TV series about Graubünden media empire: fiction or reality?
Published: Tuesday, Jan 16th 2024, 08:31
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The five-part TV series "L'ultim Rumantsch" on SRF's Rhaeto-Romanic TV channel RTR tells a fictional story about a Graubünden media empire. Similarities to the Somedia publishing family Lebrument cannot be denied. However, the series is much more about the challenges facing the Swiss media landscape.
The series reflects a current topic, wrote RTR editor-in-chief Flavio Bundi in a press release for "L'ultim Rumantsch". It shows the media's struggle for survival and the loss of substance in journalism. It is therefore all the more relevant for a public media company to take up such topics. The series in Romansh and German will be broadcast on SRF 1 every Sunday at 6.15 p.m. from January 21.
The fictional story about the Durisch publishing family shows the fiercely competitive publishing industry. The family drama revolves around outdated business models, dependencies, power, money and envy. When the founder of the "Medias Grischunas" company, Gion-Peder Durisch - known as "GP" - dies unexpectedly, his son Gion, who has been bullied for years, finally wants to exercise his power and shut down the ailing Rhaeto-Romanic newspaper "Posta". However, his activist niece Ladina gets in his way.
Characters resemble the Lebrument family
Certain similarities to the Somedia publishing family Lebrument come to mind. Here too, Hanspeter Lebrument - often referred to as "HP" - founded the Somedia media empire. The publishing house owns the newspapers "Bündner Zeitung", "Glarner Nachrichten" and "Bündner Tagblatt", as well as the radio station "Radio Südostschweiz" and the television station of the same name.
The Somedia empire also has a Rhaeto-Romanic newspaper, "La Quotidiana". In 2017, the media company announced that it no longer wanted to bear the annual deficits and would discontinue the newspaper if no solution could be found. The Fundaziun Medias Rumantschas now produces the paper. However, the newspaper continues to be published by Somedia.
Hanspeter Lebrument's children are also active in the family business - as in the series. Son Silvio Lebrument is Chairman of the Board of Directors. His sister Susanne Lebrument holds the position of Vice President. The youngest son, Pesche Lebrument, is editor-in-chief of the "Bündner Tagblatt" newspaper.
"Similarities don't matter"
The filming of "L'ultim Rumantsch" also took place in the Somedia building in Chur, among other locations. Even Gion's office, or Silvio Lebrument's office, can be seen in places. When asked by the news agency Keystone-SDA, he said that the similarities could not be denied, but that they had not bothered him.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors even gave RTR permission to film in the media house. "If they're going to make a series about a Graubünden media company, they should do it in an authentic building," said Lebrument. He went on to call the series "refreshing", even if he personally would have liked a different ending. He simply hoped not to be perceived as being as "toxic" as his counterpart in the series, Gion Durisch.
RTR writes about the similarities that the Lebrument family was never a role model or topic in the development of the series. The similarities have more to do with social realities. Similar structures would also prevail in other media companies. As the aim was to show an authentic story, the series was based on reality.
©Keystone/SDA
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