Ringier Media Switzerland is creating a centralized Media Creation division and is thus breaking new ground in magazine and newspaper production. Sandra Fröhlich and Conny Tovar are taking over as co-heads. In addition, the editorial teams will also be more closely interlinked in terms of content: with the creation of an RMS Content Hub, certain subject areas will now be handled centrally. Tim Höfinghoff will take over the management of the new RMS Content Hub.

Tim Höfinghoff as Head of Content Hub RMS

In this role, he coordinates the creation and playout of content that is played out across various channels of Ringier Media Switzerland. He is responsible for the Formats team (podcasts/digital video formats), the Service/Health, Mobility and Izzy teams, the Bolero and Millionär magazines and other specials.

Tim Höfinghoff has held various positions at Ringier for eleven years, most recently as deputy editor-in-chief of the Handelszeitung, for which he is also active as a podcast host. Before that, he worked as a business correspondent in New York and was employed by Spiegel Online and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Steffi Buchli, Chief Content Officer Ringier Media Switzerland: "Tim sees the future potential of RMS and believes that we have a lot to gain from increased cooperation. With his CV, he is an ideal bridge builder between digital and print."

Media Creation: Sandra Fröhlich and Conny Tovar in co-management

The newly created Media Creation RMS department brings together all units involved in digital storytelling and print production for newspapers and magazines. The department includes Production & Proofreading, Art Direction & Layout, Visuals, Photo and Image Editing as well as Video Technology & Production. This department is headed by Conny Tovar and Sandra Fröhlich.

Conny Tovar has been with Ringier for 17 years and has been Blick's Head of Production since 2017. Sandra Fröhlich has worked at Ringier for five years and was most recently Head of Audiovisual Competence Center for Blick. Prior to that, she gained many years of radio and TV experience (SRF, Tele/Radio Top) and joined Ringier in 2019.

Steffi Buchli, Chief Content Officer Ringier Media Switzerland: "With the Media Creation Hub, we have created a central area for all our services. Sandra and Conny not only know our brands and employees very well, but also the needs and tools required for our content and titles."

Bern's most legendary band was quiet for a long time, but on 22 November last year, Züri West were suddenly back: the band published a short video on their socials - a street survey in which passers-by were allowed to listen to the latest single. The clip went viral and broke all previous records for the band with over 40,000 views on Instagram alone. A clip made entirely by Newsroom: it was conceived, produced and published on Züri West's channels by the Bern-based agency.

After that, things went from strength to strength: the new single "Loch dür Zyt" was released on November 23, followed by the album on December 8 (since then at number 1 on the Hit parade), the first two of six episodes of the "8424" podcast on December 10, with the others following on a weekly basis. Newsroom provided communications support for all of these releases.

Close cooperation with Audiobande

"8424" was created by This Wachter and Simon Meyer from the Audioband and highlights the band's 40-year history with all its ups and downs in 6 episodes. Storytelling at its best! Newsroom set up all distribution channels for the podcast and took care of the hosting and publication of the individual episodes. The release of the individual episodes was accompanied by teaser reels on Züri West's socials - all produced and published by Newsroom.

The project was based on close collaboration with the management of Züri West and Audiobande with daily exchanges. Only in this way was it possible for "8424" to become probably the most successful music podcast in Switzerland to date, topping the Swiss podcast charts for over three weeks (across all genres). The six episodes have been listened to a total of around 130,000 times so far.

Stefan Mischler, the manager of Züri West, says: "Newsroom Communication provided optimal support for the launch of 'Loch dür Zyt' and '8424' on Instagram and Facebook and significantly increased our reach. They had a very good feel for the Züri West DNA and always struck the right note in the videos and posts."

At the end of January, the "Loch dür Zyt" project for Newsroom comes to an end for the time being: the vinyl edition of the album is released. 

Buchli and Inguscio will be part of the Blick management team in the future. By mutual agreement and based on the Culture Audit, Ringier's top management and the previous Editor-in-Chief of the Blick Group, Christian Dorer, have decided that Dorer will not resume his post after his time out. In the coming weeks, it will be defined whether and in which journalistic function Christian Dorer will remain active at the Ringier Group. Talks on this have been initiated and are well underway.

The newsroom of the Blick Group is repositioning itself with immediate effect: In the wake of the change at the top of the editorial team, the Blick Group is taking the next step towards a modern, digital, user-centric and future-oriented media newsroom.

Responsibility for the Blick Group newsroom will now be divided between two pillars: "Content" and "Distribution: Steffi Buchli, former Editor-in-Chief of Sports, will be responsible for the content area. The current Editor-in-Chief of Blick.ch & Blick TV, Sandro Inguscio, will take over responsibility for Digital & Distribution. Buchli and Inguscio are now part of the six-member Blick management team.

The "Content" area will focus on relevant, attractive and high-quality content that meets Blick's journalistic objectives and satisfies users' needs through target-group-specific storytelling. With Steffi Buchli as Chief Content Officer, an experienced journalist and media manager will take the lead. Buchli has been Editor-in-Chief of Sports at the Blick Group since the end of 2020. From 2017 to 2020, she built up the private TV channel MySports as head of programming. Before that, she distinguished herself as a journalist and presenter at SRF, where she worked with great success for fourteen years.

The Distribution division will ensure the curation, speed and volume, as well as the optimal distribution of content on all relevant channels. Sandro Inguscio will assume responsibility as Chief Digital & Distribution Officer. Inguscio started at Blick 13 years ago as a reporter in the news department and has since worked for several departments and in different positions with great success, including four years as head of news for the Blick Group. Most recently, he was Editor-in-Chief of Blick.ch & Blick TV.

Ladina Heimgartner, CEO of Blick Group and Head Global Media Ringier AG, said: "Our new and future-oriented structure positions us excellently to further expand and consolidate our position as Switzerland's strongest media brand."

She added that Steffi Buchli and Sandro Inguscio bring extensive expertise in digital media and are experienced leaders deeply connected to the Blick brand.

Furthermore, she expressed her gratitude to Christian Dorer, both on behalf of the Blick Group and the Ringier Group Executive Board. She acknowledged his great commitment, his strong journalistic accents and his role in the development of the Blick media brand, both in terms of relevance and reach. Reflecting on his past tenure, Christian Dorer said he had been privileged to work with a team of talented people over the past six years. Together, he says, they overcame challenges and built Blick into one of the widest-reaching and most relevant news media brands in Switzerland.