Personalities from Central Switzerland warn against the halving initiative
Keystone-SDA
Some 47 high-profile people from central Switzerland launched their voting campaign against halving the television and radio licence fee on Monday. They warn that halving the fee for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), Swissinfo’s parent company, would seriously jeopardise independent regional journalism and cultural diversity in Switzerland.
In its press release on Monday, the committee emphasised that SBC (S provides “reliable information” in times of crisis, ensures reporting in all regions of Switzerland and counteracts disinformation with verified facts.
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Halving the licence fee would entail radical cuts and restrict programmes, culture and sport. The decentralised structure with seven main and 17 regional studios, including Lucerne for central Switzerland with six cantons, would be at risk, according to the committee.
According to the press release, the committee includes several members of parliament from central Switzerland as well as cantonal parliamentarians and people from the worlds of sport, culture, media and science. These include former marathon runner Viktor Röthlin, jazz festival organiser Arno Troxler, Fanni Fetzer, Director of the Lucerne Art Museum, author Gisela Widmer and musician Marco Kunz.
+ Swiss to vote on TV and radio licence fee in March
The initiative “CHF200 is enough!” (SRG initiative) wants to reduce the household fee from CHF335 ($423) to CHF200 and abolish the fee for companies altogether. One of the reasons given by those in favour is that Switzerland levies the highest radio and television licence fees in the world.
Adapted from German by AI/jdp
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