SRG SSR defends cultural savings course
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR is pushing back against criticism of budget cuts to its cultural programming. In a statement released Thursday, SRG SSR defended its commitment—particularly to Swiss audiovisual and musical productions.
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SRG SSR Director General Gilles Marchand stressed to the Keystone-SDA news agency that the public service media enterprise was trying to achieve two goals in all regions of Switzerland: to increase interest in culture and all its forms, and to find the right combination of radio, television and digital offerings.
In addition, SRG SSR continues to support numerous festivals, even if they have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and its fight, Marchand reminded.
The Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals SSM had called on SRG SSR on Tuesday to stop the cultural clear-cutting and to respect the concession. Under the guise of digital transformation, cultural reporting is being increasingly marginalized.
SRG is submitting to market logic and is making large-scale savings in cultural reporting in all parts of the country. In French-speaking Switzerland, the redesign of the cultural radio station Espace 2 was already completed last spring. The former culture station now broadcasts music. Audio and video contributions are increasingly found online, SSM criticized. (SDA)
