So, after all: SRG Board of Directors decides to move radio to Zurich

170 employees of "Echo der Zeit," "Rendez-vous" and other info programs are affected by the move from the Bern radio studio to the Leutschenbach television studio. The relocation of the workplaces is to take place from the end of 2020, subject to the legally required consultation procedure, SRG writes. It emphasizes that it will remain present in Bern with 550 employees.

With the decision to relocate, the Board of Directors followed a request by SRF's management. The measure is intended to save five million francs a year - without cutting jobs or affecting programming, SRG stresses. It wants to save a total of 100 million francs. "The public service is at the service of society," SRG Director General Gilles Marchand explained in the communiqué. "It must constantly adapt to new conditions and at the same time anticipate the development of the media."

15 years after the revolution in the video sector, the next upheavals are taking place in the audio sector. In dialogue with the teams, it was important to ensure the presence of the broadcasts and programs in the new forms of media use as well. With the reorganization of the radio editorial teams, the SRG is continuing with digitization.

SSM wants to check legality

The decision of the SRG Board of Directors triggered sharp criticism. Centralization "does not suit a publicly financed and nationally active medium well," wrote the SRG Bern Fribourg Valais cooperative. It is part of the SRG family. Internally, all possible scenarios are now being discussed, up to and including withdrawal. The board will meet on Thursday to discuss how to proceed, said President Leander Jaggi on Radio SRF's Regionaljournal. The cooperative members will have the final say.

"Blow for employees"

The "decision against Bern" is likely to be a heavy blow for many employees and endanger their livelihoods, fears the cooperative. It is calling on SRG to assume responsibility towards its staff. The Swiss Syndicate of Media Workers (SSM) wants to examine the legality of the relocation decision. The union writes that the decision was made without granting the SSM its right to be heard.

Concerned authorities

The city and canton of Bern as well as the capital region also found clear words in a joint communiqué. The SRG was in danger of losing support among the population, they said. "We are concerned about the concentration of news media in Zurich." For Bern's mayor Alec von Graffenried, cantonal councillor Christoph Ammann and Fribourg's mayor Thierry Steiert, the "uncompromising approach" of the fee-financed public media company is "factually wrong and politically insensitive." "With this approach, SRG will weaken itself in the medium term, not strengthen it," Ammann is quoted as saying. The SRG leadership is not only upsetting the Bern region, but is also increasingly abandoning the basic idea of a regionally anchored public service.

"No way!" - Politicians react indignantly

SRG's decision has prompted outraged reactions from various politicians on social media. "Not at all!" tweeted Aline Trede, a Green member of the Bernese National Council. Green Party President Regula Rytz, also a Bernese, followed up: "Centralizing SRF information in Zurich is a cost-cutting exercise at the expense of diversity and democracy."

SP National Councilor Adrian Wüthrich took a more nuanced view of the matter, saying that the SRG Board of Directors had demonstrated its independence with the decision, but he still thought it was wrong. FDP National Councillor Christian Wasserfallen tweeted: "Public service is not a one-way street to Zurich.

"Idée Leutschenbach instead of Ideé Suisse," commented the CVP City and Canton of Bern succinctly. "Wrong, insensitive, apolitical," found the Valais CVP state councilor Christophe Darbellay. (SDA)