Ombudsman objects to "Tagesschau" report on Operation Libero

SRG Ombudsman Roger Blum has partially upheld a complaint regarding a «Tagesschau» report on Operation Libero.

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In the sensitive phase - three weeks before the ballot - the rule had been scratched that before votes the different positions had to be presented equally. Swiss television SRF had reported on the political movement Operation Libero in the May 14 "Tagesschau." The program shed light on how the organization works, why young people joined it and what their chances of survival are. One complainant doubted the information content of the report and found that it actively promoted the upcoming vote on the revision of the asylum law, as the SRG ombudsman's office announced on Tuesday. For the ombudsman, the choice of topic and the issues addressed were legitimate. However, it was problematic that the broadcast showed a poster for the revision of the asylum law as well as the placing of a "Yes" on the ballot paper by a member of Operation Libero. (SDA)

Last but not least: Schönbi changes

FCZ player Marco Schönbächler is moving on. To the Swiss champion... in telecommunications. Let the film begin.

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Marco Schönbächler did not have an easy time last year. The former FCZ youngster soon played his way up to become a beacon of hope and made his debut for the senior national team in 2014. Everything was going well when a complicated injury stopped him in his tracks. Instead of the Bundesliga, he went into therapy - and (according to NZZ) no fewer than 15 doctors, none of whom really knew what to do. A specialist in London finally discovered a torn ligament in the pelvic region and operated on the patient around a year after his last game. At least Schönbächler did not experience his parent club's relegation to the (exciting!) Challenge League on the pitch. But he will certainly see his club promoted again the season after next (FC Aarau are up first). Until things get going again, the hopefully well-rested returnee is passing the time with advertising appearances for the main sponsor Netstream. And almost as convincingly as Mr. Fischer from the Fischer bedding factory. Since things can almost only get better, FCZ are probably facing rosy times again. (hae)

https://vimeo.com/165902532

Already 1.3 million Swisscom customers make calls via the Internet

The digitization of telephony in Switzerland is making progress. 1.3 million Swisscom landline customers now make calls over the Internet. The plug will be pulled on analog voice telephony at the end of 2017.

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From then on, the good old dial telephone will finally be a thing of the past. Beat Döös, head of the switchover to IP technology at Swisscom, told the media in Zurich on Tuesday that 60 percent of the customer base had already switched to telephony via Internet Protocol (IP): "We are on track." It is realistic that Swisscom will have converted all analog connections by the end of 2017. Switzerland's largest telecommunications group had already announced in March 2014 that it would bury analog voice telephony at the end of 2017, almost 160 years after its invention by Johann Philipp Reis. Analog telephony is on the brink of extinction, said Döös: "There are fewer and fewer spare parts and specialists." Hardly any manufacturers are continuing to develop this technology. From the end of 2017, customers who only want to make calls with Swisscom will also need a router to connect their phone. The good old dial telephone will therefore be obsolete, explained Döös. ISDN telephones would also no longer work for private customers. However, this is no longer a major problem. Today, only 4 percent of all private customers still have ISDN. The situation is different for SMEs, where ISDN is still much more widespread. They are offered a router with which ISDN telephones can still be used, explained Döös.

Disadvantage in the event of a power failure

The disadvantage of Internet telephony is that it is no longer possible to make calls if the router or power fails. In addition, it is no longer possible to locate the caller. The old analog telephone, on the other hand, works independently of the power supply at home and can be located. With Internet technology, the landline number from home can also be used in the vacation chalet. However, if the vacation home is on fire, an emergency call from this number would send the fire department to the home instead of the vacation home. "Because the fire department doesn't know that I'm in the vacation home," said Döös. Swisscom has solved the problem today by requiring the customer to confirm the use of the landline number while on the move. However, 80 to 90 percent of all emergency calls already come from cell phones. To ensure that you can be reached in the event of a power cut, you can already switch your landline phone to a cell phone. This means you can still be reached if the power fails.

Special applications as a challenge

Döös admitted that special applications such as lift telephones, alarm systems or home automation devices are a major challenge: "We assume that there are 100,000 lift systems with telephones, 100,000 alarm systems and 100,000 other special applications. That's a good 10 percent of all fixed network connections." However, solutions are already available for all such cases. Swisscom is in close contact with the lift manufacturers. The trend today is for more and more mobile telephones to be installed in lifts. However, a combination of fixed network and mobile phone technology could also be used in lifts, said Döös. Most cell phone antennas are equipped with batteries so that the mobile network can still function for an hour in the event of a power failure. The emergency call centers of the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) also have to change their technology. The SRC offers wristbands with alarm buttons, for example. Döös told the sda news agency that talks were underway with the SRC. Nothing will change for customers of these bracelets.

Finally a spam list

However, making calls using Internet technology also has a number of advantages, said Döös. For example, the landline number can be used on the move with a cell phone. And the voice quality is better. In addition, the display no longer just shows the caller's number, but their full name, unless the caller has had it blocked. Customers can also set up an individual blacklist with numbers of annoying callers. From the end of the year, Swisscom will also be offering a spam filter to prevent unwanted advertising calls, said Döös. This filter is based on a dynamic blacklist that is self-learning. Sunrise is also evaluating possible solutions against unwanted advertising calls, said spokesman Roger Schaller. These are to be introduced in around a year. No one at cable network operator UPC could be reached for comment. (SDA)

CFO Alois Bearth leaves Somedia

After more than 23 years, Alois Bearth, CFO and Deputy CEO, has decided to leave Somedia for personal reasons in order to take an extended break and pursue long-held plans.

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A successor is being sought jointly by Andrea Masüger (CEO) and Alois Bearth (CFO). Alois Bearth is expected to remain at Somedia's disposal until the end of December 2016. He will also remain a shareholder of Somedia AG and a member of the Board of Directors.

In 1993, Alois Bearth joined the then Gasser AG Druck und Verlag as chief accountant, and since 1996, as director of Somedia AG (holding company), he has managed the central services of the entire media group, which currently has over 800 employees and sales of around CHF 130 million. Alois Bearth has also been deputy CEO since 2010. According to the statement, Bearth's achievements regarding Somedia's largest project, the realization of the media house on Sommeraustrasse in Chur, deserve special mention. Thanks to his calm, analytical approach and above-average dedication, the project was completed on time and on budget, it says.

Within the company management, Thomas Kundert, Managing Director Advertising and User Market, will assume the position of Deputy CEO as of January 1, 2017.

How Switzerland googles the festival summer

Summertime is festival time. Google Trends reveals which open-air events, festivals, and music acts the Swiss have searched for the most.

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In the last 30 days, the Openair St. Gallen was the most searched for event in Switzerland on Google.ch, followed by the Montreux Jazz Festival, Openair Frauenfeld, Gurtenfestival and Moon and Stars.

Openairs / Festivals:

1st Open Air St. Gallen
2nd Montreux Jazz Festival
3rd Open Air Frauenfeld
4th Gurtenfestival
5 Moon and Stars

Search period: CH, last 30 days

The Montreux Jazz Festival was searched for the most in Valais, followed by the cantons of Vaud and Neuchâtel. It is interesting to note that the Open Air St. Gallen was most searched for in Appenzell Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden, ahead of St. Gallen itself. There is no big surprise with Open Air Frauenfeld, where the most searches were made in Thurgau, but the second most in Nidwalden and third in Schaffhausen.

What are the most sought-after artists who will be performing at the big festivals?

The most searched artists in 2016:

1st Muse (Montreux, Gurten)
2nd Sido (Frauenfeld)
3rd Bastian Baker (St.Gallen, Gurten)
4th Radiohead (St.Gallen)
5th Patent Ochsner (St.Gallen)
6. 50 Cent (Frauenfeld)
7th Santana (Montreux)
8th Lana del Rey (Montreux, Moon and Stars)
9th Kygo (Gurten)
10th Wiz Khalifa (Frauenfeld)

Search period: CH, January-June 2016

The rock band Muse was the most frequently searched for on Google.ch in 2016. They will be performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Gurtenfestival. Rapper Sido was the second most frequently searched for, followed by Bastian Baker. This means that a Swiss person is also represented in the top positions.

The following chart shows which music acts performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival were searched for most frequently:

Music acts Montreux Jazz Festival:

1st Muse
2 Lana del Rey
3. Neil Young
4th Patti Smith
5. deep purple

Search period: CH, last 30 days

The rock band Muse was searched for most frequently, followed by Lana del Rey, Neil Young, Patti Smith and the rock band Deep Purple.

It is also interesting to see which artists performing at Open Air St. Gallen were searched for the most on Google.ch. Radiohead is in first place, followed by the Swiss acts Bastian Baker and Sophie Hunger.

Music acts Open Air St. Gallen:

1. radiohead
2nd Bastian Baker
3rd Sophie Hunger
4th Jess Glynne
5. fat bread

Search period: CH, last 30 days

Music acts Openair Frauenfeld:

1. 50 cents
2. sido
3rd Wiz Khalifa
4. flower pot
5th Young Thug

Search period: CH, last 30 days

If you compare which acts from Openair Frauenfeld have been searched for most frequently on Google.ch, US rapper 50 Cent is in first place. The podium is completed by rapper Sido and Wiz Khalifa.

Music acts Gurtenfestival:

1st Muse
2. james bay
3. Paul Kalkbrenner
4th Rea Garvey
5 John Newman

Search period: CH, last 30 days

Even if you compare which music acts from the Gurtenfestival have been searched for most frequently on Google.ch, the rock band Muse is at the top. James Bay and Paul Kalkbrenner follow in second and third place.

If you compare the acts at the Moon and Stars Festival in Locarno, the band Earth, Wind & Fire is at the top of the most searched acts, ahead of the Swiss band Pegasus and the German rapper Cro. In 4th and 5th place are Ellie Goulding and Lana del Rey.

Music acts Moon and Stars:

1. earth, wind & fire
2. pegasus
3rd Cro
4th Ellie Goulding
5 Lana del Rey

Search period: CH, last 30 days

Method

The search terms were collected using Google Trends. Google Trends is a public tool that can be used to display the popularity of individual search terms as a snapshot - to the minute in real time - and track them over a selected period of time. Search query trends" can be used to quickly determine what people in Switzerland are currently searching for or have searched for in the past few days. The evaluations are based on Switzerland-wide Google search queries.

Teaser image: Gallery.openairsg.ch

Beijing propaganda rap aims to correct "false image of China"

The Communist Party of China has released a rap song. It is intended to explain «the truth» about the country to foreigners.

rap

The singer of the music video entitled "This is China", which has already been shared thousands of times in China, begins by saying that he wants to "correct the impression" that foreigners have of his country. A "false image" has been "spread by the international media", he writes in English. The song then describes numerous problems in China. It mentions environmental concerns, the fight against corruption and the major milk scandal from 2008, as well as images of a landslide in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, which killed more than 70 people last year. "A big country is really hard to manage," he then sings. But despite this, the Chinese still love their country. The "red dragon is not an evil" and China is a "peaceful place", continues the chorus of the song, which was posted online by a youth organization of the party.

In addition to China's technological achievements, the song is also about the country's foreign policy. Regarding its neighbor Taiwan, which sees itself as an independent democracy but is considered a renegade province by Beijing, it says: "Normal citizens simply want us to be united because we belong to the same family." A wish that at least many Taiwanese would not share. (SDA)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ug6hehTyY

Basel West: New reporting by the FHNW

To mark its tenth anniversary, the FHNW is moving away from its previous reporting format—extensive brochures—and adapting it to new needs and media possibilities.

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The new annual report is published as a slim leaflet, and a new E-magazine provides insight into selected projects and activities. In the first issue, readers will learn, among other things, how the use of business software contributes to the productivity of Swiss SMEs, what the Roman city of Augusta Raurica looked like 2,000 years ago, and how schoolchildren acquire competence in the use of digital media. Each article is tagged with hashtags. This allows users to immediately find the relevant topics along their interests. The magazine appears every four months and is announced with a newsmail.

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Responsible at University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW: Project management: Johanna Cantz (project management). Responsible at Basel West: Consulting: Markus Siegenthaler (consulting); Design: Manuel Bürli (design); Editing: Stephan Lichtenhahn (editing); Dominik Plüss (photography), Daniel Kunz (photography); Jonathan Hess (video).

Last but not least: carousel for big kids

What a great idea: In London, Europcar and Mercedes-Benz have set up a carousel featuring real cars.

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europcar

As a child, you used to sit in the most beautiful car on the merry-go-round and imagine that you were doing more than just driving in circles. When did you actually stop doing that? And why? The Parisian agency Rosapark has brought childlike reverie back into the adult world and awakened the child in man (and woman) in London. For Europcar and Mercedes-Benz. Regardless of whether they rent or buy after daydreaming - the customers are satisfied. (hae)

Internet use in Switzerland - how digital are the Swiss?

The latest infographic from Namics takes a look behind the digital scenes in Switzerland.

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With the help of figures from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the market research company GfK, the full-service digital agency is investigating the question: How digital are the Swiss?

Namics_Intranetnutzung_Schweiz_2016

Infographic 2016 (PDF)

The user figures provide an initial answer to this: 5.77 million people aged 14 and over use the internet, while 0.79 million are still offline and live behind the (digital) moon, so to speak. The Swiss are particularly active in the area of e-commerce. Last year, they turned over 7.2 billion Swiss francs in this area. This is astonishing, given that the figure was only 3.8 billion in 2010 (Infographic 2010, PDF).

Companies currently planning to expand into Switzerland should take a close look here in particular: Travel providers can hope for strong sales, but food retailers cannot. This is because the results for online shopping show that travel is most frequently booked online, while products such as food, cosmetics or flowers are preferred to be purchased in bricks-and-mortar stores. It is also worth taking a look at the financial transactions of the Swiss: online shopping is popular, but not with digital payment services. Payment is mostly made by credit card. Payment systems such as PayPal are on the rise, but are used the least (27%).

There is also potential for optimization when it comes to e-banking. Only 51 percent use this option for online purchases. 53 percent still prefer conventional payments in the land of banks. If you want to reduce checkout abandonment, a wide range of payment options is recommended - this is also what Swiss consumers want.

Those who do not consume goods like to watch films on the web, use online TV and radio or are active on social networks. Marketing and digital experts can gain more insights into Swiss internet usage in the latest infographic.

Author of the study: Thomas Link, Creative Director and Partner at Namics.
 

Rocket Film strengthens team

Rocket Film welcomes its fourth producer: Ricardo Colacurcio will join the team in July 2016 and become a partner in the company at the same time.

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Together with the young producer, Rocket Films wants to drive forward the interdisciplinary and cross-media course. According to the press release, Colacurcio has the right skills for this: He started his professional career as a photo assistant before switching to moving images. After four years as a production assistant at Condor Films (television department and advertising film), he developed into a seasoned production manager. After almost two more years as a freelancer, producer and agency producer, he joined Rocket Film has already worked on various projects. With Colacurcio's know-how, his network in the film industry and his expertise in digital and new technologies, Rocket Film should now be optimally positioned for all challenges.

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Radio 1 with fresh sound layout and new news storytelling

Radio 1 has given its sound design a comprehensive «refresh.» In addition, the station has created a new form of storytelling for its primetime news broadcasts. This approach takes into account changes in how listeners consume news.

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"The sound layout conveys and underlines the values of a radio station," said Head of Presentation and Program Development Marc Jäggi in a statement. "Together with the sound designers from Reelworld London and our layout producer Fred Voisard, we have created an acoustic package that makes the content and music of Radio 1 even more accessible to a very discerning audience," Jäggi continued. The result is songs and jingles that appeal to Radio 1's adult target group.

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The station is also breaking new ground with the news. The news on the half hour is now presented in Swiss German and supplemented with a moderator's interview. "This gives us the opportunity to set more priorities. Listeners are informed even more comprehensively about the main topic of the hour and thus also have something to talk about. We achieve this in prime time with new, unique storytelling," explains Editor-in-Chief Jan Vontobel. This will bring Radio 1 even closer to listeners and complement the information on offer alongside the magazine programs "Kompakt am Mittag" and "Kompakt am Abend" and the news on the hour with a concept that is unique in the private radio landscape.
 

New appeal possibilities before the UBI

The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) is now also responsible for handling complaints regarding online content and other journalistic offerings from the Swiss Radio and Television Corporation (SRG).

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The legal framework for this additional supervisory activity is largely the same as for proceedings against radio and television broadcasters. Until now, the UBI was exclusively responsible for dealing with complaints against radio and television broadcasters of Swiss broadcasters. Complaints could be made about radio and television broadcasts and the refusal of access to programming. With the entry into force of amendments to the Radio and Television Act, complaints against online content and other SRG journalistic offerings, which, like teletext and the Swissinfo information platform, also form part of the programming mandate, have also been possible since 1 July.

The procedure largely corresponds to that for radio and television broadcasts. A complaint can be submitted to the relevant ombudsman's office within 20 days of publication or after a request for access has been rejected. The ombudsman's offices mediate between the parties involved and provide information on the results of their investigations in a report. Once the proceedings before the ombudsman's office have been concluded, a complaint can be lodged with the UBI. The UBI must assess whether the relevant broadcasting law has been violated. This includes, in particular, the principles of information, such as the principle of fairness and diversity, the observance of fundamental rights (e.g. protection of human dignity, prohibition of discrimination) and the protection of minors.

The entry into force of the amendment to the law also extends the right of appeal before the UBI. If they are personally affected, both Swiss and foreign persons are now entitled to lodge an appeal. The right of appeal remains limited to persons with Swiss citizenship or a residence or settlement permit in the case of popular complaints.

The UBI is an extra-parliamentary commission of the Swiss Confederation. It is organized like a court and is chaired by Vincent Augustin, a lawyer from Chur. The UBI's deliberations are generally public and its decisions can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. As with the ombudsman's offices, proceedings before the UBI are generally free of charge.
 

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