Thurgau and Innerrhoden governments oppose No Billag initiative
The Thurgau government and the Innerrhoden state commission are against the No Billag initiative, which will be voted on March 4, 2018. Without reception fees, many media would hardly report from rural regions anymore, they fear.
Both governments recommend a No to the No Billag initiative, as they announced on Wednesday. If radio and TV broadcasts had to be financed exclusively by advertising in the future, the broadcasters would focus their programs almost exclusively on the cities.
"The losers in this process would be the rural areas," writes the Innerrhoder Standeskommission (government). There, the media supply would suffer. Broadcasts like "Schweiz aktuell" or the regional journal would disappear.
Diversity of media and opinion
For the rural cantons, it is particularly important that not only local and regional newspapers, but also radio and television regularly report on regional topics. This contributes to media and opinion diversity and ensures that the population is informed quickly and comprehensively.
The Thurgau government takes a similar view. Eliminating the fees would result in a thinning out of the regional media landscape and media diversity. This is "undesirable from a democratic point of view," it writes. (SDA)
