It used to be better and it's getting better again
Media Congress At the 17th Media Days in Munich, there were plenty of slogans. The only notable impetus came from the new generation - and from guest speaker Roger Schawinski.
Media Congress At the 17th Media Days in Munich, there were plenty of slogans. The only notable impetus came from the new generation - and from guest speaker Roger Schawinski.
Haim Saban, the new majority shareholder of ProSieben Sat 1 Media AG, was photographed in Hollywood style with his glossy wife Cheryl and reported in his keynote speech about the German dictionaries he had received for his 59th birthday. Aha. And Thomas Middelhoff, former director of Bertelsmann, explained that only those who give people as much as possible for a dollar, rather than as little as possible, are chosen for great success. Star advertiser Holger Jung, also President of the German Association of Advertising Agencies, did not even come to Munich. Frank Schirrmacher from the FAZ and Stern editor-in-chief Thomas Osterkorn, who had been announced, did the same. What they missed, at best, was something reheated. For many people, that still tastes better than conceptual fresh food. Accordingly, this year's motto was as ambitious as it was interchangeable: "Gaining trust - strengthening creativity."
Schawi warns of new hype
The organizers had lined up 82 panels with 450 speakers and experts to provide the unsettled German media scene with new perspectives. But the "miracle of Munich" failed to materialize. So if you want to dream of recovery and victory, it's better to go to the movies. For example, to Sönke Wortmann's successful football film "The Miracle of Bern", which reconstructs the German World Cup victory in 1954.
While the podiums and summit discussions largely indulged in nostalgia, Roger Schawinski, of all people, caused a brief stir. The Zurich media pioneer warned of a new overvaluation of shares in the online sector and backed up his thesis with the planned IPO of Google. Although the company does not provide any reliable figures, a share auction via the Internet could trigger a hype from which there would be another "rude awakening". However, Schawi did not want to comment on his own market value. This was probably also due to the fact that
that Haim Saban and Urs Rohner could have overheard from potential future employers.
Apart from that, the major local political event, which Edmund Stoiber opened with Bavarian pathos as he does every year, delivered many familiar and tried-and-tested points: "Ads must not give the impression that they are editorial components," was the revolutionary demand of Gregor Stemmle from the management of the Bild Group, for example. And management consultant Adam Bird from Booz Allen Hamilton followed up: "In the USA, target group segmentation is already much more advanced."
Zero statements also on the subject of television. For the umpteenth time, it was discussed whether the public broadcasters should be allowed to charge higher fees again. Saban even dared to ask the fundamental question of why German subsidized TV should be allowed to sell additional TV advertising. In the face of so much American cluelessness, even Saban's chief operator Urs Rohner is said to have rolled his eyes.
RTL editor-in-chief Hans Mahr, meanwhile, took a swipe at ZDF, asking what the point of a magazine accompanying the hit show "Wetten, dass ...?" was. The proceeds from the magazine went exclusively to the show, countered ZDF program director Thomas Bellut, adding: "So VIPs like Hans Mahr can continue to sit on Gottschalk's couch."
Those who didn't feel like laughing demonstrated confidence. The upturn, including that for the 350 independent German daily newspaper titles, would come; if not in 2004, then in 2005. But how? The editor-in-chief of Neue Ruhr/Neue Rhein Zeitung explained that one simply has to "offer products that people want". Publishers would have to expand their regional information competence, offer readers added value and not keep throwing journalists out the door.
If not such constructive suggestions, what remains of the 17th edition of the industry show? Most likely a positive impression of the new generation. Never before have so many young people enquired about media professions, reports the Managing Director of the Medien-Campus. This umbrella organization unites 52 Bavarian training institutes. Its Managing Director Gabriele Goderbauer said: "Young people are not letting themselves be infected by pessimism. They are researching their opportunities better prepared than ever before." There is probably more upswing in this attitude than in the perseverance slogans of those who have supposedly finished their training.
On the
The congress indulged in nostalgia on podiums and in summit talks.
"Young people are not infected by pessimism": At the Munich Media Days, there was otherwise only old-fashioned talk to be heard.
Peter Ehm
Haim Saban, the new majority shareholder of ProSieben Sat 1 Media AG, was photographed in Hollywood style with his glossy wife Cheryl and reported in his keynote speech about the German dictionaries he had received for his 59th birthday. Aha. And Thomas Middelhoff, former director of Bertelsmann, explained that only those who give people as much as possible for a dollar, rather than as little as possible, are chosen for great success. Star advertiser Holger Jung, also President of the German Association of Advertising Agencies, did not even come to Munich. Frank Schirrmacher from the FAZ and Stern editor-in-chief Thomas Osterkorn, who had been announced, did the same. What they missed, at best, was something reheated. For many people, that still tastes better than conceptual fresh food. Accordingly, this year's motto was as ambitious as it was interchangeable: "Gaining trust - strengthening creativity."
Schawi warns of new hype
The organizers had lined up 82 panels with 450 speakers and experts to provide the unsettled German media scene with new perspectives. But the "miracle of Munich" failed to materialize. So if you want to dream of recovery and victory, it's better to go to the movies. For example, to Sönke Wortmann's successful football film "The Miracle of Bern", which reconstructs the German World Cup victory in 1954.
While the podiums and summit discussions largely indulged in nostalgia, Roger Schawinski, of all people, caused a brief stir. The Zurich media pioneer warned of a new overvaluation of shares in the online sector and backed up his thesis with the planned IPO of Google. Although the company does not provide any reliable figures, a share auction via the Internet could trigger a hype from which there would be another "rude awakening". However, Schawi did not want to comment on his own market value. This was probably also due to the fact that
that Haim Saban and Urs Rohner could have overheard from potential future employers.
Apart from that, the major local political event, which Edmund Stoiber opened with Bavarian pathos as he does every year, delivered many familiar and tried-and-tested points: "Ads must not give the impression that they are editorial components," was the revolutionary demand of Gregor Stemmle from the management of the Bild Group, for example. And management consultant Adam Bird from Booz Allen Hamilton followed up: "In the USA, target group segmentation is already much more advanced."
Zero statements also on the subject of television. For the umpteenth time, it was discussed whether the public broadcasters should be allowed to charge higher fees again. Saban even dared to ask the fundamental question of why German subsidized TV should be allowed to sell additional TV advertising. In the face of so much American cluelessness, even Saban's chief operator Urs Rohner is said to have rolled his eyes.
RTL editor-in-chief Hans Mahr, meanwhile, took a swipe at ZDF, asking what the point of a magazine accompanying the hit show "Wetten, dass ...?" was. The proceeds from the magazine went exclusively to the show, countered ZDF program director Thomas Bellut, adding: "So VIPs like Hans Mahr can continue to sit on Gottschalk's couch."
Those who didn't feel like laughing demonstrated confidence. The upturn, including that for the 350 independent German daily newspaper titles, would come; if not in 2004, then in 2005. But how? The editor-in-chief of Neue Ruhr/Neue Rhein Zeitung explained that one simply has to "offer products that people want". Publishers would have to expand their regional information competence, offer readers added value and not keep throwing journalists out the door.
If not such constructive suggestions, what remains of the 17th edition of the industry show? Most likely a positive impression of the new generation. Never before have so many young people enquired about media professions, reports the Managing Director of the Medien-Campus. This umbrella organization unites 52 Bavarian training institutes. Its Managing Director Gabriele Goderbauer said: "Young people are not letting themselves be infected by pessimism. They are researching their opportunities better prepared than ever before." There is probably more upswing in this attitude than in the perseverance slogans of those who have supposedly finished their training.
On the
The congress indulged in nostalgia on podiums and in summit talks.
"Young people are not infected by pessimism": At the Munich Media Days, there was otherwise only old-fashioned talk to be heard.
Peter Ehm
