Anahid Rickmann studied political science at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms University in Bonn, where she also earned her doctorate, according to a statement. From 2003 to 2008, she worked as a press spokesperson at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) in Frankfurt am Main, which gave her a broad knowledge of the automotive industry and an in-depth insight into the relationships between car manufacturers and their supplier companies. From 2008 to 2011, she was Axpo's media spokesperson. Before joining Autoneum, she expanded her communications portfolio as an independent PR consultant for SMEs in the automotive trade and financial services sectors. She has extensive experience in internal and external communications with a focus on business communications. Anahid Rickmann reports to Urs Leinhäuser, CFO & Deputy CEO. Autoneum produces systems for acoustic comfort and heat protection in motor vehicles. Headquartered in Winterthur, the company employs around 9'600 people worldwide.

Advertising for alcoholic beverages and sports are "fundamentally incompatible," according to the Blue Cross. The ban on advertising spirits in force at national level should be extended to all alcoholic beverages, it says. In August 2012, the Zurich cantonal association of the Blue Cross launched the cantonal popular initiative "No advertising of alcoholic beverages on sports fields as well as at sports events in the canton of Zurich". Already one month before the end of the collection period, the necessary 6000 signatures were received, writes the Blue Cross in its communication. However, the collection will continue until February.

An alcohol ban in sports stadiums actually already exists on paper, but is often disregarded. According to the cantonal health law, alcohol advertising is prohibited on public property and in public buildings. An ordinance explicitly mentions "cultural, educational and sports facilities" as "public buildings". The Blue Cross now wants to achieve a concrete legal regulation. It proposes an amendment to the health law with the wording "Prohibited is the advertising of any alcoholic beverages on sports fields as well as at sporting events." In the longer term, however, Blue Cross' commitment is aimed at obtaining a national ban on alcohol advertising in the sporting environment. (SDA)
 

Renzen Communications is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013, while Defacto also has 15 years of experience, according to the press release. The services of the two agencies complement each other and will provide added value for future clients, Renzen said in a press release. While Renzen is a classic agency for branding, promotion, design, dialog communication and public relations, Defacto also has expertise in the areas of online communication, social media and guerrilla marketing.

Frédéric Renzen takes over as CEO. Dieter Zobrist, the previous main shareholder of Defacto, will become Managing Director and partner at Renzen. The Defacto team will move from Stadtbachhof to Gönhardweg in Aarau on April 1, 2013.

This winter, SBB and ÖV are once again tempting customers with over 100 combined offers. From tobogganing adventures to wellness experiences, there should be something for everyone, according to the press release, which also shows the spot from Contexta. It takes TV viewers on the journey of an active young man - a reflection of the sporty core target group - across snow-covered Switzerland, through all kinds of winter activities and acquaintances that change at the breathtaking pace of the match cuts.

But this winter, the company aims to boost sales in leisure travel not only with a TV commercial, but also with monthly changing poster campaigns around Swiss train stations, POS brochures, and online displays.

Responsible at SBB: Reto Meissner (Head of Marketing Communications Passenger Transport), Petra Thomann (Project Manager Marketing Communications, Leisure Campaign). Responsible at Contexta: Nadine Borter (overall responsibility), Moritz Staehelin (creative direction), Willem Baumann (art direction), Vanessa Mermoud (graphics), Daniel Müller (text), Evelyn Brodmann, Monika Siegenthaler (consulting). Film production: Shining Pictures, Zurich, Marco Lutz (direction), Stefan Bircher (production). Photography: Jonathan Heyer. Image editing: Patrik Rohner.
 

With the help of the special software, the Iranian authorities want to introduce restricted and controlled access to internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. "Intelligent control of social networks is better than a complete ban," the country's police chief, Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam, told the daily newspaper 7sobh on Sunday, according to SDA. With such software, the disadvantages of the networks could be avoided and the advantages used, he explained. According to SDA, something else could indicate plans for the selective use of Facebook: An apparently official page of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had appeared on Facebook in mid-November.

Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are subject to state censorship in Iran, as are many other websites. Facebook and Twitter played a major role in organizing the protests against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. Since then, a specially established internet police force has been monitoring blogs critical of the government. Several bloggers have been imprisoned in recent years as a result of this control.

According to the SDA, just under half of the Islamic Republic's 75 million inhabitants use the internet. And many circumvent censorship by using illegally traded software that enables free access to the internet or by using encrypted systems such as VPNs.

So if the authorities' control software does not work or is circumvented, the government can still train half of the population as social network spies to monitor the other half on social networks. Because "intelligent control is better than complete blocking".

He made it very clear that he would not be available as co-editor-in-chief, Hansi Voigt told Sonntag. This may have been taken as a lack of willingness to compromise. He could understand that you don't promote the person who puts a gun to your head, Voigt said in an interview with Sonntag. In addition, he would have pursued a completely opposite concept. He wanted to place all content decisions at 20 Minuten in the online editorial department. Because that's where all decisions can be made: "What do we do immediately, what today, what tomorrow? What big, what small? What will be filmed, what will be written, what will be printed?". Print producers would then have written the print edition based on this in the evening.

In an interview with Sonntag, Hansi Voigt specifically criticized the cost-cutting measures at 20 Minuten: "Tamedia made a profit of CHF 170 million last year and 20 Minuten contributed the most to this," said Voigt. The returns at 20 Minuten are over 20 percent. "This would be a good way to help journalism out of the alleged crisis," says Voigt. Unfortunately, however, the major publishing houses are currently not investing in better content or new media models, but are instead buying up companies that have nothing to do with the enormous value that editorial teams create for publishers. Voigt cites the Jobs.ch portal, which Tamedia bought together with Ringier for CHF 390 million, as an example.

Does the paywall model work?

Voigt sees the paywall as a model for success only to a limited extent. The paywall could work for national media such as the NZZ. Otherwise, he is skeptical, Voigt told Sonntag. Because putting up a paywall would mean that the brand would lose its digital future. He is particularly skeptical about metered paywalls. As more and more users have their information influenced by recommendations on Facebook or Twitter, people no longer go directly to the media brand if they have to pay after clicking five times. "Instead, you let your friends make a choice," explains Voigt.

Demand for a Google tax

For Voigt, the much-discussed call from publishers for a Google tax shows above all a deep lack of understanding for digital developments. He agrees that dominant brands such as Apple or Google must be subject to clear rules, Hansi Voigt told Sonntag. However, this should not protect the "sinecures of publishers". The rules should be introduced because it would make social sense. Hansi Voigt considers the publishers' call for a Google tax to be implausible, as he told Sonntag: "You can't keep cheering for the market and competition and then call for the state when you have competition because returns are falling."

Both agencies were previously based at Katharina-Sulzer-Platz in Winterthur. All services will remain the same for customers, Werbestadt said in a press release.

Since mid-December, the SRF channels can also be viewed on their Internet portal. The standardized website was launched as part of media convergence (Werbewoche.ch reported). While SRF previously only offered recordings, now only a computer with Internet access is required to watch the channels live. As every user who has a device for live reception of programs has to pay, the federal government is now examining a stricter rule regarding Billag fees. This is according to the NZZ am Sonntag. According to the Federal Office of Communications, a computer with Internet access is sufficient for radio fees. For television fees, however, an account with an Internet television provider such as Zattoo or Wilmaa was previously also required.

However, since SRF channels have been accessible without registration since December 16, every computer user with Internet access would now also have to pay television fees. "SRF's internet live stream has changed the conditions for the obligation to pay fees. We are therefore reviewing the requirements," says Bakom spokeswoman Caroline Sauser according to NZZ am Sonntag. The company Billag, which collects the fees on behalf of the federal government, is now also taking action, according to NZZ am Sonntag. Billag spokesperson Johnny Kopp says: "In our view, the current criteria for television reception via computer and Internet have become obsolete due to technical developments. The situation will be discussed with the Federal Office of Communications "and a joint solution will be worked out". If the new rule comes into force, computer owners will pay CHF 169.15 per year for radio reception and CHF 293.25 per year for television reception.

However, a change to the Billag fee system is already being planned in parliament, according to which all households would have to pay a fee in future. It is therefore still unclear whether the Federal Office of Communications really wants to change the guidelines, as the NZZ writes. Meanwhile, SRG, the largest recipient of the annual fee, emphasizes that the introduction of Internet television was not guided by the political debate, but merely by the needs of viewers. Other television providers have already been broadcasting their programs live via the Internet for some time.

Kantar Media Switzerland is currently building a new panel from scratch with new panel households and, of course, new hardware and software (Werbewoche.ch reported). For this reason, no data from the new television panel will be published in the first week of January, as Public Data writes in a press release on Friday. Mediapulse and Publica Data will present the initial results at a media conference on January 9, when the first week of measurement from the new Mediapulse TV panel is available.

The television figures for the 2nd half of 2012 are as follows Publicdata.ch viewable.

The admission of guilt has not changed the situation, said Franz Steinegger, Chairman of the NZZ Board of Directors, in response to an inquiry from SDA. Hummler would not be asked to resign. In any case, this is not a matter for the board of directors, but rather for the general meeting of shareholders. According to SDA, Hummler himself would not comment on his future on the board of directors of the NZZ media group.

The Tagi now costs CHF 3.50 - 30 centimes more. The Tages-Anzeiger will also be 5 percent more expensive for an annual subscription and will now cost CHF 441, as confirmed by the Tamedia subscription service. The price increase for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is 5.5 percent. The subscription now costs 628 francs. The NZZ remains unchanged at 4.20 francs for individual sales.

In contrast, the price increase for the Blick subscription is relatively modest at around 2 percent. Subscribers to the tabloid will now pay CHF 339. Blick will continue to cost 2 francs when sold individually.

Various regional newspapers have also become more expensive from January. The Aargauer Zeitung, Berner Zeitung and Bund, for example, each cost 20 centimes more when sold individually. Subscription prices rose slightly or remained stable. In French-speaking Switzerland, subscription prices for Le Matin, Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures rose by an average of around 5 percent. The three titles belonging to the Tamedia Group increased by 20 centimes in individual sales.

The majority of subscription services cited lower advertising revenue as the reason for the increase. Others justified the price increase with a harmonization of prices within a media group or additional offers such as the e-paper for tablets and computers. (SDA)

As part of an agreement with the competition authorities, the internet company must grant its competitors access to basic smartphone and tablet technologies from its subsidiary Motorola. In addition, advertisers are to be given more freedom in their online campaigns. But the most serious accusation, that Google had disadvantaged other websites in Internet searches in favor of its own services, was dropped. "The concessions made by Google ensure that consumers can continue to enjoy the benefits of competition in the online and mobile markets," explained the head of the competition authority, Jon Leibowitz, in Washington on Thursday according to SDA.

However, the outcome of similar proceedings before the EU Commission is still open. According to SDA, this also involves the accusation that Google has put competitors at a disadvantage in its leading Internet search engine.