Federal Council offers a hand to save the daily La Quotidiana
The faltering Rhaeto-Romanic daily newspaper La Quotidiana can hope for support from the Swiss Confederation. The Federal Council wants to participate in a solution for the continuation of the paper, provided the main players in Graubünden go along with it.
The canton of Graubünden and the umbrella organization of Romansh language associations, the Lia Rumantscha, are regarded by the government as the main players. After initial contacts have already been made, the short-term aim is to maintain a range of Rhaeto-Romanic print media, writes the Federal Council in its response published on Tuesday to an interpellation by Graubünden CVP National Councillor Martin Candinas.
In the medium term, the Federal Council is aiming for coordination between all Romansh media. This also includes the fee-financed Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR) with its extensive range of Rhaeto-Romanic news via radio, supplemented by television and online offerings.
According to the Federal Council, support for the Romansh press is possible on the basis of language legislation. The national government apparently sees some financial leeway in connection with the 2016-2020 cultural dispatch, where it was decided to promote Romansh more outside the traditional distribution area and to increase funding from 2020.
The hangover after the party
At the end of March, the makers of La Quotidiana celebrated the 20th anniversary of the only Rhaeto-Romanic newspaper. The daily newspaper with a circulation of 4,000 copies is published by the media company Somedia in Chur, which also publishes the daily newspaper Die Südostschweiz.
Just three days after the anniversary celebrations, Somedia put the pressure on. In a letter to the cantonal government of Graubünden and the Romansh news agency ANR, Somedia CEO Andrea Masüger and Managing Director Media, the publisher's son Silvio Lebrument, requested an additional CHF 300,000 per year.
Important media
The amount corresponds to the annual deficit from the production of La Quotidiana. Somedia only intends to produce the newspaper until the end of the year unless a solution to the deficit issue can be found. In principle, the Federal Council believes that the media play an important role in the promotion and vitality of the Romansh language. The government emphasizes: "If the Romansh language is to continue to exist, it must also be used in writing in everyday life." (SDA)
