205 Final Project

Media exists in a variety of forms, and it is the foundation of the mass information network that exists today. People are reliant on the media more than ever before due to technological innovation, and this innovation has allowed widespread transmission of news and information across the world. Additionally, media quality has improved drastically over the past few decades and now facilitates communication networks, educates and entertains people, and has significantly improved business and commerce. Media is an integral component of everyday life, and arguably the most important media outlet is news and broadcasting stations. News and broadcasting stations are essential for informing the public of current events and important information. However, although advertised as objective, news stations are oftentimes very opinionated and can influence the way people respond to the information being delivered. For example, news stations like CNN are very left leaning, and stations like FOX tend to lean very right. Although they both should try to remain objective, oftentimes they come off as biased toward their respective political parties. This is why having diversity in the media is extremely important. By being exposed and having access to many different perspectives in the news and media, people are able to gain more information and not be influenced by the often biased media stations. Additionally, media diversity encourages creativity and innovation and allows for representation of different groups of people so that everyone has a voice. Media diversity is extremely important, and issues tend to arise in countries when it is nonexistent.

Switzerland is an extremely wealthy country with the second highest GDP per capita in the world. With its high GDP per capita and its high ranking in civil liberties and political rights, most of Switzerland’s residents have access to news outlets and stations via television and radio. This accessibility should allow the transmission of news and information in Switzerland to be very smooth, and residents should have access to a number of different news sources. However, a high degree of media access does not always ensure media quality. Switzerland is currently facing a major problem with media diversity. SRG SSR is the public broadcasting company in Switzerland, and it owns a large number of radio and television stations. The issue with this is that the major news sources in Switzerland are all owned by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation which doesn’t allow for a strong variety of media outlets. Additionally, there are four official languages in Switzerland, and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation operates and owns stations in all four of the languages to reach a broader audience. This issue is also paired with a shrinking news-force in Switzerland. According to SwissInfo, a news platform owned by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, the Swiss media workforce has steadily been decreasing since 2011. There are a few different explanations for this. One possible reason is that beginning in 2010, inflation began to increase steadily, and it continued through 2019 into 2020. This put a financial burden on many journalists and reporters. “The dramatic decrease in advertising revenue and the increase in the costs of paper and distribution are compelling many media companies to cut costs.” (Romy & Turuban, 2022). These cost cutting practices came in the form of salary reductions for journalists and reporters, prompting many to leave the line of work. Additionally, the financial pressure that was applied to these companies forced many to shut down or be bought up by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, reducing the number of jobs available for journalists and reporters. This shrinking newsroom phenomenon is not limited to Switzerland and can be seen in many different countries such as the U.S., whose newsroom employment has fallen 26% since 2008. However, unlike Switzerland, the U.S. does not have a media diversity problem that is being worsened by this decrease in journalism, and the U.S. can still continue to offer a variety of quality news and media sources.

This lack of media diversity and a shrinking newsroom is a serious problem for a number of reasons. First, the spread of news and information is essential to governments operating properly. Switzerland is a democracy, and it is especially important in this political structure to have a diverse media. The government is dependent on the educated decisions made by citizens, and these educated decisions are formed by the exposure to news and information. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is closely connected with the government in Switzerland. While this in theory should help support and reinforce their democracy, some have argued that the SRG SSR is anachronistic and out of touch with the citizens. Individuals who are opposed to the SRG SSR receiving public funding believe that the broadcasting corporation does not operate efficiently in these changing times, and therefore not providing the public with quality news and information (AFP, 2018). Media diversity is also important for reasons outside of government and politics. Media fosters education and shapes how we see the world. Lacking a variety of media outlets limits our perspectives and can cause people to think one-dimensionally. If people have access to a diverse array of media outlets, it can help people to understand and normalize the differences that exist in the world. Media diversity can help eliminate harmful stereotypes and stigmas, and it can accredit and represent the different situations and events going on throughout the world. Lack of media diversity is especially important in a country like Switzerland that has a steadily growing population. Youth and children benefit from exposure to different perspectives, and without them, they may grow up with harmful biases and misunderstandings. Multiple perspectives allow us to take into account all of the affected parties, and with that knowledge citizens are better equipped to find solutions or create change.

Switzerland has been slow to respond to these issues, but they are beginning to show signs of awareness and improvement. Switzerland’s government has been attempting to support the media workforce, but the one thing that is holding them back is the most important variable in the whole equation- the citizens. The Swiss parliament proposed a movement to increase public funding for media in Switzerland. This motion was brought forward in an effort to diversify the media available to citizens while also encouraging reporters and journalists to continue to pursue their careers. Switzerland also hosted a referendum in 2018 to attempt to retract taxpayer funding for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. This initiative was supported by the PLR which is the free democratic party in Switzerland. The reason Swiss citizens voted against the initiative was because they believed that the new media companies that would be formed would be heavily concentrated in the German-speaking areas of the country (AFP, 2018). This is because the German-speaking region is the wealthiest and most profitable region. The result of this referendum leads to a potential solution in the near future. Although it would be difficult to garner the support of citizens within the German-speaking region, Switzerland should look into utilizing the tax money that is going towards the SRG SSR as funding and support for media companies in the less wealthy regions of Switzerland. This would allow for a variety of different media companies to be created across all four linguistic regions of the country, creating jobs for journalists and reporters and improving the media diversity situation. To do this, the Swiss government must continue to push movements which aim to educate their citizens on the importance of media and media diversity. There are already curriculums in schools that teach students and children media literacy, so by adding a section of media diversity education into that curriculum, children will be taught the importance of media diversity to hopefully make positive change in the future by voting for initiatives that promote it.

Works Cited

Switzerland. Bienvenue sur le site de Reporters sans frontières. (2022, March 8). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://rsf.org/en/country/switzerland

Geiser, U. (2022, February 13). State funding for Switzerland’s private media flops at ballot box. SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/close-race-over-state-funding-for-switzerland-s-private-media/47326892

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Romy, K., & Turuban, P. (2022, February 14). Swiss media workforce keeps shrinking. SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/-swiss-media-workforce-keeps-shrinking/47346300

Switzerland. Media Landscapes. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://medialandscapes.org/country/switzerland

Magiera, K. (2023, April 20). The importance of diversity in media. Collective Alternative. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.collectivealternative.com/the-importance-of-diversity-in-media/

Switzerland inflation rate 1960-2023. MacroTrends. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/CHE/switzerland/inflation-rate-cpi

Deutsche Welle. (2018, March 4). Swiss defend public media at referendum – DW – 03/04/2018. dw.com. Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.dw.com/en/swiss-vote-to-retain-taxpayer-funding-for-public-broadcaster/a-42819374