Moritz Leuenberger on the Edipresse takeover
Following Tamedia’s acquisition of Edipresse, Moritz Leuenberger hopes and expects that the Zurich-based conglomerate will fulfill its new responsibilities in the areas of government and media policy. The media minister is concerned about German-speaking Switzerland exerting cultural dominance over French-speaking Switzerland.
Following the takeover of the French-speaking Swiss media group Edipresse by Tamedia, Moritz Leuenberger hopes and expects the Zurich-based group to assume its new responsibilities in terms of state and media policy. He is concerned about Swiss-German cultural dominance over French-speaking Switzerland, said the media minister during question time in the National Council on Monday.
On the other hand, such mergers in the media landscape are also a means of surviving and remaining viable in the face of giants such as Google. Media concentration is not bad in itself, Leuenberger continued. It cannot be a goal for as many newspapers as possible to print the same news agency reports. A large company can afford more journalism.
The Federal Council had no opportunity to intervene in this media concentration. It is now up to the Competition Commission (ComCo) to assess the admissibility of the takeover from an economic perspective.
On the other hand, such mergers in the media landscape are also a means of surviving and remaining viable in the face of giants such as Google. Media concentration is not bad in itself, Leuenberger continued. It cannot be a goal for as many newspapers as possible to print the same news agency reports. A large company can afford more journalism.
The Federal Council had no opportunity to intervene in this media concentration. It is now up to the Competition Commission (ComCo) to assess the admissibility of the takeover from an economic perspective.
