Council of States decides on indirect press funding
Published: Thursday, Dec 5th 2024, 05:40
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On Thursday, the Council of States will discuss whether the federal government should maintain the so-called indirect press subsidy. This means that the federal government grants publishers of subscription-based daily and weekly newspapers in the regional and local press discounts for the delivery of their newspapers.
In September, the National Council decided to continue this funding for a further seven years. It also wants to increase it from the current CHF 30 million to CHF 45 million. In addition, early delivery of publications from these publishers is to be subsidized, not just daily delivery.
The Committee for Transport and Telecommunications of the Council of States (KVF-S) is proposing that the bill be approved. However, the committee believes that only CHF 40 million per year should be allocated to the daily delivery of newspapers and magazines rather than CHF 45 million.
According to the KVF-S, the newly proposed annual subsidies for early delivery should amount to a maximum of CHF 25 million, not CHF 30 million as the National Council wants. Unlike the upper chamber, the Council of States committee wants to retain contributions for the membership and foundation press. The National Council wants to abolish these.
A proposal for the introduction of channel- and business model-independent promotion of electronic media will also be discussed on Thursday. This proposal was approved by the National Council. The preliminary consultation committee of the Council of States rejected it.
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