Pierre C. Meier on the ritual media scolding at the Publishers' Congress.Stephan-Russ-Mohl, head of the European Journalist Observatory, warned of the dangers of a deterioration in quality due to further cuts in editorial budgets and pleaded for the promotion of independent and credible media journalism.
Walter Bosch, former journalist and board member of Swiss, used market research to show that readers' trust in the print media is waning dramatically. According to Bosch, this development is due to thesis journalism, the hunt for primeurs, tendentious topic weighting, disrespect for the actors (sic!) and the paternalism of the reader. He called on the publishers present to focus more on content and less on marketing. The stage was thus set for the afternoon appearance by Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher and Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Publisher President Hanspeter Lebrument welcomed the two guest speakers as the "most multimedia politicians in the Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland". Federal Councillor Blocher's statements on the Swiss media situation were, as usual, incisive and provocative. He criticized the underdeveloped freedom of the press, caused by the excessive interference of the state, the "disconcerting monotony"
of reporting and the suppression of taboo topics. He also called on the media to be more distrustful of information from the authorities.
This gave Chancellor Schröder an opportunity for dialectics: "What you are calling for is as if the Pope himself were calling for a second Reformation." So it started promisingly. But oh frustration: not a word about the controversial Caroline ruling by the European Court of Justice, which is being hotly debated in German media circles. Not a word about Schröder's refusal to give an interview. Nothing. Just the flippant remark: "I'll do the devil to talk about the role of the media and my role in it here in Switzerland." So much for hiding taboo subjects.
> Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief

Pharma The Wiler agency STO Pharmawerbung has been entrusted by Vifor International with the account for the new drug Vitana.STO won the pitch against three Swiss and one German agency. Vitana is a prescription drug that is used during pregnancy to cover the increased need for vitamins, trace elements and minerals. The worldwide launch is planned for 2006.

Location marketing Whether it's the "Stade de Suisse", the new Paul Klee Museum or the Einstein Year: Bern is on the verge of disproving the image of a "sluggish" city with ambitious projects. four agencies were commissioned to develop an "umbrella brand for Bern" so that the capital city and its surroundings can be marketed accordingly. The pitch was won by the Bern agency Contexta. Their word/image brand is intended to give the region a dynamic, contemporary character and create historical references. The claim "Bern does it" echoes an inscription from Bern Cathedral, and the logo shows the first two letters of "Bern" as a gripping bear's paw.

Sports equipment Winter sports equipment supplier Snowlife in Klosters invited a number of agencies to pitch for the relaunch and new sponsor image, and Snowlife has now entrusted Trimarca Kommunikation in Chur with the mandate.

Special advertising After the poster, the TV commercial moves into the hospital. The Swiss pilot phase will start in autumn, and cynics will recognize the advantage: if you are lying in a hospital bed, you can't go and get a beer during the commercial break. The ambient media marketer Projekt GmbH believes in the success of its new offer, the Klinik Info Kanal (KiK-TV), for other reasons. Hospital television promises benefits for everyone involved and the program is to be shown in clinics throughout Switzerland. Every patient can receive it free of charge directly at their bedside via the internal network. It contains news, health information and entertainment of a gentle kind. "We offer a life-affirming program that is intended to encourage patients," says KiK spokesperson Ilona Krämer. There will be no Schwarzenegger on the channel.
Local spots arrive
TV commercials, on the other hand, do exist. In order not to bore patients, they are limited to eight minutes per hour. There is no interstitial advertising. KiK-TV is particularly suitable for local advertising customers, says Mathis Felsche, co-owner of Projekt GmbH: for example, the flower store around the corner or the therapist in the neighborhood. Thanks to this direct link to the local area, the advertising is well accepted by viewers.
But Projekt GmbH also appeals to national customers. It wants to offer them KiK-TV in combination with poster advertising in the hospital. Felsche and his partner Markus Liebscher launched this special form of advertising back in the fall of 2001. The network now consists of almost 70 clinics.
Successful German role model
KiK-TV is not an invention of Felsche and Liebscher. Hospital television was introduced in Germany two years ago and can already be seen in over 200 hospitals. In May, the Swiss subsidiary KiK-TV CH GmbH was founded in Zug. It operates the channel, while Projekt GmbH is responsible for marketing. The pilot projects will start this year, from September at the Triemli Hospital in Zurich and from November at the Lindberg Hospital in Winterthur.
KiK-TV is offered to the clinics free of charge. They pay neither for the server technology nor for the program, which they receive from Zug via the Internet or ISDN. They can also add their own information to the program via computer, for example the menu plan or event information.
Content from Germany
According to Mathis Felsche, a program from Germany will also be shown at Swiss hospital beds for the time being. It will be repeated in full every seven days. Most patients are not in hospital for longer anyway, says KiK spokesperson Krämer in a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. However, the program is completely renewed every year.
Mathis Felsche cannot say whether a program will be produced for Switzerland in the longer term. KiK-TV CH in Zug is keeping a low profile. They don't want to say anything before the test phase is properly underway so as not to encourage potential imitators.
Hospital market niche: The Clinic Info Channel delivers news to the hospital bed - and advertising.
Stefano Monachesi

Trade union The two journalists' associations Comedia and Impressum are reacting to the CLA scandal at the Publishers' Congress with a joint declaration of protest, and will start collecting signatures throughout German-speaking Switzerland on the day of action on September 28. According to Comedia, this is the first step in a mobilization campaign.

Traffic For the fifth time, the city will be car-free this Sunday as part of Zürich multimobil. First work, then pleasure: With this in mind, the people of Zurich can celebrate this Sunday after the ballot. This is when the Zürich multimobil event will be held for the fifth time under the patronage of Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz Zürich. The history of the international day of action "Into the city - without my car" began in 1998, when the French Ministry of the Environment and Regional Planning was able to motivate 35 cities to introduce September 22 as a car-free day. Extension of the exclusion zone
Today, there are already over 1000 cities worldwide. In 2000, Zurich took part in the traffic project for the first time: with a car-free Limmatquai on a mild Friday. Since 2001, however, the event in the Zwingli city is no longer celebrated on September 22, but on the last Sunday in September under the motto Zürich multimobil. To mark the fifth anniversary, the city administration is presenting two innovations: firstly, the car-free zone will be extended to Rapperswil as part of the SlowUp project, thanks to the closure of Seestrasse.
Limmatquai remains car-free
On the other hand, next Sunday marks the opening of the traffic-calming Limmatquai. The section between Münster Bridge and Rudolf Brun Bridge will remain closed to private traffic after the campaign day.
The city once again received creative support from the Wyler Werbung agency this year. In addition to the poster motifs with the Ferrari horse, Ruedi Wyler and his team put the footwear of visitors to Zürich multimobil at the center of the advertisements. Because if you want to benefit from the numerous offers, you'd better strap on a set of spare tires or shoes right away.
Simone Keller

Social partnership The Swiss Press Association (CHP) has qualified its "no" to a new collective labor agreement (CLA), stating in a press release that the vote on the creation of a social partnership department had caused confusion among its members. At the members' meeting on September 16, President Hanspeter Lebrument had unceremoniously linked the approval of the department to the rejection of a CLA. The association now states that the members agree "that the expired CLA will not be renewed". However, CHP is still open to concluding a "future-oriented contract". By this, the association primarily means a CLA that delegates the setting of minimum wages to the level of the individual companies.

Television Cablecom's dual strategy is arousing mistrust and resistance - and not only at Telesuisse. "Although we have been in talks with Cablecom for a long time, we were taken by surprise. That's why we requested a meeting," says Filippo Lombardi, President of the private TV association Telesuisse. From the association's point of view, the cable network operator has jumped the gun. On the one hand, because Cablecom submitted an application to be able to offer "sponsored and advertising-supported content" on its info channel (WW 29/04). On the other hand, because they announced plans for a national television channel "Canal Suisse". From mid-2005, it wants to broadcast live from parliament and broadcast highlights from private TVs via this channel. "We would like to know whether and how these two things have been arranged," Lombardi told Werbewoche. So far
The consultations between the Telesuisse Board and the cable network operator have not resulted in either a project or an agreement that could be presented to the members. Rather, they are "still in the clarification phase." For example, the conditions under which Cablecom would distribute private content on the new channel, how this would be financed and who would be the license holder remained open.
Conflict of interest looms
Lombardi believes it would be "fundamentally wrong in terms of media policy" if telecommunications service providers who are monopolists in their area were also granted content licenses. This would lead to "an explosive conflict of interest with other providers". In order to prevent such efforts, the CVP Council of States has submitted a motion. However, he would have no objection to Cablecom taking a stake in a new broadcaster.
Skepticism is also evident from the 25 comments received by OFCOM on the info channel application. According to Alfons Birrer, these reveal "criticism, but also uncertainties about the Cablecom project". Cablecom now has until the beginning of October to amend its application.
Markus Knöpfli

Automotive cR Basel won the pitch for the launch campaign for Honda's new family van against two other agencies, and the launch campaign for the new model can be seen from mid-November.

In October, Urs Schrepfer becomes the new Creative Director (CD) and member of the management team at Advico Young & Rubicam (AY&R). Together with CD Daniel Comte, he will lead the creative teams of the advertising agency in Zurich-Gockhausen. Schrepfer already worked for AY&R from 1992 to mid-2002, first as a concept developer/ copywriter and then as CD. For the last few years he was managing CD at Jung von Matt/ Limmat. ...
The Lausanne-based advertising agency Pulsion is expanding its business area. It now also offers marketing consulting and analysis. For these tasks, it has strengthened its team with Gérard Colangelo. Colangelo has been working in sales, marketing and media consulting for more than 15 years.
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Marlen Gassler joined TBS Identity's project management department as a permanent employee at the beginning of September. She had already been working as a freelancer for the Zurich agency since December 2003. Prior to that, the communications consultant worked for more than ten years for national and international clients in various Swiss advertising agencies.
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Professor Jacqueline Otten is the new Head of the Department of Design at the University of Art and Design Zurich (HGK Zurich). Born in the Netherlands, she succeeds Urs Fanger, who has held the post since 1998. Jacqueline Otten most recently held a professorship for Trends and the Public at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg.
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Sandra Kilchmann is taking over operational responsibility for the Central Switzerland leisure magazine Insider as Product Manager. She will take over from Ronnie Hürlimann at the beginning of October. Sandra Kilchmann most recently worked as a Junior Account Manager at Publimedia. Ronnie Hürlimann will remain Managing Director of Insider Verlag AG. However, his main focus will be on new publishing projects and cross-group tasks.
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Daniela Biedermann is leaving SF DRS at the end of the year. Biedermann has hosted the health program "Puls" on SF 1 since 2001 and her successor has not yet been appointed. By contrast, Andrea Jansen is joining SF DRS. She will host the program "MusicStar - Die Woche", which will report on the goings-on behind the scenes of the casting show from January to March. Andrea Jansen has been the presenter of the game show "Joya rennt" on Sat 1 Switzerland since the end of last year.

Advertising market Swiss media agencies expect the advertising market to grow by 3 percent in both 2004 and 2005.advertising market Swiss media agencies expect the advertising market to grow by 3 percent in both 2004 and 2005. This is the result of the latest panel survey conducted monthly by the Media Research Group on behalf of Seven One Media. The television advertising market is expected to grow by more than 6 percent in the current year and a further 4 percent in 2005. The share of online budgets in this year's total agency budgets will increase by no less than 91 percent.