DW: State-owned media in the service of democracy?

Is it a democratic good to be informed or a market item, such as tomatoes? Switzerland decides in a referendum whether it will financially support publishing houses that do not make it.

For some, what the Swiss government is planning is seen as a collapse of democracy, but for others it is a salvation. This is the granting of state aid to the media, some of which are struggling to survive with the few advertisements and the reduction of their subscribers. Today the Swiss are called to decide in a referendum and according to the latest polls the result is at the razor’s edge. Opponents of state funding have risen. “No to billionaire taxpayers to media millionaires”, “is a poison to our democracy” are the slogans on their posters.

143 million euros for 7 years

Opponents of the restrictive measures against the pandemic, who helped collect signatures and succeeded in holding the referendum, are on their side. The president of the “Media Law No” association, Peter Weigelt, the same media businessman, says that he has no problem, as he underlined in a televised debate. For his part, Andrea Maziger, chairman of the Publishers’ Union, said opponents wanted to weaken the media so as not to challenge conspiracy theories that circulated uncontrollably.

Communications Minister Simoneta Somaruga wants to lend a helping hand to the media, as she believes it contributes to strengthening democracy. According to him, voters have the right to be well informed, especially at the local level with local pension offices. The planned financial package amounts to 143 million euros per year for seven years. Most of them are intended to subsidize publications that are delivered every morning to their readers and their distribution. In fact, for the first time, the online media are expected to be strengthened.

Discussions about state subsidies for millions in publishing houses are also taking place in Germany. Publishers are asking for help with distribution. So far, VAT has been reduced only in print media, from 19% to 7%. From 2020 it was extended to online publications. Compared to Germany, state support in Switzerland is much higher. The Avenir Suisse Foundation estimates it at 440 million francs a year. The distribution of newspapers is already subsidized, plus VAT deductions and support for regional stations and newspapers. In addition, the Swiss broadcasting company SRG receives 1.2 billion francs each year. As in Germany, public television is financed by the reciprocal fee paid by households.

The fourth power is not a classic industry

The phrase “media millionaires” refers, for example, to Pietro Supinos, head of the largest Swiss media group TX Group, whose face can be seen on the posters of the opponents of the state subsidy package. The Tamedia group belongs to this group with the emblematic newspaper Tages-Anzeiger and other newspapers and magazines. Should the package be approved in a referendum, the group will receive financial assistance to distribute its newspapers, despite the fact that the TX band is profitable. In 2020 the profits amounted to 130.9 million francs. The TX digital markets are also profitable, for example for real estate, as Supino said in an online media. “The company Tamedia, in which we gathered the advertising sector, has a financial problem.” He does not hide that he is in favor of the state subsidy package.

There are 249 newspaper headlines in Switzerland, according to data from the Swiss media industry organization 2021, with a circulation of 4.76 million sheets. In Germany, with a population of ten, there are 338 newspapers with a circulation of 15.2 million sheets, according to the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Publishers of Newspapers (BDZV). In both countries many titles have the same “cover” as their local editions. Proponents of the financial media package say most of the resources will go to small publishers who are struggling to survive. According to Avenir Suisse, net ad sales in print fell by 60% between 2003 and 2020. “The package supports a democracy-related industry, the so-called fourth power, which is unmatched by any other,” he said. Ditley, Liberal politician at the Neue Zurcher Zeitung. The media has “irreplaceable value” for democracy.

Christiane Ellich / dpa

Edited by: Irini Anastassopoulou

Source: Deutsche Welle