New acid test overcome
The Swiss Press Association's annual conference in St. Moritz reached an agreement on the issue of press subsidies
Disputes over current hot topics repeatedly bring the VSP to the brink of division. Two years ago, it was the new CLA, where the interests of the large and small publishing houses could not be reconciled - the dispute ultimately led to more than a dozen members leaving the association. This year, another secession was on the cards: press subsidies were the subject of the impending rift.
And once again, it was the small publishers whose interests were diametrically opposed to those of the large ones. As is well known, the question of press subsidies is how the current CHF 100 million from the state - which will now be less - should be used in future. Should these contributions continue to be made indirectly, as has been the case to date with the reduction in postal taxes, or should direct support in the form of direct payments to publishers whose newspapers perform public service tasks also be possible?
As the heated debate revealed, a majority of the association's members reject direct press subsidies: On the one hand, they are aware of the dangers and the fundamental harmfulness of structure-preserving measures. On the other hand, the fear was expressed that state-supported media could be curtailed in their independence.
Although small publishers also see these dangers, they did not want to rule out direct funding measures in principle. They therefore urged that the text containing the basic position on press subsidies be qualified accordingly (see box). After intensive discussions and counter-proposals, the relevant relativizations were finally included in the text. If they had been left out, as demanded by Peter Wanner, publisher of the Aargauer Zeitung, for example, the association would have been threatened with a split between large and small publishers. This was made particularly clear by certain exponents of small publishers.
But even among the small publishers, not everyone was blowing the same horn. One of the smallest of the small publishers, Urs Gossweiler, of all people, advocated the abolition of state subsidies. "The state should limit itself to improving the framework conditions for the entire economy," demanded the publisher from Brienz. There is no need for special favors for the media. The main reason for Gossweiler's stance: he is worried about the image of subsidized titles. "What will advertising think of such newspapers," he said. However, Gossweiler ultimately withdrew his proposal in favor of Wanner's motion, which nevertheless failed to gain a majority in the vote. So at the end of the long debate, the world between the large and small publishers was more or less back in order, even if it was only accepted with gritted teeth here and there.
What united everyone at the congress was the economic crisis and its impact on the advertising markets. The reasons for this and possible remedies were the central theme. Federal President Kaspar Villiger also devoted himself entirely to the search for causes. He identified the profound current crisis of confidence as one of the main reasons and a major threat to the sluggish economy. "Without trust, no society and no economy can function," he said.
The reasons that Villiger cited for the general loss of trust are well known: Many top managers seemed to have lost their sense of proportion and responsibility. Doubts about the competence, goodwill and honesty of large sections of the so-called elite had spread. "The failures of a relatively small number of people are massively damaging the overall climate of trust," said Villiger.
These fallible elites have also done a disservice to the idea of community and solidarity. Their lack of solidarity with the common good also led to a lack of solidarity among the public. "Entrepreneurs and managers now face the difficult task of rebuilding the trust that has been damaged," said the magistrate. "After all, the trust of voters, customers and readers determines the acceptance of our products in the long term. But it also determines the long-term stability of society and the economy."
Coninx stays - Werfeli is new
Hans Heinrich Coninx will - against his will - remain in office as President of the VSP for another year. When he was re-elected last year, the Tamedia publisher announced that he would step down before the end of his four-year term of office. This search is obviously proving difficult: in St. Moritz, where he was elected VSP President exactly ten years ago, Coninx was not yet able to present any proposals for a successor. However, he made it clear that 2003 would be his last year as president. He will give his farewell speech at the next congress, which will take place in Interlaken from September 18 to 20, said Coninx. Beat Lauber has already left the VSP presidency. Due to his move from Ringier to NZZ, the latter would have been represented twice (with Marco de Stoppani). Ringier COO Martin Werfeli was elected to replace Lauber on the board.
Press promotion compromise
The main point of contention in the VSP's position on the future form of state press funding was the question of whether or not the door should also be left open for direct press funding. At the insistence of small publishers, the demand for indirect support measures supported by the vast majority of association members was qualified with the word "preferably". The wording of the basic position finally adopted by a large majority: "The Swiss Press Association considers comprehensive press promotion to be an integral part of the framework conditions to be created by the state. Support should preferably be achieved by means of so-called indirect support measures. The association is actively involved in finding a practicable solution which, as in the past, should take disproportionate account of the concerns of locally and regionally active, predominantly smaller publishers. It is developing concrete models and is seeking cooperation with the administration, politicians and the postal service."
