The German free newspaper 15 Uhr aktuell is supposed to rise from the dead.Fax Dead said usually live longer
In February, the paper had to declare insolvency. Now, publisher Robert Sidor has found an investor from the Internet industry who has agreed to jump six million marks. Thanks to the financial injection, 15 Uhr aktuell is also to be launched in Frankfurt and brought onto the Internet. A free classifieds and job market on the Web is planned.
New TV rules in German advertising New guidelines for advertising on TV have been in force in the Federal Republic of Germany since April 1. Placement may now deviate from the rigid 20-minute interval in exceptional cases, for example in sports broadcasts. In the split-screen process, which is now permitted, TV spots and content may share the screen. The maximum advertising time of twelve minutes per hour remains unchanged.
Lowe gains sister in Japan Interpublic Group plans to acquire up to 20 percent of Japanese agency Daiko Advertising. Daiko will form an alliance with Interpublic's Lowe Lintas & Partners Worldwide network. Until now, Lowe Lintas Asia in Hong Kong was responsible for the Japanese market. With 14 offices, 26 subsidiaries and affiliates, and billings of
1.4 billion, Daiko is the fourth largest agency in Japan.
UPC instead of Murdoch for TM3? TM3 CEO Herbert Kloiber is apparently on the verge of buying back Rupert Murdoch's shares in the German private TV station. According to press reports, the contracts are to be signed in mid-May. Kloiber wants to win Dutch telecommunications company UPC as a new partner. UPC recently took over Sweden's SBS (part-owner of TV 3), in which Kloiber holds a one percent stake and a seat on the supervisory board.

Publicis brings the Clio MTV first into the foyers, then into the Swiss movie theatersDouble stitching is better than nothing, was probably the advice Publicis' Account Director Philippe Meyer gave Renault. For the launch of the special model, appropriately named Clio MTV, the target audience was to be reached with the Cannes award-winning spot not only in the conformist environment, the cinema. To give it the desired resonance, Publicis organized a teasing promotional event and competition with Cinecom.So the trendy model, which is advertised in communications as a hi-fi system with 98 horsepower, acts as a competition drop box in the foyers of several multiplex cinemas.
To this end, cast actors surprise moviegoers by wiping the floor as humming ushers, singing the line "Get up" from James Brown's classic "Sex Machine," and exaggerating the final note.
The dumbfounded viewers are only given the resolution in the commercial break, because what they have just experienced is based on the concept of the Clio commercial: On an extinct overland road leading through a barren steppe, a barman prancingly mops the floor of his bar every morning, gleefully but annoyingly always singing the same two words "Get up" into the broomstick that serves as his microphone. And always at the same time, the poor sap stands outside to listen to the bass line as well as Brown's primal scream of "Get up, get on up" from a passing Clio MTV with the hi-fi turned up full blast. The highlight of his day. Luca Aloisi

For its fifth birthday, the news magazine undergoes more than just a visual renovationThe lout years are over: Just in time for its first anniversary - Facts is turning five - the news magazine is giving itself a thorough makeover. Less shrill, a calmer layout and a search for the "intelligent" tabloid - these are the recipes. Anyone holding this week's Facts edition in their hands will immediately notice the absence of the previously rather chaotic visual appearance. The articles have a clearer layout, images and text have been disentangled, and the stylistic devices have been reduced. In the future, a lot of emphasis will be placed on high-quality photographs. Although the number of pictures will remain at the same level as before, the number of individual photos will be significantly reduced. "Where we used to have three pictures, there will be just one in the future," says Facts editor-in-chief René Lüchinger.
Extensive corrections have also been made to individual sections. The society section, for example, now has two fewer pages. On the other hand, the domestic and business sections will be slightly expanded. Otherwise, the structure of the magazine remains largely unchanged.
The redesign is based on comprehensive external and internal clarifications: A reader survey, content analysis, a study by the University of Zurich and intensive discussions in the editorial team formed the basis for the reorientation. "Facts is a tabloid and often appears too sensational," says editor-in-chief René Lüchinger, quoting one of the most frequently heard criticisms. And he admits: "We sometimes presented tabloid stories in a way that was too bold.
The new Facts now wants to consciously leave behind its hermaphroditic status as a tabloid magazine. "That doesn't mean, however, that there will be no more tabloid topics in the paper," says Lüchinger, "what's needed is intelligent tabloid that doesn't come across as platitudinous." However, the path to this goal is not quite as easy to impose as a new layout. It's an ongoing process that the editorial team now wants to tackle in a targeted manner.
The long shadow of Kurt Schwerzmann
Facts planned and executed the entire relaunch in-house. Project management was in the hands of Andreas Dietrich. The visual redesign was created by long-time Facts AD Othmar Rothenfluh, office partner of Dietik newspaper designer Kurt Schwerzmann.
The influence of the joint workshop is also unmistakable in the newly designed Facts. This becomes clearly visible when comparing Cash, which was relaunched a few weeks ago and designed by Schwerzmann, with Facts: A visual convergence of the two titles is unmistakable. Daniel Schifferle

The HandelsZeitung publishing group launches its products on the German market.Fax SHZ goes to Germany From March 31, the monthly magazine IO Management will be sold at German newsstands. HandelsZeitung follows on April 5 with an initial circulation of 4000 copies. Axel Springer Verlag has held a majority stake in the publishing group since the beginning of 1999.
Stellenanzeiger Nordostschweiz Schaffhauser Nachrichten launches a new job market on April 5, 2000 - together with its combined partners Thurgauer Zeitung and Landbote. It is published on Wednesday and Saturday as a separate bundle on blue paper. The launch campaign in the Schaffhausen area was designed by the Bern agency Camponovo & Partner.
The Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications has granted the Radio Top local radio network in eastern Switzerland a license for a regional cable program in the cantons of Zurich, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Glarus and Appenzell. The start date is scheduled for October 2, 2000.

Le Temps, the daily newspaper for French-speaking Switzerland, surprises readers with new productsBy Anita Vaucher Le Temps, the daily newspaper for French-speaking Switzerland, liquidated its project for its own Sunday newspaper at the end of 1999. However, the resulting study led to new insights into reader needs. From May, Le Temps will therefore be offering a series of new supplements and the TV magazine Télétemps.
Le Temps, the two-year-old daily newspaper in French-speaking Switzerland, has set its sights high on retaining readers and attracting new ones. At the beginning of May, it plans not only to offer new supplements on key topics, but also to publish its own TV magazine. The reason: the study conducted for the project of a new Sunday newspaper finally led the marketing managers of Le Temps to new paths and new ideas.
Attract new advertisers with sophisticated inserts.
The Habiter real estate supplement, which replaced Temps Immobilier, has been published every Monday since mid-January 2000. The sober real estate gazette has evolved into an attractive product that covers a wide range of topics. From chalet construction to modern interior design and portraits of personalities from the world of art and architecture - there is room for everything. This in turn attracts new advertisers for luxury products.
Starting on May 2, a twelve-page supplement entitled "Sciences et multimédia" will be added to the daily edition every Tuesday. The supplement replaces the sporadic two-page articles on this subject area. Scientific topics and complicated interrelationships are to be presented in the new supplement in a generally understandable way. Here, too, the marketing people at Le Temps are flirting with advertising clients from the multimedia sector.
Tempo, a kind of agenda and calendar of events previously published on Saturdays, now appears on Thursdays because readers apparently want to be better prepared for the events taking place over the weekend in the region and the rest of Switzerland. The magazine-style product now has sixteen pages. In addition, the layout has been revised to make it easier for readers to find their way around.
However, Le Temps readers will be really challenged on Saturdays. The new offer will hardly give them time to read the Sunday newspapers of the competition. The first thing that awaits them is an editorial retrospective of the events of the past week. The fourth bundle, Le Temps weekend, is replaced by Magazine. On twelve pages, it deals with the things that give pleasure in life: Gastronomy, travel, fashion, cars, wellness.
Télétemps wants to be more than a TV program guide
The Samedi culture supplement gets a new look and an expanded range of topics. The literature section in particular will be expanded, and the book reviews will also be extended to paperbacks.
The brand-new product that Le Temps is launching for the first time is called Télétemps. The ambitious project is intended to be much more than a TV program guide. "Television has become part of our existence," says Valérie Boagno, head of marketing at Le Temps. That's why the 56-page magazine will take a close look at this medium with analyses, reports and background reports. The Geneva newspaper makers are benefiting from synergies with Télé-Obs, the successful TV magazine of the Nouvel Observateur.
With the exception of one or two additional journalists, the entire new offering is to be realized with the existing editorial team. The subscription and retail prices will not be changed at the moment.