Predominantly state-owned
Oliver Classen on the ruinous sell-out of press freedom
Oliver Classen on the ruinous sell-out of press freedomIs Switzerland's newspaper industry turning into a banana republic? Hanspeter Lebrument expresses this understandable fear in an interview with Werbewoche (page 29). The newly appointed publisher president is concerned about the abstruse anti-concentration clause in the RTVA revision and not the National Council's even more serious approval of the new media article and the associated direct press promotion. Nevertheless, Lebrument is officially partly responsible for this media and regulatory debacle. After all, his Swiss Press Association beat the state-believing SP zealots to the punch by relativizing that future
Funding measures should "preferably" be indirect, the decisive ideological steep pass at the last annual congress. Seen in this light, the unrealistic foundation model (see page 20) is ultimately nothing more than its consistent exploitation - and an own goal for the entire industry.
The small, insidious insertion was originally intended as a rhetorical concession to those subsidy-hungry small and micro-publishers who occasionally harbor secessionist desires. Now it turns out that, compared to the announced erosion of Swiss press freedom, a split in the association representing the most contradictory interests would be the lesser evil by far.
Let's hope that Lebrument sees it the same way and quickly follows up his official consternation with action. Otherwise, one morning in the not too distant future, he could wake up in a wild banana plantation instead of an orderly Swiss forest.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
Funding measures should "preferably" be indirect, the decisive ideological steep pass at the last annual congress. Seen in this light, the unrealistic foundation model (see page 20) is ultimately nothing more than its consistent exploitation - and an own goal for the entire industry.
The small, insidious insertion was originally intended as a rhetorical concession to those subsidy-hungry small and micro-publishers who occasionally harbor secessionist desires. Now it turns out that, compared to the announced erosion of Swiss press freedom, a split in the association representing the most contradictory interests would be the lesser evil by far.
Let's hope that Lebrument sees it the same way and quickly follows up his official consternation with action. Otherwise, one morning in the not too distant future, he could wake up in a wild banana plantation instead of an orderly Swiss forest.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
