Startled by TV commercial: Media freedom campaign calls for transparency with Billag
The outrage over Billag's long advertising gimmick is making further waves. After Blick made the story its cover story on Tuesday, Aktion Medienfreiheit is now demanding more transparency from the fee office. A corresponding proposal by National Councillor Natalie Rickli has still not been answered, writes the group in a press release on Wednesday.
The outrage over Billag's long advertising gimmick is making further waves. After Blick made the story its cover story on Tuesday, the Campaign for Media Freedom is now demanding more transparency from the fee office. A corresponding proposal by National Councillor Natalie Rickli - Vice President of the Campaign for Media Freedom - has still not been answered, the group wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
Swiss fee payers are rightly complaining more and more frequently about the immensely high compulsory fees for radio and television. The situation is particularly annoying because nobody knows exactly where the fee money goes, she continues. For example, it is not clear what Billag needs over CHF 55 million a year for. As the Swisscom and Accarda subsidiary does not publish its accounts, it is not known how the individual expense items are presented in the annual financial statements, what profit Billag reports and how many employees the company has.
"Taxes and license fee money must be used responsibly. The fact that the Swiss have to pay such high radio and television fees and nobody knows what this money is actually used for is absolutely unsatisfactory," Filippo Leutenegger, President of the Campaign for Media Freedom, is quoted as saying in the press release. The Campaign for Media Freedom now intends to pursue the matter persistently.
Swiss fee payers are rightly complaining more and more frequently about the immensely high compulsory fees for radio and television. The situation is particularly annoying because nobody knows exactly where the fee money goes, she continues. For example, it is not clear what Billag needs over CHF 55 million a year for. As the Swisscom and Accarda subsidiary does not publish its accounts, it is not known how the individual expense items are presented in the annual financial statements, what profit Billag reports and how many employees the company has.
"Taxes and license fee money must be used responsibly. The fact that the Swiss have to pay such high radio and television fees and nobody knows what this money is actually used for is absolutely unsatisfactory," Filippo Leutenegger, President of the Campaign for Media Freedom, is quoted as saying in the press release. The Campaign for Media Freedom now intends to pursue the matter persistently.
