SRG media convergence: news and contradictions from Bern
On Thursday, the day of the SRG’s annual media conference in Bern, there was also quite a bit of discussion about the planned merger of radio and television. For example, the SRG’s nine main locations are to remain in place. In addition, the two media outlets per language region will form a single business unit in the future. However, SRG Director General Walpen’s assertion that convergence is the way to preserve media diversity did not sound very convincing.
With the announced merger of radio and television within SRG, all nine existing main locations in the four language regions will remain. Radio and television will therefore continue to broadcast from Zurich, Bern, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano Besso, Comano and Chur. However, SRG has not ruled out changes within and between the locations.
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In terms of further organization, the SRG Board of Directors has decided that in future radio and television will form a single business unit for each language region. This is already the case in Ticino and the Romansh-speaking regions. The structural and organizational conditions for editorial cooperation within the regions are to be created this year.
Eckmann: "Cross-subsidization ruled out"
According to SRG Director General Armin Walpen, it is still unclear exactly what the editorial cooperation will look like. The procedure will be worked out together over the next few months, said Daniel Eckmann, Deputy Director General of SRG. As soon as the Board of Directors has approved the concepts of the regions, the directorates of the new business units will be filled.
None of the media involved should have a dominant position in the collaboration. According to Eckmann, radio and television must keep separate accounts by law. Cross-subsidization is ruled out. At the annual media conference in Bern, Jean-Bernard Münch, Chairman of the SRG Board of Directors, said succinctly that radio and television would remain two different media despite media convergence.
Münch also said that the project was about organizational matters, i.e. the question of how resources and competencies could best be used. SRG sees potential annual savings of around twelve million francs in infrastructure and services, such as IT, finance, human resources and real estate management. Daniel Eckmann said: "These areas should be brought together and, if it makes sense, merged."
Walpen: Contradictions regarding the objectives of convergence
Walpen contradicted the purely organizational character of the merger to a certain extent when he said that media convergence means closer editorial cooperation between radio, television and online in order to meet the needs of the audience. The fact that Walpen also said that convergence is the way to maintain diversity is also rather illogical in view of the fact that the sports, education, children's and possibly culture departments are to be merged.
Timetable: Swiss-German unit operational at the beginning of 2011
The Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz (SRG.D) has set a timetable for the merger of Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen SF. The new SRG business unit is expected to be operational from the beginning of 2011, it wrote. First of all, he wants to formulate the project mandate by the end of May. On this basis, the project organization, the human and financial resources and the timetable will be determined by the end of June.
The actual work on the projects should take around a year. The staff and the Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) will be involved in the work. By mid-2010, SRG.D intends to submit concrete proposals to the national Board of Directors of SRG SSR idée suisse for the realization of the merger of Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen SF.
On this basis, the SRG Board of Directors will decide how the Swiss-German unit for radio, TV and multimedia will be organized. SRG.D will then propose a director for the new Swiss German unit, probably by the end of next year.
" SRG: deficit of 79 million francs
" Imprint sharply criticizes the SRG merger project
In terms of further organization, the SRG Board of Directors has decided that in future radio and television will form a single business unit for each language region. This is already the case in Ticino and the Romansh-speaking regions. The structural and organizational conditions for editorial cooperation within the regions are to be created this year.
Eckmann: "Cross-subsidization ruled out"
According to SRG Director General Armin Walpen, it is still unclear exactly what the editorial cooperation will look like. The procedure will be worked out together over the next few months, said Daniel Eckmann, Deputy Director General of SRG. As soon as the Board of Directors has approved the concepts of the regions, the directorates of the new business units will be filled.
None of the media involved should have a dominant position in the collaboration. According to Eckmann, radio and television must keep separate accounts by law. Cross-subsidization is ruled out. At the annual media conference in Bern, Jean-Bernard Münch, Chairman of the SRG Board of Directors, said succinctly that radio and television would remain two different media despite media convergence.
Münch also said that the project was about organizational matters, i.e. the question of how resources and competencies could best be used. SRG sees potential annual savings of around twelve million francs in infrastructure and services, such as IT, finance, human resources and real estate management. Daniel Eckmann said: "These areas should be brought together and, if it makes sense, merged."
Walpen: Contradictions regarding the objectives of convergence
Walpen contradicted the purely organizational character of the merger to a certain extent when he said that media convergence means closer editorial cooperation between radio, television and online in order to meet the needs of the audience. The fact that Walpen also said that convergence is the way to maintain diversity is also rather illogical in view of the fact that the sports, education, children's and possibly culture departments are to be merged.
Timetable: Swiss-German unit operational at the beginning of 2011
The Board of Directors of SRG Deutschschweiz (SRG.D) has set a timetable for the merger of Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen SF. The new SRG business unit is expected to be operational from the beginning of 2011, it wrote. First of all, he wants to formulate the project mandate by the end of May. On this basis, the project organization, the human and financial resources and the timetable will be determined by the end of June.
The actual work on the projects should take around a year. The staff and the Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM) will be involved in the work. By mid-2010, SRG.D intends to submit concrete proposals to the national Board of Directors of SRG SSR idée suisse for the realization of the merger of Radio DRS and Schweizer Fernsehen SF.
On this basis, the SRG Board of Directors will decide how the Swiss-German unit for radio, TV and multimedia will be organized. SRG.D will then propose a director for the new Swiss German unit, probably by the end of next year.
