Leuenberger on media convergence: first structure, then personnel decisions

Moritz Leuenberger is holding the SRG to account: the planned closer cooperation between radio and TV must first be structurally designed before discussing personnel issues. The media minister is thus referring to the rumors circulating that television boss Ingrid Deltenre is to become the new general director of radio and TV as part of the planned restructuring.
Leuenberger said in an interview with the Tagesanzeiger newspaper on Friday that the convergence project harbored risks from a journalistic perspective. Restructuring would have to be accepted by consumers and employees. Great caution was therefore required with regard to personnel issues and the speed of the reform. It is also important that media convergence does not lead to a concentration in individual cities. In German-speaking Switzerland, television is already very "Zurich-heavy".

Transitional head as a possible solution
The restructuring will be made easier if it is not carried out by the future superintendent, said Leuenberger. In this case, the future head of radio and TV would not be able to bring his personal interests into the media convergence project. Such an interim head could be an external person or someone who would not subsequently be responsible for implementing the media convergence project. However, such questions would have to be clarified by the SRG Board of Directors.

Savings potential for technology and buildings
The media convergence project offers opportunities above all in the online sector. "Not every radio and television station has to have its own website," Leuenberger continues. Synergies could also be better exploited in terms of building and technology purchases. A review by the federal government in 2006 showed that there was potential for savings in these areas.

Support also from SRG
Leuenberger's demands have also met with approval within SRG: there has long been a great deal of untapped savings potential at SRG, said Dieter Niedermann, Chairman of the Presidents of SRG Deutschschweiz, in an interview published in the Berner Zeitung on Friday. From a purely economic point of view, centralization also makes sense for radio and TV. However, television and radio do not simply produce ravioli, but contribute to the formation of opinion. Niedermann therefore doubts that radio and television can be merged editorially. As the SRG President told the NZZ am Sonntag, he criticizes above all the SRG's poor information policy: "I don't have the SRG report, but I may have to make a decision in a week's time".

(Image: Keystone)