Billag discussion
As the trade association has launched a referendum against the new Billag fee, it will be put to the people in June. The NZZ am Sonntag publishes a debate between Christian Wasserfallen, who believes the SRG should be allowed to shrink, and Jacqueline Badran, who wants to strengthen it.
According to Wasserfallen, the bill "above all cements the strong position of the SRG without discussing the content of the public service". It must be possible to discuss the existence of Radio SRF Virus or the music program Swiss Pop, because such programs would take the water away from private radio stations. In addition, the new Billag fee would "secretly introduce a media tax for companies", which is not sustainable.
Badran, on the other hand, finds a political debate on specific content "tricky", as this would put the independence of SRG at risk. According to the SP National Councillor, the quality of the programs is already supported by a broad-based, democratically elected body. "The control of the media is guaranteed by the responsible bodies of the SRG sponsorship with 23,000 association members." She does not want "conditions like those in Germany, Austria, France or Italy, where politics interferes in the public media". The media should control politics, not the other way around. Wasserfallen, on the other hand, considers this to be "a bizarre understanding of the SRG", which has a political mandate. (NZZ am Sonntag/sis)
