No "More of the same" in Zurich
At a talk organized by the Zurich City SP, Jean-Pierre Hoby, head of the Cultural Affairs Office, called for a radio station dedicated to the concerns of kids
At a talk hosted by the city of Zurich's Social Democrats, Head of the Department of Culture Jean-Pierre Hoby called for a radio station to address the concerns of kidsBy Stefano Monachesi Zurich's young people should be given a youth radio station, according to the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom). The cable stations Radio 105, Swiss Music Radio and Virus immediately filed claims. However, the target group would like to become radio-active themselves. This was demonstrated by a panel discussion organized by the SP of the city of Zurich.
"For me, the new frequency clearly belongs to Radio 105." George Wismer, head of Swiss Music Radio, surprised the audience right at the beginning with a backpedal. He said that 105 initiator Giuseppe Scaglione had been fighting for terrestrial broadcasting for five years and deserved it. Swiss Music Radio itself expects that further frequencies will be distributed.
Andreas Schefer from DRS 3 and Virus followed up with a second retraction: SRG is still waiting for the exact tender from Bakom. If, as indicated, this explicitly requires a local focus, Virus will not apply for the license - for regulatory reasons: Private, commercial broadcasters are intended for local stations, while SRG is responsible for national or supra-regional stations.
This left the internet station DJ Radio with CEO Egon Blatter as a competitor on the podium for 105. "Virus and 105 are not what I imagine a youth radio station to be," Blatter attacked his competitors. Young people want a station where they can realize their dreams of making music and creating media. "We are creating a platform for different projects and youth cultures."
Blatter had the audience on his side. There were a few dozen young people in the room who were interested in radio, although they were only just in the 15 to 25 target group. They were largely negative about "commercial stations" and included Virus and 105 alongside Radio 24 and Hitradio Z. They wanted a radio by young people for young people and opportunities to shape their own lives. Demands for political and financial support from the city became clear. The alternative stations Radio 3fach from Lucerne and Toxic.fm from St.Gallen served as possible role models. With a limited budget, largely financed by sponsorship, experiments should be made possible and commercialization prevented. By providing young people with radio training, wage costs are also kept low.
Giuseppe Scaglione opposed this idea of youth radio. He said that 105 does not give away program slots to untrained young people, because "young people's expectations of a radio program are relatively high. We are competing with MTV here!" With Radio Lora, the city of Zurich already has a participatory station. "What's missing is a commercial youth radio station!"
Commercials don't want pastoral radio
Zurich's culture commissioner Jean-Pierre Hoby did not share this opinion. He called on Bakom to include the possibility of non-commercial financing in the tender. The city wants a station that is alternative in every respect: "We don't want 'more of the same'." Zurich needs a radio station that addresses the concerns of the city's young people and can be used for youth politics, said Hoby. Problems such as housing shortages and drug addiction urgently need to be addressed in a youth-oriented way.
Hoby did not see the fact that this would amount to "pastoral radio", as one viewer remarked, as negative. He also did not disagree with the comment made by discussion leader Rolf Hürzeler, "So in future you should loosen the toaster instead of reading". However, the Zurich Culture Commissioner ruled out subsidies for such a project. Instead, he was open to models involving foundations or sponsorship, such as those represented by 3fach and Toxic.fm.
Hoby considered the question of what kind of music a youth radio station should play to be irrelevant, which triggered protests in the hall. For once, the audience and the radio producers were in agreement: "Content does create listener loyalty, but 90 percent of listeners tune in because of the music," emphasized Scaglione. A station is defined by its sound, said George Wismer, while the journalistic content is the same in all media.
Shortly before the end of the talk, Hans Strassmann, frequency specialist at SRG, took the floor. He pointed out that further frequencies could still be used in Zurich. However, the federal government is currently planning a reorganization of VHF frequency distribution, which it does not want to complicate with further allocations. The time horizon for this is five or six years. Then, according to Strassmann, the whole current discussion will be obsolete anyway.
SP-Talk on youth radio
"For me, the new frequency clearly belongs to Radio 105." George Wismer, head of Swiss Music Radio, surprised the audience right at the beginning with a backpedal. He said that 105 initiator Giuseppe Scaglione had been fighting for terrestrial broadcasting for five years and deserved it. Swiss Music Radio itself expects that further frequencies will be distributed.
Andreas Schefer from DRS 3 and Virus followed up with a second retraction: SRG is still waiting for the exact tender from Bakom. If, as indicated, this explicitly requires a local focus, Virus will not apply for the license - for regulatory reasons: Private, commercial broadcasters are intended for local stations, while SRG is responsible for national or supra-regional stations.
This left the internet station DJ Radio with CEO Egon Blatter as a competitor on the podium for 105. "Virus and 105 are not what I imagine a youth radio station to be," Blatter attacked his competitors. Young people want a station where they can realize their dreams of making music and creating media. "We are creating a platform for different projects and youth cultures."
Blatter had the audience on his side. There were a few dozen young people in the room who were interested in radio, although they were only just in the 15 to 25 target group. They were largely negative about "commercial stations" and included Virus and 105 alongside Radio 24 and Hitradio Z. They wanted a radio by young people for young people and opportunities to shape their own lives. Demands for political and financial support from the city became clear. The alternative stations Radio 3fach from Lucerne and Toxic.fm from St.Gallen served as possible role models. With a limited budget, largely financed by sponsorship, experiments should be made possible and commercialization prevented. By providing young people with radio training, wage costs are also kept low.
Giuseppe Scaglione opposed this idea of youth radio. He said that 105 does not give away program slots to untrained young people, because "young people's expectations of a radio program are relatively high. We are competing with MTV here!" With Radio Lora, the city of Zurich already has a participatory station. "What's missing is a commercial youth radio station!"
Commercials don't want pastoral radio
Zurich's culture commissioner Jean-Pierre Hoby did not share this opinion. He called on Bakom to include the possibility of non-commercial financing in the tender. The city wants a station that is alternative in every respect: "We don't want 'more of the same'." Zurich needs a radio station that addresses the concerns of the city's young people and can be used for youth politics, said Hoby. Problems such as housing shortages and drug addiction urgently need to be addressed in a youth-oriented way.
Hoby did not see the fact that this would amount to "pastoral radio", as one viewer remarked, as negative. He also did not disagree with the comment made by discussion leader Rolf Hürzeler, "So in future you should loosen the toaster instead of reading". However, the Zurich Culture Commissioner ruled out subsidies for such a project. Instead, he was open to models involving foundations or sponsorship, such as those represented by 3fach and Toxic.fm.
Hoby considered the question of what kind of music a youth radio station should play to be irrelevant, which triggered protests in the hall. For once, the audience and the radio producers were in agreement: "Content does create listener loyalty, but 90 percent of listeners tune in because of the music," emphasized Scaglione. A station is defined by its sound, said George Wismer, while the journalistic content is the same in all media.
Shortly before the end of the talk, Hans Strassmann, frequency specialist at SRG, took the floor. He pointed out that further frequencies could still be used in Zurich. However, the federal government is currently planning a reorganization of VHF frequency distribution, which it does not want to complicate with further allocations. The time horizon for this is five or six years. Then, according to Strassmann, the whole current discussion will be obsolete anyway.
SP-Talk on youth radio
"What kind of youth radio does Zurich need?" asked the SP Zurich and hosted a talk. In addition to Martin Dumermuth from the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) and the city of Zurich's culture commissioner Jean-Pierre Hoby, the panel included radio producers George Wismer (Swiss Music Radio), Egon Blatter (DJ Radio), Andreas Schefer (DRS 3/Virus) and Giuseppe Scaglione (105). The interview was conducted by Facts media editor Rolf Hürzeler.
