Roger Schawinski (born June 11, 1945 in
Zurich as ''Roger Szczawiński'') is a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internati ...
journalist and entrepreneur as well as the creator of the Swiss consumer watchdog program ''Kassensturz'' (English: "cash check").
Early life
Schawinski was born ''Roger Szczawiński'' to Polish-born immigrant father Abraham Szczawiński who had a modest textile business. He grew up in
Zürich-Wiedikon. In 1946 his family was
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
in Zurich and
germanized their name to ''Schawinski''. He initially completed commercial school instead of going directly for the
Swiss maturity. He later completed studies in economics at the
University of St. Gallen (HSG).
Career
He founded Switzerland's first commercial radio station, Radio 24, and launched a nationwide
television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, wit ...
called Tele 24.
"Roger Schawinski Biography"
''IMDb'' In 2003, he gained international status when he joined the German television network Sat. 1
Sat.1 is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group.
It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesellschaf ...
and became the managing director for three consecutive years. He earned a PhD in economics from University of St. Gallen. Schawinski pre-launched Radio 1 on 14 January 2008 and went on air with it on 17 March 2008. Radio 1 was the first radio station especially devoted to music and the taste for adults in their 30s–60s.
References
External links
Article on radio career of Roger Schawinski
Gallery of famous Swiss people
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schawinski, Roger
1945 births
Living people
Swiss Jews
University of St. Gallen alumni