Council of States criticizes publishers

The National Council Commission had criticized the public service report and instructed the administration to submit a supplementary report by the end of the year. It wants to know where there is a market failure that justifies state intervention and a public service. The National Council committee also adopted several motions on the subject. For example, it is calling for more parliamentary involvement in the SRG concession and would like to instruct the Federal Council to ban SRG online advertising even after 2018. The Federal Council is considering relaxing the ban in the medium term.

Indispensable for opinion formation

The Council of States does not want to request an additional report. Hannes Germann (SVP/SH) argued in vain that the present report was incomplete and not forward-looking enough. The Council rejected the request on Monday by 37 votes to 5 with 1 abstention. For the majority, the report satisfactorily answers the questions raised in the commission. The fact that the media policy debate went beyond this was not surprising and not the fault of the report, said Géraldine Savary (SP/VD). The SRG was indispensable for the formation of opinion, forming solidarity and creating identity for Switzerland, the majority found. Representatives from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino emphasized the importance for linguistic minorities. Ultimately, SRG must not become a pawn in party-political disputes.

Criticism of publishers

There was criticism of the publishers' "SRG bashing". In the commission, they had not displayed a constructive attitude. "The publishers have not made any concrete demands," said Konrad Graber (CVP/LU). Paul Rechsteiner (SP/SG) said that in view of the challenges in the media landscape, this should give pause for thought. Several members of the Council of States were already focusing their attention on the pending initiatives in parliament. Then the interesting discussion would begin on how a public service would have to be designed in the future to serve the people, said Stefan Engler (CVP/GR). Individual speakers called for stronger cooperation between SRG and private media in order to counter foreign competition.

Media Minister Doris Leuthard explained that the constitutional mandate is important from a state policy perspective. Those who want to change it should make concrete proposals, she said to Germann. The fact that politics is increasingly interfering in the media, however, is a dangerous tendency.

Public service on the Internet

Leuthard had presented the report in June. The Federal Council does not want to turn the current model on its head: SRG should continue to offer a comprehensive public service. In the medium term, however, the government wants to adapt the model to the Internet age. Specifically, the fee-financed SRG should also be able to develop on the Internet - but without restricting the possibilities of the private broadcasters. The Federal Council also wants the SRG to distinguish its programs and online offerings more clearly than before from commercial content. It should also critically review its current practice of purchasing films and series and cooperate more with other broadcasters in the case of broadcasting rights. (SDA)

Image: Parliamentary Services 3003 Bern