This year's Zurich Journalism Prize will be awarded on May 15, 2024 at the "Kaufleuten" in Zurich. The jury has nominated nine entries from 218 submissions, three of which will receive the prize of CHF 10,000 each:

• Barbara Achermann, Why him and not me? (The magazine)
• Andreas Babst, Hotel Taliban (New Zurich Newspaper)
• Renato Beck and Jan Jirát, Bunker, Prepper, Preparations (Wobei - The magazine of the Woz)
• Francesco Benini and Patrik Müller, Berset and the View: The secret Corona protocols (Switzerland at the weekend)
• Catherine Boss and Roland Gamp, Excessive prices: Medical groups rip off premium payers (Tages-Anzeiger)
• Cedric Fröhlich and Quentin Schlapbach, Death in Adelboden - Part 1 & 2 (Berner Zeitung / Der Bund)
• Melissa Müller, In the Devil's Kitchen ( Galler Tagblatt)
• Birgit Schmid, "It's chasing the cone off me!" (New Zurich Newspaper)
• Daniel Strassberg, Israel in Crisis - Part 1 & 2 (Republic)

The jury has nominated three texts for the Newcomer Prize, which is endowed with CHF 5,000:

• Maria Kafantari, Reportage of a Court Killing: Shot, Stabbed and Dead (Freiburg News)
• Kilian Marti, Den Letzten beissen die Hunde: Ein Basler Großprojekt drift mehrere KMUs in den Konkurs (Watson)
• Emilia Sulek, Death on the way to Europe (Strassenmagazin Surprise)

For Wingo, April is all about the Internet at home. The "Internet Start" Internet subscription is currently on offer for CHF 39.95 instead of CHF 69 - and as usual, it is presented in the advertising by the testimonials Charles Nguela and Alexandre Kominek for French-speaking Switzerland.

To illustrate the message "A lot of speed for little money" at first glance, Wingo and Neu had an oversized XXL laptop made to symbolize the fast Internet subscription. In various static and moving image assets, Nguela and Kominek show how they use their Internet subscription - in the home office, while binge-watching or for online dance classes.

Ten-second films were produced for use in cinemas, online and in DOOH. There are also posters and various online formats.

Customer: Wingo. Responsible at Neu Creative Agency: Adrian Staehelin, Nicole Vizcardo, Bettina Beyeler, Finn van Grondel, Ibtissam Aiterrami, Nico Ammann. Film and photo production: Sebahat Film+Photo, Dan Cermak. Media: Mediaschneider, Wingo.

In the video series, parents and caregivers learn how they can practise cycling with their children so that they can get through traffic safely. The videos also show why role models are so important. The concept was developed by Maybaum Film in collaboration with the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), with the involvement of various partner organizations.

"The challenge with the project was to boil down a lot of important information about safe cycling to a crisp length and at the same time create an emotional component," explains Michel Frutig, Creative Director at Maybaum Film. "The idea of appealing to role models was the decisive element in the creative concept."

The video series has an educational function and shows caregivers how to teach children how to ride a bike correctly. To ensure that the videos are understandable for as wide a target group as possible, they have also been produced in simple language. This roughly corresponds to language level A2. This version was also edited more slowly, which was already planned on the day of filming and meant that sufficient film material had to be produced.

Carine Vuitel, project manager at the BFU, is satisfied with the result: "The important messages were presented in an attractive and compact way for our target group. The idea of working with role models reflects one of the messages we want to convey to parents and people around children."

The video series is mainly distributed via the BFU's owned media channels. In addition, accompanying video ads will be played out in an advertising campaign via the meta platform and YouTube. A competition is also included.

Responsible at BFU: Carine Vuitel (Project Manager), Claudia Schär (Digital Media Manager). Responsible at Maybaum Film (concept and production): Benjamin Katulu (director), Sara Maag (camera), Sara Maag, Simona De Roni (editing), Silvan Michel (color), Tim Zumstein (sound design, mastering).

The Campus Services department supports ETH members with services in the areas of logistics, mobility, communication and event management. After the advertising for the various services became increasingly independent, the communicative appearance of Campus Services was to become more consistent again and thus create more visibility for the department as a whole and its diverse services. Campus Services should be perceived as a central service provider that competently takes care of the needs of its clients and relieves them of their core tasks.

A performance within a performance

The ETH CD guidelines still had to be guaranteed, but a certain independence and recognizability had to be achieved. A modular concept was to unite the various service offerings and the entire range of topics under a concise formal bracket. A new, binding appearance was to be created for the department, which could be systematically structured and clearly define all applications and offers.

The result: "Service made by ETH"

Together with the communications team, the core messages, topics and offers were defined, which are to be communicated internally and externally. ETH Campus Services offers services that are precisely tailored to the special issues and needs on campus. Services that can only be created and offered at ETH. This claim should be expressed in all communicative measures.

Every idea starts as a sketch

Every project begins as a concept and sketch, even at ETH Zurich. The Campus Services department supports the implementation of these ideas with its services. Translated into a new design system, this means that the basic grid of the ETH CD templates is now used as a formal bracket. The grid lines symbolize a sketchpad and become the defining visual element of the
ETH Campus Services.

The grid connects

The new matrix becomes the connecting design element. This creates a consistent sender across all services and applications. Based on the new framework, a modular system was developed within the ETH CD that provides a clear guidance system for each application while still leaving a certain amount of creative freedom. All elements are precisely aligned and defined according to this grid, and call-to-action elements and disruptive elements are now also integrated.

The complete package realized

The agency also worked closely with the communications team on the implementation. A basic package with templates for all relevant applications and ETH channels was created and a manual for users and designers within ETH, including training, was developed to make the variety of services visible at all central touchpoints.

The services and department now have a uniform appearance and are perceived as much more present, up-to-date and professional.

The new collaboration is intended to set "standards in the digitalization of the Swiss print market", according to a joint press release. Advertisers from Switzerland and abroad can now book ads in Swiss magazines, trade journals and newspapers via the Pryntad platform. All titles from Ringier Advertising's marketing portfolio are available for bookings via programmatic advertising. All bookings are based on the Pryntad principle, which aims to make print bookings "as easy as online marketing": Via target group targeting and on the basis of price bids.

With this step, Ringier Advertising is the first marketing partner outside Germany to accompany the rollout of Pryntad in SwitzerlandTogether with Ringier Advertising, we are not only making it easier for all Swiss agencies and clients to book Ringier Advertising's print portfolio. We also offer all German agencies and clients the easiest way to reach target groups in Switzerland via print ads. International print bookings have never been so easy," explains Anja Visscher, Co-Founder of Pryntad.

The Giardina garden fair takes place annually in Zurich. The fair is valued above all for its high-quality, often spectacular show gardens. Because not only gardens but also brands need to be regularly maintained, the MCH Group has hired Yellow for Giardina.

In a first step, the Basel agency compared the existing elements with the brand personality and positioning and defined various fields of work on this basis. As part of a multi-stage process, the foundations of the brand were revised and refreshed in the various areas of communication. In the same context, Yellow developed the measures for trade fair communication as well as for visitor advertising and information. As part of an all-round service, the Yellow team also took on tasks in the areas of trade fair communication and signage.

Responsible at MCH Group: Encarnación M. Dellai (Brand Director). Responsible Agency: Yellow.

In 2023, Goldbach Media had already announced the marketing mandate for the linear TV advertising space of the channels TF1, TMC and TFX. Since this year, video ads for instream advertising on the free streaming platform TF1+ and the news portal TF1 Info can also be booked via Goldbach in Switzerland. The French platforms complement the Goldbach Video Network and the Goldbach Digital TV Network and are marketed in Switzerland by Goldbach Audience.

Goldbach's video inventory includes the streaming platform TF1+, which was launched in 2024. This was designed in line with new video consumption habits to offer French-speaking audiences a unique information and entertainment environment with high-quality, family-friendly programs that connect. TF1+ reaches around 850,000 unique streamers in Switzerland. 

Goldbach is also expanding its online portfolio with TF1 Info. The news site offers a free and accessible range of information from various departments of the TF1 and LCI editorial teams.

"With TF1+ and TF1 Info, our video network, together with Dailymotion and 20 Minutes, has achieved a significant market share in French-speaking Switzerland. This opens up new opportunities for our advertising clients to reach the francophone audience in Switzerland with their video campaigns," says Alex Beerli, Director Partner & Product Management at Goldbach Audience.

It is a "tiny amount", Musk wrote on X on Monday, without giving a figure. After three months on X, new users should be able to post for free, he added.

Before the takeover of Twitter in October 2022, Musk had repeatedly denounced the fact that there were too many automated bot profiles on the service. He promised to get the problem under control. Current AI programs could easily pass the usual tests designed to expose bot accounts, Musk now complained.

X has been testing the latest countermeasure since the fall. Initially in New Zealand and the Philippines, new users of the service were only able to publish posts and quote or share other people's posts for a fee of one US dollar per year. They could only use X passively for free: Read posts, watch videos, follow other users.

Since Musk's takeover and the renaming to X, the service has been struggling with falling sales. He said several times that advertising revenue, from which Twitter almost exclusively earned its money, had roughly halved. Many companies fear a negative environment for their brands on Musk's platform and have restricted ads on X or abandoned them altogether. (SDA)

At the Annual General Meeting on Saturday, the shareholders of AG für die Neue Zürcher Zeitung approved all the proposals of the Board of Directors by a clear majority. According to the NZZ press release, a dividend of 200 francs per share will be distributed due to a good business result and the company's positive development.

Lucy Küng, Matthias Reinhart and Roland Siegwart were re-elected for a further four-year term of office, and Tanja Luginbühl was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors. She succeeds Christoph Schmid, who did not stand for re-election due to reaching the statutory age limit. The lawyer was elected to the Board of Directors in 2013 and had also been Vice-Chairman of the Board since 2016. He also chaired the Audit & Finance Committee. Matthias Reinhart was appointed as the new Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of NZZ.

Tanja Luginbühl has been a partner in the law firm Lenz & Staehelin in Zurich, which specializes in international business law, since 2005. She specializes in corporate law, M&A, restructuring and private clients. She has also been a member of the boards of directors and trustees of private companies and foundations for many years. Luginbühl studied at the University of Zurich and completed an LL.M. in Corporation Law at New York University School of Law in 1999.

Following a renewed discussion on the partial revision of the Radio and Television Ordinance (RTVO), the Transport and Telecommunications Committee of the Council of States (KVF-S) has submitted various recommendations to the Federal Council, as announced by the parliamentary services on Friday. According to these recommendations, the Federal Council should first submit a revision of the SRG license or the performance mandate for consultation and only then determine the level of the radio and television fee.

An immediate reduction in the media levy would limit parliament's room for maneuver with regard to the debate on the popular initiative "200 francs is enough! (SRG initiative or halving initiative)".

The Federal Council wants to reduce fees with a partial revision of the Radio and Television Ordinance (RTVO) - and thus take the wind out of the sails of the halving initiative from SVP circles. The SVP wants to reduce the media fee to CHF 200.

However, even the SVP members of the parliamentary telecommunications committees are critical of this. Before the financial resources are quantified, the scope and content of the public service must be discussed.

SRG assumes that the reduction of the media levy to CHF 300 will lead to a reduction in revenue of around CHF 240 million and a reduction of around 900 SRG jobs in all regions. According to SRG, the measure would also have an impact on sports coverage at major events. The number of Swiss series and films supported and the broadcasting of cultural events would have to be reduced. (SDA)

Nicola Bomio has been working successfully in the radio industry for many years. The 41-year-old has held positions as Head of Music, Program Director and Editor-in-Chief. His career has taken him from Radio 24, Capital FM and SRF to CH Media. He has been Head of Radio since 2022 and is now responsible for CH Media's twelve radio stations.

Bomio was already a member of the VSP Board. As the newly elected President, he replaces Jürg Bachmann, who stepped down after 18 years and was given a ceremonial farewell at the General Assembly.

Karin El Mais and Florian Wanner have resigned from the Board. Giulia Cresta, who currently works at CH Media as Head of Radio Programming, was newly elected to the Board. The 34-year-old was previously Head of Programming at Radio 24. The other Board members were confirmed for a further term of office.

The General Assembly also approved the new statutes. The VSP Board initiated a change to the association's structures in summer 2023. The model of dossier activities by the Board members was replaced by the establishment of an office and the election of Peter Scheurer as Managing Director. In addition to taking these changes into account, the Articles of Association were also adapted to the new market conditions and current media policy principles.

The year was eventful and challenging, SRG announced on Friday. Despite the lack of major sporting events, a decline in linear radio and television usage and international competition, market shares remained stable.

83% of the internet-active population aged 15 and over use an SRG service at least once a week, be it on radio and television, on websites, via apps or social media platforms. The reach of online offerings remained stable. The Play Suisse streaming platform increased the number of subscribers to over one million (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Higher fee income

The operator of Swiss radio and television channels attributed the fact that an operating profit of CHF 2.2 million was achieved despite a further decline in advertising income to prudent financial planning.

SRG received CHF 1.27 billion from radio and television license fees, CHF 35 million more than in the previous year. Income from sponsorship and advertising fell by CHF 31 million to CHF 210 million. Other income fell by CHF 9 million to CHF 68 million.

SRG put its expenses at CHF 1.5 billion, CHF 10 million less than in 2022, resulting in a net profit of CHF 37.2 million. Because the pension fund is fully covered again, SRG was able to release a value adjustment of CHF 35 million, resulting in an operating profit of CHF 2.2 million.

53% of expenses were attributable to personnel costs. Production and programming costs fell by CHF 9 million because no major sporting events such as the Football World Cup, European Championships or the Olympic Games took place. This meant that there were no costs for sports rights. In contrast, expenditure on fictional productions increased.

High quality

SRG described the quality of its reporting as high. The forms of broadcasting would continue to enjoy the trust of the audience and lead the quality rankings.

In 2023, the editorial teams of all business units provided in-depth coverage of the federal elections, national natural disasters, the war in Ukraine and the escalation in the Middle East, among other things. (SDA)