Media Commission advocates reform of media subsidies
Society depends on media content that the market alone cannot provide. According to the Federal Media Commission (EMEK), this remains true even in the digital age. The Commission therefore advocates for a reform of media funding.
The media are in crisis. Newspapers are disappearing, editorial offices are being downsized, and there is intense debate about the public service. With its paper presented on Monday, the EMEK wants to contribute to an objectification of the discussion, as it writes.
EMEK President Otfried Jarren spoke of a "massive change process. As an example, he cited the planned job cuts at the news agency SDA. The EMEK is following the "peculiar developments" surrounding SDA with care, he said. It fears that there will be service cuts, he said.
It is clear to the EMEK that journalistic services remain important: For a functioning democracy, politically informed citizens are needed, the commission states. However, digitization is changing the production, distribution and consumption of media content.
Advertising shifts
Media content can only be partially refinanced on the audience market, because the social benefit is higher than the individual willingness to pay. This is why private media organizations are dependent on advertising as a source of funding. However, this is shifting from journalistic media to search engines, social media and classified ad portals.
Against this background, the Commission puts forward three measures for discussion. First, as in previous papers, it argues for online media promotion. In the digital world, there is a danger that socially relevant online journalism will be displaced by pseudojournalistic offerings, the paper says.
SRG also online
Secondly, the SRG is to be adapted to digital conditions in order to reach young audiences as well. However, the EMEK emphasizes that this does not mean that SRG should offer everything. A public media organization should be allowed to be innovative, but it must distinguish itself from purely advertising-financed providers. The SRG's services will remain central in the future, in order to reach the entire population and to bring different sub-publics into an exchange with each other. In the medium and long term, however, it would be necessary to discuss what content should be provided to fulfill this task.
Ensure access
Third, rules on network access, network neutrality and algorithms could ensure that the population continues to have access to a comprehensive and diverse media offering. According to the paper, digitization also presents the media with the challenge of how journalistic content finds its way to users. After all, journalistic content only acquires meaning when it is used. In an on-demand world, the problem is exacerbated.
Net neutrality and algorithms
Requirements to ensure network neutrality would guarantee that all transmitted content is treated equally and that certain content providers are not favored or disadvantaged, for example due to competitive interests of the network operator.
Search engine and social network algorithms determine which content is displayed to which users. They were developed from a commercial point of view and are not transparent, the EMEK points out. However, they shape the perception of reality in the same way as journalistic media.
"Fake News" and Filter Bubbles
In addition, the EMEK believes that digitization places high demands on users' media skills. The discussion about "fake news" and "filter bubbles" shows that assessing the quality of media content is anything but easy, even in the digital world, writes the commission. Accordingly, there is a need for suggestions to promote media literacy. The conclusion of the independent Media Commission appointed by the Federal Council: an active policy to shape the Swiss media landscape is possible and can be based on legitimate public interests. (SDA)
