John Revell
ZURICH, March 8 (Reuters) – Swiss voters appeared poised on Sunday to reject a referendum on cutting funding for public broadcaster SRG, with early forecasts showing 62% opposed plans to cut annual license fees, a move that critics warn will cripple the media and fuel disinformation.
The movement wants to reduce the annual license fee that all Swiss households must pay from 335 Swiss francs ($431.87) to 200 Swiss francs.
Supporters, mainly from right-wing groups including the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), argue that the fee – the highest in the world – is too expensive and that the SRG, which operates 17 radio stations and seven TV channels in four languages, is too bloated.
They also said the SRG was not politically independent and that its reporting had a left-wing bias.
Opponents say reduced funding will impact SRG’s output
Opponents said the move reflected pressure on public media organizations from the political right, which accuses state broadcasters around the world of political bias against them.
Opponents say news, sports and cultural coverage will suffer, while a weakening of the SRG due to reduced funding could mean false information will spread more easily.
“The massive dismantling of Switzerland’s media infrastructure has been prevented,” said Laura Zimmermann, leader of the campaign against cuts. “Our access to reliable information remains protected.”
Susanne Wille, SRG director general, said: “We remain fully committed to accompanying the public in their daily lives with diverse, high-quality programming.”
(1 USD = 0.7757 Swiss Franc)
(Reporting by John Revell; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
