Three new course directors for the MAZ

The MAZ, the Institute for Journalism and Communication, is strengthening its study management team: Rudi-Renoir Appoldt is taking over the "Visual Communication" competence area, Pascal Biber is heading the "Research" competence area and Reto Vogt is responsible for the "Digital" area.

Rudi-Renoir Appoldt, Art Director and Editorial Designer, has many years of experience in the communications industry and in journalism, where he has worked for various publications of Ringier and Axel Springer Schweiz AG. As Head of Visual Communication Studies at the MAZ from September, he will be responsible for the specialist content of image editing, infographics and video, including the CAS Visual Communication as well as various compact and individual courses. "I am looking forward to further developing the existing portfolio at the MAZ and continuously integrating the latest technologies into the Visual Communication competence area," says Appoldt.

Pascal Biber, producer and reporter at Schweizer Fernsehen SRF's "Rundschau" program, will head the "Research" competence area from October. With his many years of journalistic experience in various roles at SRF, he brings a wealth of expertise in this area of competence. "I discovered my own passion for journalism at the MAZ almost 20 years ago. I am now looking forward to working with industry experts to further develop the area of research." Pascal Biber will continue to work part-time as a journalist at Rundschau.

Reto Vogt, a graduate of the basic journalism course at the MAZ, will become the new Head of Digital Studies from October. Vogt has extensive experience in journalism and was most recently editor-in-chief of Inside IT magazine. He also worked in content marketing and knows the communications industry very well. He therefore has a broad range of experience in the fields of digital communication, artificial intelligence and journalism. "After a good twenty years of professional experience, it is a privilege to be able to share my knowledge with others. At the same time, I will continue to work as a journalist on a small scale and thus keep my finger on the pulse of the times," explains Reto Vogt.

Bringing together the best people from the field

With this new appointment, the "Visual Communication" competence area will be successfully continued and the "Research" and "Digital" competence areas will be expanded. "We are convinced that research is an increasingly important skill in journalism in the age of deep fakes," explains Martina Fehr, CEO of the MAZ. "And with the expertise of the new heads of studies, we will be able to integrate the topic of artificial intelligence even more deeply into our offerings." The three new colleagues are proven professionals. They will not only expand the technical expertise in the MAZ team, but will also have a very broad network at their disposal. "This will enable us to live up to our claim of bringing together the best people from the field," says Fehr.