago. Many people are
then not out, but at home," he says.

Instead of spending Sunday evenings with purchased feature films
("Tatort" etc.), SF has started to cast large live productions.
such as "MusicStar" and later "Pisa" - with success. So that
PTV's own production of an attractive
SF in-house production - and the majority of viewers chose
tends to be SF 1. For Deutsch, one thing is clear: PTV must deal with this
situation. "That's why we don't see any
great need for action." Which does not mean that we should throw our hands in the
lap.

Relaunch for various programs
This year, for example, he wants to talk to SF Director Ingrid Deltenre about
talk about reallocations - from the weekend perhaps to other
days. He sees further potential in concept innovations. One such
last summer, "Café Bâle" has just been opened.
equipped with a new team, and at "Konsum.tv" they have been thinking about
relaunch for some time. PTV has also relaunched its
also offered to private local TV stations for third-party broadcasts - for the
Free of charge. "Not many stations make use of this," regrets
German. PTV would earn nothing from this. "But more broadcasts
bring more reach - and this benefits us in our discussions with the
sponsors," explains Deutsch.

This is PressTV
Ringier and NZZ each hold a 30 percent stake in PresseTV, while the German
publisher group DCTP with 20 percent and Basler Zeitung Medien and
Jean Frey AG each hold a 10 percent stake. They broadcast their
programs on SF 2. PTV could also broadcast new programs on SF info
but it currently uses this channel exclusively for
Repetitions.

PTV receives an annual fee from SF for its in-house productions
of 4.7 million francs, a further lump sum of 7.2 million
flows to publisher television from the marketer Publisuisse.
Publisuisse acquires all advertising in the environment of PTV broadcasts.
Sponsoring, on the other hand, is a matter for the respective producer.

Markus Knöpfli

As the new Managing Director of the TPC, Alexander Krombholz is starting off with a
large-scale production at the Olympic Games in Turin.
"You have to imagine the effort in Turin
like 15 world championships at the same time. The Olympic
For SRG SSR idée suisse, the 2006 Winter Games are the most complex and
most elaborate production that has ever been realized," explains Alexander
Krombholz. A total of 220 employees ensure that the Swiss
audience via radio and television in all language regions
program is offered. The new managing director of the
TV Productioncenter Zurich TPC works with over 100 people in
Turin. "Everyone here wants to deliver top performance. That applies
of course also for television," says Krombholz, looking forward to his
first job under the Swiss flag.

The graduate engineer from Munich was previously responsible for the
Production of all television productions of Bayerischer Rundfunk in
technical, artistic and macroeconomic perspective. In Turin
the TPC not only supplies the technology for the Swiss public.
In a tough qualification run against ORF, the Swiss
also the worldwide broadcast of the speed events downhill skiing and super-G
for both men and women. The
Competitive price was the decisive factor for this order
as well as the fact that SRG is regularly involved in the Lauberhorn race.
International award for "the best produced ski race"
will.

"The TPC has a very good reputation," says Krombholz, explaining his move to
Switzerland. For him and his wife - who is a
Journalist - always heard that she would one day work abroad
wanted. But of course, for people from Bavaria, Switzerland is not the
generally perceived foreign countries such as America. "Foreign countries light",
he would say. A country where Germans usually go on vacation.
"Now we are allowed to live and work here. That is already a
quality," he says happily.

Last year's chairman of the ARD and ARD production managers' conference
ZDF also mentions another motivation: "I have some cross-comparisons
and can say that Swiss television is right at the forefront.
The TPC is the most economically developed
television company. Some ARD stations could be proud of that."
The television personality, who holds a chair in
I have always wanted to work in the media industry.
Krombholz studied electronics and economics in Munich. For the
engineer, the two areas belong closely together. "You cannot
Selling technology that is not affordable. Conversely, no
A commercial enterprise without technology. This is a symbiosis that
appealed to me right from the start."

In his 20 years at Bayerischer Rundfunk, Krombholz would also have
could already switch to radio or broadcasting technology, but: "If
Once you've had a taste of television, you won't let it go.
more going on," he says. Krombholz was responsible for the technical
planning of production studios. He also gained a good overview as
consultant to the technical director of Bayerischer Rundfunk before he
has virtually taken on the role of producer himself. Own films
But he never wanted to shoot. Nevertheless, he considers himself artistically
competent. The technician completed his studies as a press photographer
financed. Today, he says: "For me, it's part of
editorial requirements. Only then can a good
program, if the service provider has also understood what the
customer wants."

He sees the following as an important technical innovation during his time in Bavaria
Conversion from analog to digital. For the people of Munich, he has "certainly
most modern broadcasting center in Europe". It is also Krombholz
"We have succeeded in introducing internal cost allocation and
new management methods significantly improve production technology
more economically". In doing so, he wanted to "lay the foundations for
production continues to be an economic partner for the program
can". This has enabled Krombholz to expand his artistic production,
that Bavaria won several camera awards last year.

In Zurich, too, the new head of the TPC in the HD division is already finding the
most modern OB van in Europe. "The development will
faster than we expected," he predicts, knowing that
his new employer intends to broadcast the first programs in HD from 2008.
to broadcast. The TPC still considers the most important customer to be the
Swiss Television, then the other SRG business units
SSR. The TPC also has an excellent international reputation with
wireless productions such as cycling races. In the advertising sector
the field should continue to be left to independent producers. The
TPC concentrates primarily on special forms for which it acts as a
specialist - such as Telescope, Amag-News or
the live spots for Migros last year. "We are not a classic
spot producer. We don't have a 35 mm camera either," says Krombholz.

He finds the biggest challenge in his work,
"Reconciling creativity, technology and economic efficiency
bring". He sees television as a team sport. In his private life, he loves individual sports more. From tennis in Bavaria
Junior squad has now become squash and occasionally also a
round of golf. He also enjoys playing the piano in his free time. On the
On March 1, he also plans to move his wing from Munich to Switzerland.
What is more uncertain, however, is the extent to which he still finds time to
his retro band with music from the 70s and 80s to play the guitar.
play. In future, rehearsals in Munich will probably only be
can take place sporadically.

Andreas Panzeri

Cars In the past, when we still had particulate matter and
oxides breathed, yes, there were still real boom years - springs went by.
country. So with the start of school and primroses, evening flower drives
across the East, fashion shows with coffee, unbridled desire
on top of each other and a lot of trallala. Today everything is spoiled, postponed
or canceled. All that remains is the Geneva Motor Show
as a brisk harbinger of spring. After all. Our neighbors in the resinous north
don't even have that. Can you imagine that? We do too
not.
The consequences of this? Etepetete car ads in need of explanation like
these. That they are not a full replacement for the PS spring,
you notice at first glance. If at all, then the
motif (claim: "shift expectations") to lower expectations. The crown
for the big beauty queen with the equally big outfit
the stingy creatives have gone for the cuddly Micra price point
shrunk. Aha, a teasing version of the
Maxi-car mini-prize message. In contrast to the agitated Miss
the waters shoot out of our eyes in despair. Who would have ever
thought that car and washing powder advertisers would ever have the same
passion for junk ideas could combine like twin cherries on the
Stems. They are not even good for making fun of collectively.
(la) 

A collective agreement to regulate
of copyrights is demanded by the Swiss journalists' association Impressum.
The regulation is intended to provide appropriate compensation for
ensure high-quality journalistic work from the publishers.
As the SDA reports, media companies are demanding the assignment of the
Copyrights of journalists practically without
Consideration. Impressum appeals to publishers to forego the exclusive
or multiple rights of use of works, or
to pay appropriate compensation. The publishers should
also participate in the collective agreement.

Meat Products Zurich has voted: 31
percent of consumers wrote Malbuner
country smoked ham on their shopping list, the second strongest group
is the farmer's ham with 24 percent. This is reported by Uncle
Herbert, founder of the Malbuner House, one day after the elections in the
Tages-Anzeiger. Uncle Herbert also likes the fact that his
crusty ham is represented again (4 percent). His conclusion: "Not
Only the politicians sometimes run their mouths full." The
Zurich elections with a twinkle in his eye for Malbuner
the Reinhold office.

According to the media research company Nielsen Media Research, the German gross advertising market grew by 6.3% year-on-year to EUR 1.3 billion in January. TV marketers also achieved higher gross revenues. TV station sales in January grew by five percent or 482 million euros. The stations marketed by IP Deutschland achieved growth of 13 percent, while SevenOne Media generated 2.3 percent more revenue, according to the industry magazine Werben & Verkaufen. Radio advertising also developed more positively than in the previous year. The Frankfurt-based marketer ARD-Werbung Sales & Services (AS & S) increased its turnover from radio advertising by 18.6 percent to EUR 34 million in January. This means that AS & S is growing more than the radio category as a whole at the start of the year, which recorded growth of 8.1 percent.

The EU Commission demands information
on the distribution of media assets regulated by Italian media law
digital frequencies from the Italian government. The new
The media law was signed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of the
private television group Mediaset, reports the SDA.
It is questionable why digital frequencies are only available to those television
distributed, which are already in the normal television system.
operate. The Director General of the European antitrust authority Philip
Lowe demands an explanation from the government. One fears
a distortion of the television business in Berlusconi's favor. The
Italian government has one month to respond to Brussels' request.
answer 

38-year-old Marcel Braun is the new
Country Manager Switzerland of Ebay Switzerland, based in Bern. Brown
takes over the position from Anton von Rüden, reports the SDA. From Rüden
takes on a new position with an international function in the Bernese
European headquarters of Ebay. Braun has a successful
professional career, most recently as Managing Director Hong Kong at Tag
Heuer and Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company. The 1995
online marketplace is represented in 33 countries and has 181
million registered users.

Pierre C. Meier on differences of opinion and presidential solo efforts. At this year's Epiphany Conference
Hanspeter Lebrument, President of the Swiss Press Association (VSP),
his colleagues in the association. In the past few years
contributed too little to unity and thus to strengthening the association
and only complained. This lack of discipline is one of the reasons for the
Unsuccessfulness of the industry to develop favorable
General conditions for the press. Other sectors are disciplined
and would fight together.
At the same conference, Lebrument called for the renunciation of
Postal subsidies and state support for the press. It seems
but that this was not agreed with the Executive Committee. Because only then
This can be explained by the fact that board member Guido Blumer, head of the
of the Department of Ethics and publisher of the Winterthur Stadtblatt, only
just one day later in an open letter Lebrument to the cart
and calls for a Lex Lebrument, which would require a co-presidency with a
SME representatives. The anti-press council tirade of the
President at last year's Publishers' Congress (the Press Council is "a
chatty and arbitrary institution") came up again.

Two weeks later, Lebrument published his
Thoughts on the topic of the Press Council, as usual, woodcut-like and juicy. The
Press Council is a "fraudulent label", "arbitrary and gossipy".
After 20 years of unsuccessful efforts to gain a seat on the Press Council, the VSP has now had enough.
The VSP has decided to set up its own self-regulation system.
The Department of Ethics has been tasked with this. Guido Blumer, Head
of the same ethics department, writes on the website persönlich.com that the presidium of the VSP is not in agreement with the opinion of his
President. They are convinced of the high quality and benefits
The VSP's planned self-regulatory body should only be established as a supplement to the Press Council.

This unspeakable banter in public is useless. It
only reduces the chance of being taken seriously as an industry. This can
is not the goal.

Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief

Advertisements PubliGroupe can terminate the management contract
with Basler Zeitung Medien and is thus gaining ground, but
In future, it will have to live with a thorn in its own flesh in return.
and with a delay of almost a year to the original timetable is
the partnership between Basler Zeitung Medien (BZM) and PubliGroupe
came to fruition after all. At first glance with a
points for PubliGroupe. Because it not only retains the
exclusive lease of the Basler Zeitung (BaZ) and the four companies belonging to the
local newspapers Allschwiler Wochenblatt and Birsfelder Anzeiger,
Muttenzer & Prattler Anzeiger and Reinacher Zeitung, but they
the free newspaper, which is published five times a week
Baslerstab, which previously only had a national marketing
had a management contract with P, including local sales staff and
take full responsibility for their sales promotion duties.

In addition to directing, BZM and P also have their
shareholder relationships "firmly confirmed in the long term", as stated in the
Press release reads. "Good things take time," commented
Otto Meier, General Manager PubliPresse, the new contract
self-confident. In fact, the P-position in Basel appears to have been consolidated.
All the more so as the BZM has been "also thinking about
had flirted with freeing himself from the P-embrace and creating his own
marketing organization", as the Klein Report reported last
Friday and then quoted Otto Meier as saying: "This
The issue is now off the table."

In-house advertising agency
Perhaps not. Because what Meier knew but didn't say: since
BZM has had its own BZM website for six months.
marketing organization, which will continue to exist. It is called
Key Media, is a 100 percent BZM subsidiary and was founded in July 2005.
initially founded unsuspiciously as an advertising agency. That certainly fits into the
BZM's all-media concept. Two months later, Key Media became the
advertising agency. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is BZM CEO Beat
Meyer, Roland Steffen, the new head of the company, is also on the Board of Directors.
publishers of BZM, and Harry Zaugg acts as Managing Director.
By the way: all Key Media employees - like Steffen
and Zaugg - from the P branch in Aarau.

Key Media is an interesting entity. Its official task is,
to acquire BZM's cross-media offerings (print, radio, online, TV),
but according to Beat Meyer, it is possible that customers who do not
want to book via the P at the BZM titles, advertisements solo
receives. Key Media then forwards these to the P and collects
- notabene as a BaZ subsidiary - the mediation commission! That is not
everything: Key Media is also a media agency. It manages the media budgets
from at least three major advertising clients, including Otto's
merchandise items. On their behalf, Key Media not only books with the
BaZ titles, but also in titles from other publishers and even in
other types of media. How large these budgets are, neither
Meyer nor Steffen say.

The combination of a nationally active media agency and the publisher's own
agency (despite full P lease) is unique in Switzerland.
Otto Meier also confirms this. He also knows how Key Media came to this
Steffen and Zaugg were already looking after the major customers in question.
at P Aarau, based on a personal relationship of trust.
When they then switched to BZM, these customers went with them - and away from
Beat Meyer says openly that in conversations with Steffen
suddenly realized what a unique opportunity the BZM was opening up.
would. He seized the opportunity and introduced Steffen as Head of Publishing
and the then BaZ publishing director Daniel Sommer. The
The rest is history.

Meyer refrained from separating from the P, as it would only be
half a share, as P holds a 37 percent stake in BZM.
But the P has to swallow the Key Media toad. "With the current
Key Media has nothing to do with the contract, but it is possible,
that a competitive relationship could arise," says Otto Meier. "That
undoubtedly results in competition," confirms Beat Meyer. And he adds
added: "That's only right for me."

Therefore, the topic of detachment does not necessarily have to be off the table -
on both sides. Because who knows, perhaps the new long-term
contract contains a clause for early termination under certain conditions.
Conditions. From BZM's point of view, for example, in the event that the main
sales no longer directly via the P, but initially via other
intermediaries should come. Then the P-lease would become a block for BZM
on the leg. From P's point of view, the termination of the partnership would then be
if the BZM receives a message via key media.
should offer "direct booking compensation" for media agencies - like
Tamedia. But this is just speculation. The content of the contract is
nothing, both sides are keeping quiet about it.

Markus Knöpfli

Sports retailer For Och Sport, the
Felber Kristofori, a veteran among the sports stores, has
prevention campaign to the TV commercial format.Och Sport - founded in 1837 - opened its doors to the public in
The first sports stores in Switzerland opened in 1912. A store in
Montreux and one in Zurich. Following the English model, the
eight years later, the company launched the Och Cup and thus shaped the
Swiss football. In 1928, the in-house tailor for the
Swiss Olympic team in St. Moritz the wedge pants. An invention that
around the world just like the metal edge for skis, which was also made from
from Och Sport and is taken for granted today.

In the past, the reputation of the celebrity clientele - Victor
Emanuel of Italy, the Rockefellers or movie actresses like
Audrey Hepburn - for headlines for Och Sport, today the
business at Bahnhofstrasse 56 with other means against
retail and discount chains. In the past
year, it had become more attractive again after it had partly
had been extended and converted. With a select and comprehensive
range for almost all sports and the extensive know-how of the
employees, Och Sport wants to continue to be the first port of call for
Athletes recommend.

Ironic call for more sport
Och Sport has been running a prevention campaign for three years. On
Posters, streetcar posters and brochures from the Zurich agency
Felber Kristofori Group different age groups in a more or less
less unathletic attitude. With the call "Do some exercise again
Sport", the campaign aims to motivate people to move more and
to do something for their health. This print and poster campaign
has now been newly implemented. "In three short TV commercials, we stage
Situations in which a little more agility, strength and endurance are the
could greatly improve the quality of life," says CD Rudy Felber.

Och Sport wants to make a contribution to public health with this approach.
to achieve. That this can be done with the necessary dose of humor and not
is done in a masterly manner is self-evident. The three
Short spots show everyday situations that are based on immobility,
unnecessary pounds or flabby muscles. The recommendation for
More sport is of course promptly added. The first step
is best done with the purchase of the equipment.

Director Reto Salimbeni from Manifesto Films and his crew have
Spots realized in Toronto with Canadian actors. Casting,
Location, camera - each spot consists of only one shot - and
the music ensure that the commercials are presented with a big wink.
and come across as authentic. Nevertheless, or precisely because of this, they are
won't miss their target, Felber hopes. "By the way, the boy has
After the shoot, he firmly resolved, for the sake of himself and his figure
to do more sport in the future," he says in response to criticism from political
Correct before. In any case, we are happy to stay in contact with him,
he promises.    

Luca Aloisi