SRG merger plans meet with resistance in Bern and Basel

 
The NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported on SRG's plans to merge Radio DRS and Swiss Television (see ). One option would be a joint editorial office at the Leutschenbach television studio in Zurich. This raises the issue of the location of the radio studios in Basel and Bern, but Bern is not enthusiastic about the merger plans. For Andreas Rickenbacher, Director of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Berne, the capital needs a radio studio. If you want political reporting, you have to be present where politics is done, he is quoted in the Aargauer Zeitung. Mayor Alexander Tschäppat is also anything but enthusiastic about the plans: "It is unacceptable that television, radio and, to a certain extent, the press are centralized in Zurich, which is not even in the middle of Switzerland. Tschäppät also refers to the recent refurbishment of the Bern studio at a cost of CHF 20 million.
Basel is also critical of the SRG's plans. Basel Councillor of States Anita Fetz fears negative consequences for reporting from the Basel region, according to the Basler Zeitung. SRG still has a public service remit that is not limited to the Zurich region. Claude Janiak, member of the Council of States for Basel, also criticizes the concentration plans: SRG radio stations are financed by fees, a large part of which comes from the Basel region. He will therefore discuss "a coordinated approach in the interests of both Basel regions" with Fetz in the near future.
Niggi Ullrich, President of SRG Region Basel and, since the beginning of the year, also a member of the Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz, does not yet wish to comment on the plans, according to the Basler Zeitung. He is not yet aware of the details of the ongoing structural review. However, what he said before taking office still applies: he is committed to maintaining the studios and media jobs in the regions.