The new media law will soon go before the people

by Thomas Scherr

(9 December 2021) The “State Media No” committee submitted its referendum against the new media law with over 110,000 signatures at the beginning of October 2021. The Federal Council set the voting date for 13 February 2022 and opened the referendum campaign in the first days of December.

The new media law passed by parliament defines how the Confederation is to support Swiss media financially in the future. Print media, the association and member press as well as online media will benefit from the funding. The package of measures provides for higher subsidies in future for the postal delivery of daily and weekly newspapers. Subsidies in the millions are planned for the association and member press as well as for online media. This new package of measures is planned for seven years.

Although it was already known in mid-September that the necessary quorum of 50,000 signatures for the referendum would be far exceeded, hardly anything was heard despite a press release from the committee. Interestingly, most major media outlets had refrained from reporting on the referendum. They tend to be on the side of the supporters of the subsidy law, since it is about securing not inconsiderable state subsidies for the companies. Precisely for this reason, their non-reaction left a somewhat ambivalent impression, since in doing so they in a way proved the “State Media No” committee right.

As a reaction to this success, it was not long before a committee supporting state media subsidies was founded. This committee brings together major media institutions such as the Association of Swiss Media, the Association of Swiss Private Radio Stations, Telesuisse, Radios régionales romandes, the Swiss School of Journalism, keystone sda, Centre de formation au journalisme et aux médias. This committee is also supported by a broad group of parliamentarians, mainly from the left to left-liberal spectrum.

Both sides argue that freedom and diversity of the press are at stake. The supporters of subsidies say: “the media are indispensable for our direct democracy. By providing well-founded and critical information on relevant, sometimes also uncomfortable facts and positions, they form the foundation of democratic opinion-forming processes. With their reporting from and for the regions, they enable debate and contribute to regional cohesion in our federalist country”. (Source: https://die-meinungsfreiheit.ch/fakten/)

The opponents of the subsidy law say: “state funding of private media is unnecessary and harmful. It squanders taxpayers’ money, endangers democracy and distorts the market. The profiteers are well-off publishers and rich corporations like the Tages-Anzeiger Group, Ringier, CH Media or Hersant Média. Their grip on taxpayers’ wallets must be prevented. The outrageous billion-dollar subsidies make the media dependent on politics. Thus they lose their credibility and function as the fourth power in the state.” (Source: https://staatsmedien-nein.ch/kern-argumente/)

In this context, it must be noted that today’s media landscape is actually dominated by only a handful of media groups, which are also strongly networked with foreign countries. It is precisely they who would benefit from these additional subsidies. In any case, the Swiss media landscape has been showing an increasing political monotony for years. One need only think of the “court reporting” on certain federal councillors. It is also worth remembering the interest of many parliamentarians in appearing in the media as often as possible: a kind of give and take.

Switzerland’s regional, also controversial and federalist media landscape with its more than 3,000 newspapers has been gone for 30 years. This media law is definitely decades too late. And – especially smaller regional portals would quickly fall into state dependency with subsidies. Pluralism of opinion and federalism will hardly develop in this way. If one considers the influence of the Swiss Radio and Television Company (SRG), the state has enough influence on opinion-forming anyway.

This new law also has a financial impact, as the “State Media No” committee points out: “the publishers do not need any subsidies. Even in the Corona year 2020, the big four media groups earned almost 300 million francs. They would benefit the most from the new subsidies. The small publishing houses are also doing well. Today, the private media houses are already subsidised to the tune of 81 million francs per year for their radio and TV stations. With the reduced VAT, they will save another 130 million. Together with the newly planned subsidies of 178 million, the private media cost the taxpayers about 400 million francs a year – about 3 billion in the next 7 years!”

Similar efforts to subsidise larger publishing houses are also found in Germany. But there, the people have no direct democratic influence. They can only watch as a uniform carpet of opinion solidifies in the country.

The only thing that can be done is to ensure independent journalism in order to guarantee diversity of opinion. It is indispensable for a direct democracy. But this is exactly what the new media law does not achieve.

(Translation "Swiss Standpoint“)