Media convergence: detailed concept for SRG German-speaking Switzerland

Over the past few months, around 230 employees from Schweizer Radio DRS, Schweizer Fernsehen and TV Productioncenter Zürich (tpc) have further developed the overall concept of media convergence for SRG German-speaking Switzerland into a detailed concept under the co-project management of Hansruedi Schoch and Rudolf Matter. After the regional steering committee under SRG.D President Viktor Baumeler approved the detailed concept at the end of May, it went to the national authorities for approval. On Monday, the SRG Board of Directors approved the detailed concept "Media Convergence SRG.D".
The new company Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) is headed by the Regional Director Rudolf Matter. The Executive Board consists of eight members. Six members of the Executive Board represent journalistic areas of responsibility: the two editors-in-chief of radio and television as well as the heads of the programming, culture, sport and entertainment departments. They are joined by the heads of the merged Communications and Marketing and Finance and Controlling support departments. Human Resources, Corporate Development with Training as well as Program Strategy with Audience Research and Program Controlling are staff areas of the Regional Directorate. It is planned to combine production and IT in the tpc. This structure is intended to support the company's focus on content. All members of the Executive Board have trimedial responsibility.

(Caption: Rudolf Matter, newly elected Regional Director of Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), presents himself to the public on Monday, June 21, 2010, in Bern).

Six program departments
The new department Programs includes the program management of radio (DRS 1, DRS 3, DRS Musikwelle and DRS Virus), television (SF 1, SF zwei, SF info) and multimedia. It also includes the areas of design and D+A (documentation and archives). Based on the new programming strategy and the financial guidelines, the programming department reaches agreements on programming services with the chief editors of radio and television as well as with the culture, sport and entertainment departments. The aim is to work in a cost-conscious manner and to make funds available for new ideas and concepts.
In the core journalistic area, internal competition is desirable for media policy reasons, writes SRG in a communiqué on Monday. This is why there are two separate editorial offices for radio and television. In the areas of consumption, health and IT/new media (new: "Digital plus"), the previously separate editorial teams are to be merged at one location under one management. The new trimedial editorial teams Consumer and Health are part of the TV editorial team and work at the Leutschenbach site. The "Digital plus" editorial team is part of the Radio editorial team and works in the Zurich radio studio. All three editorial teams work for all vectors.
The new department Culture In addition to the DRS 2 program area, the cultural department comprises the four specialist areas "Music and Events", "Knowledge and Society", "Current Culture and Background" and "Fiction/Production". The main location of the culture department is Basel, with some jobs remaining in Zurich for production reasons. Around 20 cultural editors from radio and television will be relocated from Zurich to Basel.
The Sports editorial office of Radio, previously part of the SR DRS Information department in Berne, will be integrated into the much larger SF Sport department and relocated to Zurich. The central convergence project is a joint newsroom, which will go into operation in 2012.
The department Entertainment remains largely unchanged in the form it has had within SF to date. Entertainment also includes the new trimedial children's editorial team, which produces for all vectors from the Zurich radio studio. From the end of August 2010, it will produce a daily interactive program for 6 to 13-year-olds under the title "Zambo". The existing online content from SF and SR DRS in the areas of popular culture/folk music, games, travel and cooking/lifestyle will be linked by 2012.

Consolidation of support services on October 1, 2010
It is planned to combine the production of radio and television programs in the tpc. The IT departments of SR DRS and SF will also be integrated into the tpc. In order to be able to merge SR DRS and SF smoothly into the new SRF corporate unit as of January 1, 2011, the previously separate Communications and Marketing and Finance and Controlling support departments will be merged as early as October 1, 2010, as will the HR and Training departments. The further procedure for implementing the convergence will be determined in consultation with the new Regional Director.

(Image: Keystone)