Around 50 people protested against job cuts at Swissinfo.
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On Tuesday around 50 people gathered in Bern to call for the announced cuts at Swissinfo to be reversed. The consensus was that Swissinfo is indispensable for Swiss citizens living abroad and for Switzerland’s links with the rest of the world.
In the new mandate with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) for its international services, the government has cut two languages from Swissinfo’s offering. The Japanese and Portuguese services are to be discontinued, it was announced last week. Swissinfo’s annual budget is to be reduced from CHF18.8 million ($23 million) to CHF10.5 million.
The Italian-language platform tvsvizzera.it will no longer be operated. The SBC subsequently announced the reduction of resources equivalent to 22 full-time posts. According to the SBC, 12.7 full-time equivalents relate to Swissinfo. The remainder is spread across other part-time roles at 3sat, TV5 Monde and tvsvizzera.it.
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Swiss government cuts Swissinfo funding by nearly half
Placards held by protesters outside the Swissinfo building in Bern contained messages such as “Cut Swissinfo = Mute Switzerland” and “Ade merci SWI?”. Speakers said what was particularly infuriating is that parliament chose not to make cuts to the SBC’s international services when passing the budget relief package.
One of those affected called at the protest rally for an end to the “unfair cuts”. A representative from the Japanese-language editorial team added that Swissinfo does more than simply translate articles: the journalists adopt the perspective of readers who are less familiar with Switzerland.
“For example, we explain what a referendum and an initiative are, how direct democracy works and what Swiss neutrality entails.” One of her colleagues said the cuts represented an unacceptable loss for Japan’s friendly relations with Switzerland.
Parliamentarian Andrea Zryd recalled parliament’s decision to retain the SBC’s international service. Credible media were, not least, a matter of security, she said. The voice from Switzerland was important to the rest of the world, she said, adding that if it were to fall silent, Swiss values would no longer be conveyed.
The protest had been organised by the media union SSM. Union secretary Eva Ermatinger said they were now hoping that parliament would save the full international service. The union condemned in the strongest possible terms the fact that redundancies had already been announced.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
