Publishers welcome indirect press subsidies - trade unions do not
Employer and employee representatives from the media industry have different reactions to the Federal Council's proposal to continue indirect press subsidies. While Syndicom believes that this does not solve the problems, the publishers' associations praise the government's approach.
"We welcome the fact that the Federal Council is continuing the subsidized postal delivery of smaller newspapers and that the sda news agency is to receive greater financial support," writes the Swiss Media Association VSM. The planned reduction in the VAT rate for online offerings also meets with approval. In its report, the Federal Council rightly states that Switzerland is one of the countries with the greatest media diversity and the strongest press. Newspapers are used to an above-average extent in Switzerland compared to other countries. "Switzerland is a strong newspaper and private media country."
In the fundamental digital upheaval in the media landscape, good political framework conditions are of the utmost importance. The Federal Council's political thrust is therefore the right way forward for publishers. It is right that the media companies themselves are primarily called upon to find new ways and business models. "The state should be an enabler, but not intervene directly financially."
Disappointed media union
The Syndicom trade union takes a diametrically different view. "We need new ways of promoting the media," it said in a press release. The report by the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) confirms the findings of other studies: in terms of quality and diversity, the Swiss media are threatened with further deterioration in the coming years. "In order to stop this development, the Federal Council should finally show courage, take off its ideological blinkers and demonstrate openness to new forms of media and journalism promotion," the trade unionists criticize.
Even after more than a decade, Swiss publishers have not found a way to counter the media crisis. Sustainable business models for journalism are being sought in vain, especially on the Internet. "If you still want a media offering with quality and diversity in ten years' time, you have to act now." The plan to promote the training and further education of media professionals is of little use if working conditions in editorial offices continue to erode, Syndicom complains.
Repeated demand for a CLA
The union suggests that the Federal Council could ask the publishers to finally negotiate a collective labor agreement (CLA) for the Swiss-German and Ticino media with the social partners Syndicom and Impressum again after ten years. The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB) supports Syndicom's demands and is equally disappointed by the Bakom report and the Federal Council's actions, as it writes in a communiqué.
The journalists' association Impressum is also in favor of a new CLA. Any support for the media must be linked to compliance with journalistic ethics and the guarantee of appropriate working conditions, it says. Unlike the trade unions, however, Impressum also sees positive aspects to the continuation of existing press subsidies. Impressum also welcomes the look across the border: the report rightly emphasizes that in two thirds of the countries examined, the press is supported by direct funding measures. (SDA)
