National Council Commission wants to promote small regional newspapers
The relevant National Council committee plans to provide increased support to small regional newspaper publishers. In doing so, it aims to revive part of the media package that was rejected at the polls a year ago.
During the referendum campaign, it was undisputed that small regional newspaper publishers certainly deserved more support, according to a statement from the parliamentary services on Tuesday. The parliamentary initiative of Christine Bulliard-Marbach, a member of the National Council, is intended to provide such support for small regional newspaper publishers for a limited period of seven years.
The National Council's Committee for Transport and Telecommunications KVF-N approved this proposal by 15 votes to 9. The majority of the committee considered the indirect subsidy to be indispensable for ensuring the continued existence of the regional daily press, it was further stated.
The parliamentary initiative will next be dealt with by the relevant committee of the Council of States.
The situation of the media continues to be tense. The difficulties lie primarily in the sharp decline in both advertising revenues and subscriber numbers at the print media, and in the very limited willingness of the readership to pay for online media consumption. (SDA)
