The Glarus-based chocolate manufacturer Läderach is focusing on further growth and has appointed two women to its management team.

As of September 1, 39-year-old Yvonne Breier will start as Chief Marketing Officer. She has extensive experience in the industry. Most recently, she was Head of Marketing and a member of the Executive Board at Kägi. She succeeds Patrick Farinato, who left the company at the end of February. Since then, Elias Läderach has been managing the marketing division on an interim basis.

44-year-old Barbara Wieser is joining the chocolate manufacturer from her own executive search company Digitalheads, whose operational activities she is handing over to new hands. From August 1, she will be responsible for HR, corporate communications and sustainability management at Läderach. This position on the Executive Board has been newly created in order to "better reflect the increasing importance of these core topics", according to the statement.

With the new dual appointment, Läderach's Executive Board now consists of CMO Yvonne Breier, Chief HR, Sustainability and Communications Officer Barbara Wieser, CEO Johannes Läderach, Chief Innovation Officer Elias Läderach, CFO Marco Heyn, COO Laurens van den Berg and CSO Nathanael Hausmann.

The committee with the name "RSO ds Radio vu do blibt do" has been collecting signatures against the decision since the end of January, the committee wrote in a press release on Wednesday. "Many people in the cantons of Graubünden, Glarus and St. Gallen want the decision to award the radio license for the years 2025-2034 to be reconsidered and go back to Radio Südostschweiz."

At the beginning of the year, the Graubünden-based broadcaster Radio Südostschweiz, part of the Somedia Group, lost its license after 35 years when the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) awarded radio licenses (Werbewoche.ch reported). The contract was awarded to Zurich media entrepreneur Roger Schawinski, who submitted an application for a new radio station under the name Radio Alpin.

At the end of April, Schawinski also announced that he wanted to use the name "Radio Grischa" for his new Graubünden radio station. Until 2015, however, today's Radio Südostschweiz from Chur broadcast under the name Radio Grischa. The station was then renamed. (SDA/swi)

Pfiffner has worked for Top Media since 2005. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2019 and Managing Director since 2021. In summer 2023, the 43-year-old also took over the position of Editor-in-Chief. He now wants to take his time to decide on the next stage in his career, he was quoted as saying in the press release.

In the press release, the Board of Directors particularly emphasized the retention of the TV license and the "strong regional public service", which are thanks to Pfiffner and his team. The successor to Pfiffner is reportedly still open.

The top media include Radio Top and Tele Top. The broadcasting area includes the cantons of Zurich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau and St. Gallen. The radio also covers the Appenzell cantons. (SDA)

The small chamber approved the Digisanté program on Wednesday with 34 votes in favour, one against and five abstentions. The business is therefore ready for the final vote.

The need for action is high, said committee spokesperson Peter Hegglin (center/ZG). In international studies, the Swiss healthcare system occupies top positions in terms of quality. In contrast, Switzerland regularly ranks at the bottom in terms of digitalization in this area. The coronavirus pandemic has clearly demonstrated these deficits.

Compatibility of systems

With Digisanté, the federal government aims to improve the quality of treatment, the efficiency and transparency of the healthcare system and patient safety. One of the reasons for this is that hospitals and doctors' practices have been working digitally for a long time, but with different programs. As a result, a lot of data has to be recorded multiple times, which is a source of error.

The entire program comprises around 50 projects. The aim of the program is in particular to better coordinate systems and processes in the healthcare sector. In particular, the federal government wants to digitalize registers, reporting systems and information platforms from end to end and ensure that they can communicate with other IT systems.

In principle, the bill was not very controversial. However, concerns became clear during the debate. Baptiste Hurni (SP/NE) wanted to know from the Federal Council what the projects actually meant for patients. After all, the focus should be on their needs and not those of the administration or service providers.

Reservations about "huge project"

Like Hurni, Hannes Germann (SVP/SH) also referred to difficulties with the last major digitization project - the Electronic Patient Record (EPR). With Digisanté, we are now "really on track", said Germann. Because standardized solutions are needed for the whole of Switzerland.

"I find it difficult to agree to a huge project when it comes to IT," said Pirmin Schwander (SVP/SZ). He cited the difficulties with major federal IT projects in the past - such as the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security and the Tax Administration. He would therefore abstain from voting.

Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider assured that lessons had been learned from the mistakes made with the EPD. There is close cooperation with the various stakeholders.

The Health Committee of the Council of States had unanimously requested the adoption of the bill. It also expressly supported the close monitoring of the program by Parliament as decided by the National Council. This involves guidelines for the Department of Home Affairs regarding the objectives of Digisanté, controlling and the involvement of the parties concerned. Annual reporting to Parliament is also planned. (SDA)

For founder Sandra Stella-Triebl, "The League of Leading Ladies LLL" should not be just another business club with yet another annual meeting for a few select female entrepreneurs. So the entrepreneur, publisher and journalist created a concept for a conference that was also open to non-members and both women and men. It was also to be a "high-caliber, multi-day event with speakers from all over the world".

This year's League of Leading Ladies Conference focused on "The Art of Abundance", how to draw on the full in times of crisis. Various speakers demonstrated how to deal with the current challenges and regain strength and energy.

Empowering Women Award for gender medicine pioneer

Since 2022, the "Empowering Woman Award" has been presented at the League of Leading Ladies Conference in cooperation with Porsche Switzerland. The award goes to a woman who supports and empowers other women. Nominations for this award are open to the public, and a small jury consisting of Uli Rotzinger from the Blick Group, the deputy chairwoman of the TimeEditor-in-chief Charlotte Parnack and LLL founder Sandra Stella-Triebl make the selection.

This year, over 300 women from the Ladies Drive Network were nominated for the Empowering Women Award 2024. The reasons for the nominations include respect, recognition and the desire to make women like them visible and to support them in their work without reservation.

Out of all these nominations, the jury chose Dr. Antonella Santuccione Chadha. The scientist founded the Women's Brain Project (WBP) in 2016 with the aim of investigating the connection between gender and brain and mental illnesses. The core of the research is that diseases never affect women and men in the same way and therefore medications also work differently. As a pioneer of gender medicine and because of her work and impact on women around the world, Chadha was awarded the EWA.

"We have to acknowledge that a change has taken place in the last four years with regard to the behavior of our customers," Swiss Post Group CEO Roberto Cirillo told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday. The services at the counter are being used less and less. This is why Swiss Post has to adapt its network.

Swiss Post said in response to an inquiry that there would be no redundancies as a result of the reduction. Cirillo said that due to the large number of retirements, Swiss Post would be hiring more staff across the whole of Switzerland over the next few years rather than laying them off. "We will have to see whether it will be different at a specific location," said Cirillo.

Branches become "service centers"

According to Cirillo, it has not yet been decided which locations will be closed. Swiss Post will continue to have a nationwide network with 600 company-operated branches and 2,000 staffed locations throughout Switzerland, "in the valleys as well as in the cities". But the formats are changing.

The branches will be further developed into "service centers", Swiss Post wrote. It is working together with banks, health insurance companies, insurance companies and authorities. Over the next four years, Swiss Post will invest more than 100 million francs in staff, the modernization of branches and new formats.

For locations where post offices have to be closed, Swiss Post will work with the municipalities to find successor solutions. For example, the "branch with partner" format or the home delivery service have proven successful. "We are confident that the population will continue to enjoy a high quality of public service from Swiss Post in the future," said Cirillo.

Expand position

As a provider of digital communication services, Swiss Post also wants to promote the digital transformation in Switzerland and ensure the secure handling of data for all private individuals, companies and authorities, according to the press release. The vehicle fleet is to be converted to emission-free drives and Swiss Post will invest in the charging infrastructure in Switzerland.

However, in order for Swiss Post to continue to develop in the future and finance the public service without taxpayers' money, it needs "appropriate legal and regulatory framework conditions". Swiss Post therefore expects politicians to set the course for Swiss Post's universal service mandate from 2030. (SDA)

Anyone who shares their personal card details or authorizes fraudulent payments is falling into the trap of fraudsters. They rely on the gullibility and carelessness of their victims. Phishing is by far the most common scam.

This is exactly where the police come in. With its "Card Security" prevention initiative, it has been providing information about current fraud scams and precautionary measures for over ten years. This year's prevention campaign on the subject of phishing starts on Wednesday. It was designed and implemented by The PR Factory agency.

Fishermen against phishing

"We have been looking after card security since the beginning. Over the years, the focus has shifted significantly - from crimes at ATMs and payment terminals to online crimes," explains Andrea Miolo-Eberhard, owner and managing director of The PR Factory in Zurich. "In our prevention work, the focus is on constant repetition. Card crimes are almost exclusively the result of carelessness on the part of cardholders. This makes it all the more important that the prevention messages are known and internalized. With this year's campaign, we are therefore deliberately building on last year's and focusing on the topic of phishing with the already familiar and eye-catching "Fischer".

Online and offline campaign

The campaign will be broadcast throughout Switzerland in two waves in spring and fall 2024. Online banners on news channels and advertising on social media platforms are planned. An online competition with a knowledge test will also be launched. Police forces and financial institutions are also supporting the campaign by distributing flyers and drawing attention to Card Security and the prevention tips via their own online and social media channels. All measures lead to the prevention platform Card-security.chwhere you can find tips and prevention measures on the subject.

Responsible at the police: Pascal Simmen (Cantonal Police Schwyz), Bernard Vonlanthen (Police Cantonale Fribourg). Responsible at The PR Factory: Andrea Miolo-Eberhard (concept, overall management), Christine Raschle (consulting, project management), Patricia Isabel, Dali Schmucki (graphic design and realization).

The Portal of the Catholic Media Center had in a report from October 2022 about the competitor site Swiss-cath.ch two people, including its editor-in-chief. The latter filed a complaint with the Press Council because the editor had not corrected the mistake correctly.

The Press Council considered the obligations to truth and correction to have been violated. In its statement, it set out how corrections should be made correctly. They must be made immediately and transparently. In addition, the change must be pointed out directly in the text.

It must be clear what was wrong and what is now correct. Authors should point out the change directly in the text and not just state the correct facts without comment in the text itself.

Last year, the Press Council dealt with a total of 104 complaints, 10 more than in the previous year. According to the self-regulatory body for media ethics issues, identifying reporting in particular repeatedly gives rise to complaints. In its annual report, the Presidium called for non-identifying reporting even in the case of serious crimes. (SDA)

President Jürg Schmid spoke about the successful tourism year 2023 at the GRF General Assembly on Wednesday at the Somedia media center in Chur. With around 5.4 million overnight stays in the hotel industry in Graubünden, demand exceeded 2019 as the last tourism year before the pandemic. Better results are also expected in the medium term. "We can now say with certainty that Graubünden tourism has emerged stronger from a time of immense challenge," says Schmid.

In his welcome message from the government, Cantonal Councillor Peter Peyer referred to the value creation study on tourism in Graubünden published at the beginning of the year. According to the study, the tourism industry generates a gross value added of around four billion francs, and tourism provides employment for over 30 percent of the population of Graubünden. Peyer also mentioned the government's new tourism strategy. "The tourism strategy is intended to provide an orientation framework for all players in Graubünden tourism." It is a starting point for the further development of tourism so that its great importance does not suddenly become a cluster risk or even a business model that is no longer sustainable, said Peyer.

Far markets on the rise

Long-distance markets are expected to become increasingly important in the future development of tourism. By 2023, demand from Asia, measured in terms of hotel overnight stays in Graubünden, will have doubled compared to the previous year. The number of guests from the USA was higher than at any time since 2000. And more guests arrived from the Gulf States than ever before. Graubünden Tourism is present in these long-distance markets together with HotellerieSuisse Graubünden and over 20 partners. "In 2023, we were able to draw on the full potential for the first time and carry out a total of 20 trade campaigns," says Graubünden-Ferien CEO Martin Vincenz.

At the meeting, Corinne Genoud, Head of Switzerland Tourism, showed how the western markets - from America to Western Europe - are developing. Looking at guest arrivals since 2019, Switzerland has recovered faster than the European average from the pandemic years. According to Corinne Genoud, this is due in particular to customer care. Today, the outlook is very positive and "things are really taking off in the long-distance markets".

Sustainability as a commitment

Graubünden Ferien's long-distance markets initiative will open up growth markets for the tourism canton. The initiative is only partially in conflict with the joint commitment to more sustainable tourism, said CEO Vincenz. Rather, the aim is to attract these European travelers to stay in Graubünden. The focus is on individual tourists. They also travel outside the peak vacation periods, they stay longer and they are comparatively willing to spend money.

As Head of Sustainability at Graubünden Ferien, Martina Hollenstein Stadler named the following areas of responsibility of the project office: networking, knowledge transfer and coordination, projects and services with and for tourism partners, communication and marketing as well as measuring sustainable development. "We live sustainability in an opportunity-oriented way and tackle the challenges proactively with our partners." To this end, a network day will be held on June 18, 2024. The event is aimed at those responsible for sustainability in destinations and tourism businesses as well as people who are regularly confronted with sustainability issues in their work in tourism.

Paloma Meier-Martino worked as media manager at Lidl Switzerland and head of corporate communications at Denner. Since 2017, she has worked in communications at the Canton of Lucerne's Department of Construction, Environment and Economic Affairs.

She succeeds Peter Buri, who is retiring at the end of the year after 14 years of service, as the Aargau State Chancellery announced on Wednesday. (SDA)

The main areas in which AI is used in day-to-day communications are translations, copywriting and editing as well as topic and trend identification. Forty-three percent of PR professionals use AI heavily or very heavily for translations, a third use it intensively to help with text creation and revision (33%), and 16% of communicators increasingly rely on the digital assistant for topic and trend identification.

Artificial intelligence is rarely used in areas involving the production and editing of supplementary media material. For example, only 8% already use AI intensively for image recognition and 4% use it heavily or very heavily for video and audio production and editing.

No AI for crisis and reputation management

The use of AI can be significantly expanded in areas such as crisis prevention, reputation management and influencer relations, where the digital helpers are not used at all by the majority of respondents.

When asked how intensively PR professionals use AI in the areas mentioned, almost three quarters (73%) of respondents said that they do not place crisis prevention and crisis management in the hands of AI at all, 68% said the same for reputation management and two thirds said the same for influencer marketing/influencer relations (66%).

Opportunities and risks of AI in everyday communication

Where exactly do PR professionals - if they use AI - place their hopes and where do they have reservations? Two-thirds hope that the use of artificial intelligence will automate routine tasks so that they have more time for more demanding activities such as strategy, conception, creation or stakeholder support (67%). An increase in creativity through AI-supported idea generation is seen as an opportunity by more than half (51%). Just under a third hope for more efficient data evaluation (32%).

When asked about the greatest fears that PR professionals associate with AI and their work, half of those surveyed cited the lack of verifiability and control of information (51%). In second place is the fear of losing human skills such as critical questioning (35%) and in third place is uncertainty about the legal framework and copyright issues when working with AI systems (34%).

Selected results in detail

In which areas of professional communication do you already use AI?

• Text creation and revision 68%
• Translations 54%
• Topic and trend identification 31%
• Image production 25%
• Keywording of content 19%
• Social media planning / conception 14%
• Media monitoring 11%
• Image recognition 10%
• Video production 10%
• Audio production and editing 8%
• Verification of information 8%
• Target group analysis 8%
• Competitive analysis 8%
• Performance analysis and evaluation 7%
• Crisis prevention and crisis management 4%
• Reputation Management 3%
• Influencer Marketing / Influencer Relations 0%
• We do not yet use AI 17%

What are your three greatest hopes that you associate with AI and your work?

• Automation of routine tasks and more time for demanding activities 67%
• Increasing creativity through AI-supported idea generation 51%
• More efficient data evaluation and data analysis 32%
• Improved campaign effectiveness through targeted AI optimization 20%
• Improved target group analysis and more targeted communication measures 15%
• Greater competitiveness 13%
• Faster identification of opportunities and risks 11%
• Extended options for trend forecasts 8%
• Personalized customer communication 6%
• No hopes 5%
• Don't know 2%

What are your three biggest fears that you associate with AI and your work?

• Lack of verifiability and control of information 51%
• Loss of human abilities (e.g. critical questioning) 35%
• Uncertainties about the legal framework and copyright issues when working with AI systems 34%
• Data protection and security concerns (possible misuse of collected data) 27%
• Moral and ethical concerns (transparency, privacy, authenticity) 22%
• Increasing dependence on AI systems and on the quality of AI 21%
• Downsizing and job losses 16%
• Changing ethical standards in the industry 15%
• Loss of creativity 13%
• More work intensification 12%
• Uncertainty and employees' inability to adapt to new technologies 11%
• Lack of knowledge and training opportunities 9%
• Costs and resources for the implementation of new AI technologies 6%
• Change in work dynamics 5%
• No fears 3%
• Don't know 1%

For the "PR trend monitor from News Aktuell and PER" an online survey was conducted in February 2024 among 327 communication professionals from companies, organizations and PR agencies in Switzerland and Germany. Further results on the  News blog.

Festivals such as Paléo Nyon, Montreux Jazz and Festi'neuch have teamed up with the Swiss Music Promoters Association and the FRC for "Ticket Check". In a press release issued on Tuesday, they appeal to festival visitors.

First and foremost, it is important to buy tickets only through the official ticket sales of the event and to check the availability of seats and the actual price of the tickets, the organizations advise.

This is because a few minutes after the festival ticket offices open, tickets are advertised on resale platforms, sometimes at indecently high prices. This resale market, which is handled via parallel channels, is known as the gray market.

This practice is legal in Switzerland. However, it restricts the industry's scope for action and creates an environment that favors the spread of fraud, writes the FRC.

If festival visitors come across a fraudulent offer, they should report it to the FRC and file a complaint, according to the appeal. (SDA)