SRG cutback proposals are not well received
Published: Wednesday, Nov 8th 2023, 17:50
Updated At: Thursday, Nov 9th 2023, 00:54
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The SRG cutback proposals have gone down badly with both supporters and opponents of the halving initiative. SRG supporters criticize an "unjustified reduction in the public service" - even before the initiative is put to the ballot box. And the initiators are sticking to their demands.
Hans-Ulrich Bigler, one of the co-presidents of the committee behind the initiative, "200 francs are enough (SRG initiative)", spoke in an initial reaction to the Keystone-SDA news agency of "horse-trading to win over voters".
SRG must fulfill its core mandate and this must be defined politically and not by the company itself. And CHF 200 is enough for that. In addition, the turnover for the tax exemption for SMEs is far too low. He therefore believes that the initiative should be put to the people despite the Federal Council's proposals.
"Preventive damage without need"
For the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), it is "self-evident" that the initiators will stick to their "radical and ideological" petition for a referendum. This means that the Federal Council's counter-concept will cause "massive preventive" damage to the SRG, so that at some point it will no longer be able to fulfill its mandate.
The syndicom and SSM trade unions are sounding the same horn: the counter-proposal would have the same effect as accepting the halving initiative, they write in a joint press release. It "weakens the public media service for no reason and without need. And that is "poison for our democracy".
Danger also for local media
In a direct democracy with several important votes per year, a media landscape is needed that can provide balanced and accurate information, wrote the SP. In addition, the levy not only supports the SRG, but also local media. A reduction would therefore also jeopardize their existence.
The Alliance for Media Diversity, which was formed to fight the halving initiative, emphasized how poor the financial situation of private media is in light of the job cuts at CH Media, which were also announced on Wednesday. It was therefore "short-sighted to substantially weaken the public media company at a time characterized by disinformation and fake news".
"Loyal to the state" attitude of SRG supporters
Bigler does not accept these arguments: People are exaggerating the importance of SRG if they think that it would be better weighted just because it has more money at its disposal. The argument of the opponents of the initiative that the private media are in a bad financial situation also only shows the "state-loyal attitude of the Alliance".
This is because SRG does not have to be concerned about efficiency thanks to tax revenues. In addition, SRG's income has risen steadily in recent years due to population growth.
SRG fears major savings
In an initial reaction, the person concerned herself outlined the consequences of the Federal Council's proposal: In addition to the personnel consequences, this would "inevitably" have consequences for regional information, sports productions, popular major events or co-productions of Swiss films and music recordings.
These last two points are also a cause for concern for Suisseculture: cultural productions and reporting in Switzerland can only be provided by SRG SSR. Less SRG would therefore mean less culture, less cohesion, less public spirit and therefore less Switzerland.
Finally, the Swiss Publishers Association believes that the Federal Council's plans fall short. It advocates limiting the SRG's online activities instead. This would require a rapid redefinition of the SRG's mandate. It would also like to see a higher share of fees for private radio and TV stations.
©Keystone/SDA
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