Against venality
Op-Ed: For Hans-Jürg Fehr, the revision of the RTVG is largely going as he had hoped. He identifies areas in need of improvement regarding political advertising and the regulatory bodies.
Guest commentary For Hans-Jürg Fehr, the revision of the RTVA is largely going according to plan. He sees a need for improvement in the areas of political advertising and the supervisory bodies. It is pleasing that the FDP and SVP motions for rejection were rejected. They had a single goal: to clip the wings of the SRG. And they did so more radically than the same circles later tried again with a series of (also unsuccessful) minority motions. These attacks, which arose from neoliberal ideology and old resentments, were aimed at the old enemy, the SRG. However, they also completely failed to recognize the interests of the Swiss advertising industry: a weakening of the SRG would not be to the advantage of private TV stations, but to that of foreign SRG competitors. Not only would the public service in the various language regions be massively damaged, but also the best electronic advertising platform.
The second important plus point is the legal anchoring of fee splitting. This will secure the existence of our finely structured local radio landscape. However, as fees will in future only be paid in connection with performance mandates, the splitting also means an expansion of the public service. In conjunction with a better endowed licence fee fund, it will also be possible to improve journalistic pay and working conditions in addition to the quality of private radio stations.
With the fee share limited to four percent (around CHF 45 million), the loss-making regional TVs can also be given a bigger helping hand. They will receive an additional boost from the asymmetrical advertising regulations in their favor: they allow private broadcasters to advertise beer and wine, political parties and religious communities, thus opening up markets that remain closed to SRG. However, it is doubtful whether these decisions will survive the deliberations in the Council of States.
Political advertising is problematic. This is permitted in the rest of Europe. But state funding of political parties is also common there. Without this, political TV advertising in particular would prove to be an extreme preference for financially strong parties, associations and individuals. That is undesirable. We want a direct democracy, not a venal one.
One of the negative points is the removal of the regional language public councils. The Council of States will have to make improvements here, as someone in the public service must check whether providers are adhering to their service mandates.
> Hans-Jürg Fehr is a member of the National Council of Schaffhausen, a member of the parliamentary media commission and the newly crowned SP President.
The second important plus point is the legal anchoring of fee splitting. This will secure the existence of our finely structured local radio landscape. However, as fees will in future only be paid in connection with performance mandates, the splitting also means an expansion of the public service. In conjunction with a better endowed licence fee fund, it will also be possible to improve journalistic pay and working conditions in addition to the quality of private radio stations.
With the fee share limited to four percent (around CHF 45 million), the loss-making regional TVs can also be given a bigger helping hand. They will receive an additional boost from the asymmetrical advertising regulations in their favor: they allow private broadcasters to advertise beer and wine, political parties and religious communities, thus opening up markets that remain closed to SRG. However, it is doubtful whether these decisions will survive the deliberations in the Council of States.
Political advertising is problematic. This is permitted in the rest of Europe. But state funding of political parties is also common there. Without this, political TV advertising in particular would prove to be an extreme preference for financially strong parties, associations and individuals. That is undesirable. We want a direct democracy, not a venal one.
One of the negative points is the removal of the regional language public councils. The Council of States will have to make improvements here, as someone in the public service must check whether providers are adhering to their service mandates.
> Hans-Jürg Fehr is a member of the National Council of Schaffhausen, a member of the parliamentary media commission and the newly crowned SP President.
