Canton of Vaud supports media with 6 million francs

The government is concerned about the crisis in the media, which has led to print titles such as L'Hebdo and Le Matin have disappeared, the Vaud State Council announced on Thursday. In this context, he considers media funding to be justified.

The cantonal parliament still has to approve the plan. The package is to be submitted to the Grand Council shortly.

The support for the beleaguered sector involves various measures. As a first step, the canton intends to support the local and regional press to the tune of CHF 2.5 million by placing more advertising. In particular, this involves information on the referendums and various prevention topics.

Various media players, including the electronic media, are to benefit from this funding. The exact distribution formula has yet to be defined.

Virtual media kiosk

The government has designated innovation promotion as the second field of action with a contribution of around CHF 1.43 million. The government has in mind a virtual kiosk that includes all paid-for titles in Vaud. This subscription platform could facilitate access and boost sales. Young people should also be able to access this media content at greatly reduced prices.

The third funding category defined by the canton covers media education for young people. One aim, for example, is to strengthen young people's ability to critically scrutinize information disseminated on the Internet. Around one million francs have been earmarked for this. A pilot project is being carried out at around 20 schools.

Promotion of content

Furthermore, the canton of Vaud wants to support the creation of media content with around 750,000 francs. The government is proposing to fund a full-time position at the Vaud regional office of the Keystone-SDA news agency for five years.

This investment would primarily benefit the local and regional Vaud media, which would benefit from affordable rates. The canton also wants to carry out a study on the feasibility and relevance of setting up a regional news agency.

Support with training

The canton also plans to cover the tuition fees for journalism training at the Center for Journalism and Media Training (CFJM) in Lausanne. It sees this as an opportunity to ease the financial burden on local and regional media when training journalists.

Maintaining media diversity is an essential prerequisite for the free formation of opinion in a democracy, writes the State Council. The plan is innovative, but not a rescue operation for the print media. The effectiveness of the measures is to be reviewed regularly. The canton will take stock after five years.

Association calls for swift action

The journalists' association Impressum welcomes the initiative of the canton of Vaud. It hopes that the support measures will be implemented quickly and that other cantons and the federal government will follow suit.

At the same time, however, the association doubts whether the planned financial framework of CHF 6.2 million is sufficient. (SDA)