Hanspeter Lebrument: Relieving the burden on newspapers by 500 to 600 million francs
Swiss newspapers should be relieved of 500 to 600 million francs a year. This would stop media concentration, said publisher president Hanspeter Lebrument in an interview with the Basler Zeitung.
In order to achieve these savings, adjustments to the VAT reform, the Postal Services Act or the education reform in favor of journalism training are necessary, Lebrument said in today's edition on Friday.
However, Lebrument went on to say that if parliament decided on better framework conditions, this would certainly be accompanied by restrictions. Levers would be built in that would not only please the very large media companies: A publisher should not expect profits to be too large. Anyone looking to maximize profits would have to change sectors. Economic size associated with the publishing business will no longer be accepted at some point due to the lack of independence. With this vote, the publisher of the newspaper Die Südostschweiz is supporting small and medium-sized publishers.
In the interview, Lebrument also speaks out against an article on media diversity in the constitution. Such an article would only result in an artificially imposed media diversity. It is the publishers' job to ensure that the titles remain distinguishable.
Despite the 400 or so jobs that have been cut in the Swiss journalism industry in recent months, Lebrument does not see the situation as dramatic. The editorial offices are still large enough to provide a public service. They should concentrate on this core task and narrow down their current overly broad range of topics, Lebrument demands. He does not believe that the newspapers would lose readers as a result.
However, Lebrument went on to say that if parliament decided on better framework conditions, this would certainly be accompanied by restrictions. Levers would be built in that would not only please the very large media companies: A publisher should not expect profits to be too large. Anyone looking to maximize profits would have to change sectors. Economic size associated with the publishing business will no longer be accepted at some point due to the lack of independence. With this vote, the publisher of the newspaper Die Südostschweiz is supporting small and medium-sized publishers.
In the interview, Lebrument also speaks out against an article on media diversity in the constitution. Such an article would only result in an artificially imposed media diversity. It is the publishers' job to ensure that the titles remain distinguishable.
Despite the 400 or so jobs that have been cut in the Swiss journalism industry in recent months, Lebrument does not see the situation as dramatic. The editorial offices are still large enough to provide a public service. They should concentrate on this core task and narrow down their current overly broad range of topics, Lebrument demands. He does not believe that the newspapers would lose readers as a result.
