Nobody's pipe
Der Beobachter Turns 75
The Beobachter turns 75 years youngBasel advertising expert Max Ras was 38 years old when he had 66,000,000 copies of the Schweizerischer Beobachter distributed to every household in German-speaking Switzerland in 1927, full of zest for action. He wanted to use this method to warn people about dubious traders. At the same time, Ras wanted to communicate his journalistic credo: His Beobachter should "not dance to anyone's tune". The rest is press history. The Beobachter is currently looking back on 75 successful years. Today, the fortnightly publication from Jean Frey Verlag is the leading information and advice magazine in Switzerland with 1059,000 readers. The company around the now multimedia observer is networked with TV ("Quer", "konsum.tv") and radio (broadcasts on over ten stations), runs a large advice center (20 experts for 70,000 inquiries per year), has produced 40 advice books and provides social aid worth around CHF 3 million every year. The happy birthday party will take place on February 2 in Zurich's Volkshaus. On the same evening, the Prix Courage will be awarded for the fifth time in the presence of Federal Councillor Ruth Dreifuss.
In addition to many surprising observations from the history of the successful magazine, the anniversary issue also reveals that Dürrenmatt's novel "The Judge and his Executioner", which has since been filmed in Hollywood, was originally commissioned by the Beobachter. Interspersed with advertisements for Ovaltine, Knorr soups and Haferflöckli, the Beobachter first printed the crime novel in several installments from December 1950. Fee for Fritz, "the young talent", at the time: 3,000 francs. Andreas Panzeri
In addition to many surprising observations from the history of the successful magazine, the anniversary issue also reveals that Dürrenmatt's novel "The Judge and his Executioner", which has since been filmed in Hollywood, was originally commissioned by the Beobachter. Interspersed with advertisements for Ovaltine, Knorr soups and Haferflöckli, the Beobachter first printed the crime novel in several installments from December 1950. Fee for Fritz, "the young talent", at the time: 3,000 francs. Andreas Panzeri
