Last but not least: Sevice-public or rather an advertising campaign?
Should it be the SRG's responsibility to report on events such as the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel?
Zurich SVP National Councillor Gregor Rutz enquired about this during question time in the National Council on Monday. He wanted to know whether a state advertising campaign for tunnel openings was really necessary and how much taxpayers' money was being spent on it. He also wanted to know whether it was not the responsibility of the SRG to report on such events as part of the public service.
As Transport Minister Doris Leuthard explained in response to this question, the "Through and across Switzerland" advertising campaign is being supported in full by the main sponsors and other partners. The main sponsors are ABB, Coop, Crédit Suiss, Mondaine and Stadler Rail. According to Leuthard, taxpayers' money will only be used for the opening ceremony. SRG will also report on this in detail and make the images available to others free of charge.
Gregor Rutz's question does not come as a surprise in the context of the fierce debate surrounding the public service. The media minister's answer also makes perfect sense. However, with the question of private radio and television stations behind him: "How much SRG do we need?", the distribution of information on the advertising campaign and public service is a little perplexing: there is an advertising campaign with information on the opening of the tunnel, which is carried by the main sponsors. SRG then reports on the celebration. (uma/SDA)
