Column The current diet of advertisements and articles is having positive consequences for readers. Because thinner newspapers are better newspapers: Because advertising revenues have collapsed like never before, the savings commissioners are ruling the publishing houses. The industry is moaning and one sector is feeling sorry for itself. The topic has already found so many chroniclers that we can keep quiet about it here. Instead, let's ask how readers are experiencing the crisis in their daily or weekly newspapers. Anyone who reads one of the quality national German newspapers, for example, will have noticed that they finish reading it more quickly these days. The paper has become much thinner. But even readers in the new Germany of cheapskates and bargain hunters seem to take this in their stride, even though they are now getting less for the same money. One editor-in-chief even reports letters and phone calls in which subscribers breathe a sigh of relief that they now prefer to read the newspaper. They no longer have the guilty conscience that the sometimes oak-thick printed matter had previously instilled in them. Who could really use political sections of twelve to sixteen pages or even a feuilleton that spread over eight pages a day? The slimmer product makes it easier to make a selection and places clearer islands of significance in the sea of information. And it reduces reading time to a reasonable level again.
We want to praise the crisis for this effect: it is forcing newspaper publishers and editorial offices to
to think about their "core business". In the boom times, many
The expansion in size is not primarily due to journalistic intentions, but only to the interest in surrounding the huge advertising plantation with a journalistic screen. Malicious tongues have described the FAZ as the "largest job exchange in the republic", which the editorial team had to "cloak as comfortably as possible". And these coats got more and more pockets: Pompous "capital" pages, playgrounds for intellectual dalliances and with
Lifestyle supplements stuffed with chic trivia absorbed part of the scarce resource of attention. In feature pages, even provincial trivialities were declared objects of national interest. The infamous printing of genome formulas over many pages in the feature section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was the unsurpassable highlight of this senseless waste of newspaper pages.
This nonsense is now a thing of the past. If you only have five pages left for politics, you have to think carefully about which event the newspaper can inform the multimedia-informed reader about in such a way that they really learn something new and important. The cultural sections have also become quieter. If the available space is already filled with reliable information and reasoned judgment about a clever book, a moving film or an exciting play, it is no longer possible to start one of those unbearable "debates" that many feature pages have been preoccupied with in recent years. It looks as if readers appreciate the fact that the slimmer newspapers have lost a lot of ballast, but have gained in clarity and orientation. In times of media information overkill, these are key benefits of quality newspapers. In this sense, the thinner newspaper is the better one. Hopefully this will not be forgotten once the current crisis is over.
> Heribert Seifert is the media and culture correspondent for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and lives as a freelance journalist in northern Germany.

The American spirits group Brown-Forman is consolidating its global media planning and buying budgets with Universal McCann, which includes Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort and the Fetzer winery. According to reports in the US industry press, the budget amounts to around 160 million dollars.

Cable radio station Radio 105 is launching a second regional language program on cable this summer "for cosmopolitan 25 to 40-year-olds with a progressive attitude", as 105 boss Giuseppe Scaglione explains. 105 will not be available in Zurich for the time being because there are no free slots on the cable network.

Poster According to a new ordinance, small posters may only be displayed in 28 official locations in the city of St.Gallen from March.Poster According to a new ordinance, small posters may only be displayed in 28 official locations in the city of St.Gallen from March. The Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft is not affected by this. The authority responsible for this is the commercial police. The management of small poster sites has been transferred to the Foundation for Employment for one year. In principle, only whole poster units will be accepted. These will be displayed for a period of one week. The same event can be put up for a maximum of two weeks. The police intend to impose consistent fines on wild posters.

Advertisements The advertising statistics of the Swiss press also show a decline in the new year, with newspapers losing 17.6 percent of their advertising volume compared to the same month last year. All categories are affected. German-speaking Switzerland suffered the most. Weekly newspapers in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland even achieved a clear increase of 7.6 percent and 6.4 percent respectively, while the volume in German-speaking Switzerland fell by 10.1 percent. Magazines fared better overall than newspapers (with a loss of 2.8 %). German-language women's magazines (-46.4 %) and French-language business magazines (-38 %) fared worse.

WW After 13 months, Moneycab returns to Adlink. What emotions are you feeling?Markus Rusterholz: On the one hand, joy, but on the other hand, pressure is also weighing on us. But the joy outweighs the pressure, because we are convinced that we can now reap what we have sown at that time. We had developed the entire commercialization concept when Moneycab was launched, but were then unable to finish it or bring it to market because of Moneycab's switch to Goldbach. After the switch to Goldbach, former Moneycab CEO Markus Gisler accused Adlink of not selling the platform efficiently enough. Today, the new management is saying that you made an enormous effort in 2001. Your comment?
The targets set by Moneycab at the time envisaged a utilization of the available advertising space of over 30 percent in the first half of 2001. In fact, however, we got to at least 70 percent, even though the traffic on the platform was smaller than we had hoped. When we saw that advertising performance was lower than planned, we immediately made new advertising space available. Despite this additional capacity, however, utilization did not drop, but remained at an average of 83 percent throughout the first six months.
What capacity utilization have you budgeted for 2003?
When traffic picks up again, we should reach a utilization rate of between 30 and 50 percent.
You spoke of pressure. What do you understand by that?
After the interruption, we asked ourselves how we could continue the earlier approaches. That is not easy. However, we are no longer under as much pressure to sell as we used to be with full exclusivity. Moneycab wants the other market participants to be able to contribute their ideas as well.
Collaboration between marketers instead of exclusivity - is this a new model in the online space?
No, it's not that new either - and it's not as if exclusivity is being completely dispensed with. Especially on the technical level, our system - Dart (Doubleclick) - is now the only one that is valid. And also in terms of commercialization, we and Bernt Maulaz, Marketing Manager of Moneycab, exclusively determine which advertising formats will be offered on the market and developed further at what price. What is new, however, is that other marketers are now also to have the opportunity to contribute with their offers, and are also commissioned for this. This sales model thus offers more guarantee that customers will be offered neutral media planning.
Which websites know a similar system?
20min.ch and Cineman.ch. At 20 Minuten, which itself has strong cross-media sales, the model is already having a positive impact in terms of revenues. Nevertheless, Adlink will continue to have the exclusive marketing partnership. We only waive it if a website can be sold actively and professionally by its operators and by other marketers.
How would you take it if Markus Gisler were to return to the Moneycab board?
I appreciate Mr. Gisler as a competent man when it comes to content. But marketing an online platform works differently from print, where he has a proven track record. I think that he is now gaining more insight at AZ Medien, which does a very good job of marketing itself online, and that he also recognized things at Moneycab last year that he would do differently today. From a human point of view, I also see absolutely no problem for a return.
Adlink managing director ad interim Markus Rusterholz on the return of Moneycab.
Interview: Markus Knöpfli

The Advertising Agenda 2003 from Orell Füssli Business Information surprises with a refreshing layout and is even more practical thanks to optimum reader guidance. Checklists, the advertising lexicon, print rates and advertising law are helpful guides. All the important addresses for media professionals, advertisers and printers are published. Prominent authors such as Heribert Meffert, Otto Belz, Markus Schögel and many others have contributed well-founded specialist reports. The Swiss Advertising Agenda can be ordered at www.werbeagenda.ch.

Printing A survey conducted by the Swiss Association for Visual Communication (Viscom) shows a decline in business in the graphic arts industry in the fourth quarter of 2002.27.1 % of the companies surveyed reported a deterioration in earnings compared to the previous quarter, while 19 percent reported an improvement. The majority of finishing companies (bookbinderies) were able to maintain their earnings (82.1 %), and 10.4 % even reported an increase. The situation is worse in prepress (crossmedia), where 29.4 % showed lower yields and only 0.7 % increased. The capacity utilization rate in the graphic arts industry remained unchanged at 80 % in the 4th quarter.

Internet provider Bluewin has entrusted Fisch Meier Direkt (FMD) with the dialog marketing budget for its ADSL division.FMD consulting group manager Gabriele Knus would not tell Werbewoche when the campaign would start. The client wanted to keep this secret, she said, because the market for broadband Internet access is hotly contested. So far, the ADSL DM has been co-managed by Bluewin's advertising agency Jung von Matt/Limmat.

Affinity of the ads with the supporters in the "bourgeois corner "Gold (167) Rivella Grün - Lassen Sie sich... (Lowe)Silver (156) Audi A8 (Bürgi & Partner)
Bronze (153) Mazda Get a 6 (J. Walter Thompson, Frankfurt)

Local TV At ZüriPlus, affiliated producers pay to have their programs played on the new regional station.What goes around comes around - one is tempted to say in the case of ZüriPlus. Because the descendant of Switzerland's oldest local television station, Hasli-TV, which went on the air back in 1982, wants to be in the black right from the start. Statements by ZüriPlus Chairman Hans-Peter Meng leave no doubt about this. On the occasion of the presentation of the station's concept, he announced in front of an astonished audience: "We have a balanced budget right from the start." And: "Each of our broadcasts covers its costs. "Simple production philosophy
What comes across as the pipe dream of every private TV provider is set to become reality thanks to a completely new business model with which ZüriPlus plans to officially go on air on March 31. Behind the ambitious business plan lies an organizational and production philosophy that is as captivating as it is simple, and which is so far unique in the Swiss local TV landscape. ZüriPlus sees itself as a playback platform for production companies that do not receive money for the delivery of their content, as is usually the case. On the contrary, the producers pay for their programs to be broadcast on ZüriPlus. However, it was not possible to find out how high these amounts are.
Seven production companies will support the new station. Polyvision AG, owned by ZüriPlus managing director Peter Steinmann, will provide the lion's share. It will produce six programs ("InfoPlus," "SiebenPlus," "Schnäppchen," "FitPlus," "Sport Z" and "GlobeTV"). The TME Group in Schlieren contributes two shows ("CasinoZ," "LiveGame"). Four other companies are responsible for the production of one show each. These include Leguan Productions in Thun ("RaveTV"), Murmi Productions in Obfelden ("Murmi"), Cool TV Productions in Wetzikon ("Cool TV") and VCS in Dübendorf ("Der Hammer").
The basic recipe for the form of platform management chosen by ZüriPlus comes from Steinmann himself, who has already been practicing the model with his "GlobeTV" for four years - with success, as he says. In the meantime, the show is already running on eight regional TV stations. Steinmann also pays the stations money to include "GlobeTV" in their programming.
Marketing is built
The second source of income for the local station is sponsors, whose contributions, however, flow directly to the production companies - as a contribution to cover their expenses. Thirdly, ZüriPlus counts on income from the interactive shows "LiveGame" and "CasinoZ. In both of these formats, viewers can participate directly in the action via paid numbers.
Normal TV advertising is also to become a financial mainstay one day. However, the marketing department is still missing. This will be set up "in the foreseeable future," says Chairman Meng. Last but not least, ZüriPlus will also seek contributions from fee-splitting.
Budget figures, meanwhile, are not available from the new station. "We only spend as much money as we earn. That's why we're not in a position to set an annual budget from the outset," explains Steinmann. On the other hand, because the staff is concentrated at the production companies, the payroll of the new station also remains manageable. Initially, a staff of just ten permanent employees is planned, but this will be increased by the end of the year.
Content not reinvented
In terms of content, ZüriPlus positions itself with a 24-hour program of information, sports, entertainment and children's programming. The station relies on the hourly loop that has proven itself in the local TV scene. The core offering is a freshly produced daily main program, which is repeated from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day. During the remaining hours, entertainment programs are scheduled and renewed on a weekly basis.
"We can't and don't want to reinvent television," explains Chairman Meng. ZüriPlus is pursuing the philosophy of "plugging those holes in the existing programming that have not yet been plugged. They will certainly not try to compete with Tele Züri in areas where that station has its strengths. "Nevertheless, there will be some overlap," Meng says.
Tele Züri is relaxed about the new competition. Andreas Meili, head of electronic media at Tamedia, expects "no striking effects" on his station. "I wish ZüriPlus luck, but I'm very skeptical whether the rather unclear concept can work at all." The announced station is a potpourri of Tele Züri, entertainment, children's programs and aerobics, Meili says, adding, "A really promising new station would have to drive a niche and serve viewers with content that is not available in one form or another."
Claudia Steinmann, one of the presenters of ZüriPlus: officially on the airwaves and on cable from the end of March.
Four main shareholdersThe majority of shares in ZüriPlus are held by four main shareholders: Peter Steinmann (Managing Director of ZüriPlus), Hans-Peter Meng (Chairman of the Board of Directors of HTV-Fernsehen AG), René-Henri Isler (Delegate to the Board of Directors) and the public relations entrepreneur Karl F. Schneider (member of the Board of Directors). These four individuals each hold around 15 percent, giving them a combined stake of just over 60 percent. The remaining shares are held by a further 130 or so small shareholders. Editorial director Gian Meyerhofer, who earned his spurs at Tele Züri, TV 3 and Tele M1, does not hold any shares. (dse)
To the border
Due to its more than 20-year history, ZüriPlus is one of the few private stations with terrestrial distribution. This means it can cover the entire area from the Zurich Oberland to the German border. However, the road to the cable networks was rocky. Negotiations with Cablecom stretched on for almost a year. Only after intervention by the Federal Office of Communications and invoking the must-carry rule (Article 42 RTVG) was it finally possible to push through the connection. ZüriPlus has now been present in the cable network of the city of Zurich for a short time. The Zurich Oberland and Winterthur are to follow soon, and negotiations are still underway with their network operators (dse).
Daniel Schifferle

Tamedia The electronic media of the Zurich media group make a jump in sales and yet take in less than in the previous year. The development of electronic media is the only bright spot in Tamedia's provisional sales figures - they show a jump in growth of 104 percent. Due to the consolidation of the Belcom Group and the acquisition of Radio Basilisk, sales rose from 13 to 26 million francs.The only confusion is that the 2001 annual report recorded sales of 27.6 million francs for the electronic media. Where did the difference of 14.6 million francs disappear to? And has sales therefore ultimately fallen?
Accounting transfers
Regula Tschopp, Head of Investor Relations (IR) at Tamedia, solves the mystery: The production company Condor Communications is now listed in the Services division, she explained in response to an inquiry from Werbewoche. As part of a reorganization last summer, company head Martin Kall reorganized the business activities into four divisions: Newspapers, Magazines, Electronic Media and Services, whereas the print media had previously been grouped together. In the process, he said, certain regroupings had been made, including Condor.
If Condor had remained in electronic media, the increase there for 2002 would have been only about 45 percent. The 2001 Services revenue was increased by the reorganization from 81.2 million to 100 million francs. The now narrow increase (by 1 percent) to 101 million Swiss francs would represent a plus of around 24 percent compared with the amount previously reported.
The difference is not exclusively explained by the change of Condor. The production company's sales are likely to be around 15 million Swiss francs this year as well. Regula Tschopp did not want to give any figures. However, she noted that Condor had generally not developed badly and was not one of the "problem children".
Tamedia spokeswoman Franziska Hügli explained that the reorganization of the business units had led to further shifts, which also affected the sales figures and made them comparable with those of the previous year only to a limited extent. "I wouldn't get into such detailed calculations," she warned Werbewoche. She referred to the annual press conference on March 19.
The Group's total operating revenues remain readily comparable. Tamedia generated CHF 639 million in 2002, a decline of 15 percent. The year before, sales had already shrunk by 8 percent. The most unpleasant development was in the Newspaper division, where sales were down 22 percent. On the stock exchange, the poor development apparently no longer surprised anyone: Tamedia's share price even rose by 1.6 percent to 61.50 francs on the day of the announcement.
The decline is also not expected to have any further consequences for the Group itself. Head of IR Tschopp explained that Tamedia had set the course early on with the "Focus" efficiency program of 2001. Last fall, another 28 jobs were cut in the back office, in publishing and in technology. According to Tschopp, these cost-cutting measures should be sufficient. Tamedia is assuming that economic development will remain poor, with a further 15 percent reduction in job advertisements. The consequences of a possible war against Iraq have not been taken into account.
Tamedia shares are worth only a quarter of the issue price Tamedia shares went public at CHF 260 in October 2000. Nothing is left of the price fantasies surrounding the media industry. In mid-February, the share price of the former family-owned company fell below 60 francs for the first time. A development that is likely to cause headaches for Chairman of the Board Hans Heinrich Coninx.
The family's buyback of the shares could be a remedy. At any rate, the NZZ has heard in market circles that Tamedia is planning to go private in its third year on the stock market.
Hans Heinrich Coninx: Concerns about share price.
Stefano Monachesi