Swiss Review 3/2018

11 Swiss Review / May 2018 / No.3 aimed at halving the licence fee up its sleeve. It is also remarkable that prac- tically all the other parties have also proposed further cost-cutting and downsizing measures – even the Greens. Only the SP argued that the SRG SSR should now be left in peace. “After this referendum result, it is now time to stop this nonsense,” remarked Roger Nordmann, head of the SP par- liamentary group. The media crisis rumbles on After the SRG SSR, the Swiss News Agency (SDA) is the second national media institution to come under pressure. Concentration in the media market continues unabated. Federal finances secured The Swiss Confederation remains on a financially secure footing. 84.1 % of voters voted in favour of the federal decree on the new 2021 financial regime on 4 March. Strictly speaking, there was nothing new about this bill. It only really concerned the continuation of existing policy. The current financial regime expires in 2020, and will now be extended until 2035 thanks to the approval of voters. Direct federal tax and VAT together make up just under two-thirds of federal government’s total revenues. The two taxes are therefore the main sources of income for the Swiss Confederation. Further income flows into the federal coffers from mineral oil tax, stamp duty, tax on tobacco and withholding tax. One of Swiss federalism’s unique traits is that the federal tax system is always only valid for a limited period of time. The Federal Council initially wanted to amend the federal financial regime to allow it to levy both taxes without any time limitation. However, there was opposition during the consultation proce- dure and it is now only set to be extended by 15 years. The main argument is that making the taxes subject to time limits and a referen- dum puts them on a more legitimate demo- cratic basis. (JM) JÜRG MÜLLER It seemed like the soundtrack to the referendum campaign on the “No Bil- lag” initiative. Various developments over the first few weeks and months of the year indicated that the crisis in the Swiss media industry has further intensified. Dramatic events are unfolding at the Swiss News Agency. After the Swiss Broadcasting Corpo- ration, a second public service media institution now finds itself under huge pressure. The acute nature of the situation is reflected by the fact that the editorial staff went on strike for several days at the end of January – an extremely rare occurrence in the Swiss media. When the management announced a rapid downsizing with the loss of 40 of the 150 full-time positions it caused uproar. CEO Markus Schwab added more fuel to the fire by declaring in an interview: “SDA only has a duty to its sharehold- ers. We are not a non-profit organisa- tion.” The company’s homepage nev- ertheless continues to state: “SDA does not generally seek to make a profit.” SDA is in fact little known to the wider public, but as the national news agency it is the backbone and central nervous system of Swiss journalism and therefore an indispensable part of public servicemedia. The former FDP Federal Councillor Kaspar Villiger once aptly described the agency as “a conveyor belt of reality”. It supplies al- most all of the nation’s media outlets, but also authorities, organisations and companies, with news around the clock in three languages. As the Swiss News Agency also provides almost fully comprehensive coverage of par- liamentary debates and political and economic developments in Switzer- land, it also performs a significant ar- chiving role. Significant fall in revenues The troubled situation has a complex background and is deeply rooted in the history and structure of the com- pany. The Swiss News Agency was founded in 1895 by Swiss publishers. It has always faced a fundamental prob- lem– the owners, who are the publish- ers, are also the customers. As owners they must take an interest in the suc- cess of the agency, but as publishers they alsowant to pay the lowest prices possible. This workedwell to some de- gree while the newspaper industry was flourishing. However, until re- cently, the prices were linked to the number of newspapers printed. With the falling circulation of print media, SDA has also come under pressure. A new systemwas introduced at the be- ginning of the year. It is no longer based on print circulation but instead the reach in terms of print and online content. Nevertheless, the management has indicated that a sharp short-term fall in revenues has made a reduction in headcount necessary. In contrast, the editorial staff are accusing the management of lacking a strategy. It is unclear which services the news agency is supposed to provide in fu- turewith fewer staff. Another factor is the federal administration, which has paid SDA around 2.7 million Swiss francs a year as a customer in the past. Politicians are questioning whether the agency should continue to receive