National Council Commission wants state support for the press
The Federal Council should quickly submit proposals to Parliament for new models for press subsidies. This is the demand of the National Council's State Policy Committee (SPK). It sees the democratic political functions of the media as increasingly being called into question.
With 15 votes to 0 and six abstentions, the commission accepted a motion, as it announced on Friday. If the councils agree, the Federal Council must present a funding concept and a draft legal basis for indirect and direct media funding within two years. An overall view of the Swiss media landscape is to serve as a basis, which the Federal Council is to take in hand immediately. The aim is to safeguard the state and democratic functions of the media, writes the commission.
Last summer, the Federal Council spoke out against an early intervention by the state. It was aware that the media played an important role in democracy and the formation of public opinion, it stated in a report. However, in view of the Internet, the media must first and foremost master the challenges themselves. The Federal Council does not want to make a new assessment of the situation for another four years. If it then becomes clear that the media's efforts are not sufficient to ensure the services necessary from the point of view of state and democracy policy, it will consider additional support measures.
The Federal Council's report also took into account studies on press promotion. One of them took a close look at the effect of the subsidy measures. The authors came to the conclusion that the publishers and associations are relieved by the current subsidies. However, a direct effect with regard to the political goal of journalistic diversity was not evident. The study recommended that the press be promoted in a more targeted and selective manner. Direct press subsidies would require a constitutional amendment.
Today, the Swiss media are supported exclusively by indirect measures. On the one hand, newspapers benefit from reduced postal delivery rates, and on the other from a special rate of value-added tax. The State Policy Committees of the National Council and Council of States had pushed for a change earlier: two years ago, they approved a parliamentary initiative for a new model of press subsidies. (SDA)
