For everyone

What we stand for. How we act. What we pledge. Contents

Contents

Foreword 4

1. Who we are and what we stand for 5 1.1 Free shaping of opinion – an attribute of democracy 8 1.2 Supportive and federal 10 1.3 Precision Swiss craftsmanship 10 1.4 Active diversity 11 1.5 Building bridges in multicultural Switzerland 12 1.6 Promoting and maintaining Swiss culture 12 1.7 Accessibility for people with visual and hearing impairments 14 1.8 Championing Swiss research 15

2. What we guard against 17 2.1 A weakening of the Swiss media 17 2.2 Purely commercial business models 19

3. What the public think 21 3.1 An everyday companion for the Swiss people 21 3.2 Why we need series and entertainment shows 23 3.3. Live broadcasts – bringing Switzerland closer together 24

4. What we are working towards 27 4.1 Purposefully investing funding in the future 27 4.2 Focussing on a digital society 29 4.3 Giving a face to our multicultural society 29 4.4 Reaching a sophisticated young audience 29 4.5 Dissolving traditional categories 30

5. Our ideas for the future 31 5.1 Focussing on the general public and society 31 5.2 Ongoing learning and self-renewal 31 5.3 Quality as a waymarker 32 5.4 Education and training as an investment in journalistic quality 36 5.5 Transparency and fairness 37 5.6 Joint initiatives in the Swiss media 37 5.7 More public-private partnerships 38

Closing words 41

Bibliography 42

3 Foreword 1. Who we are and what we stand for

Foreword 1. Who we are and what we stand for

Here at SRG, we see our task as providing We want to make our contribution to the “We” – that’s the four language regions the formation of well-founded opinions. services for everyone in Switzerland political and public debate. Day in, day out within the common framework of SRG. This idea – the core remit of public media – and creating added value for them. As a at SRG, we address the question of how Minorities that alone would not have has become firmly established in our public audio-visual media company, our we can put our values, which are reflected the strength to stand up to international democratic system of government over values should benefit society and democ­ in the SRG charter, into practice even better competition. “We” – that’s the 6,100 em­ recent decades. And it is more relevant and racy – both today and in the digital future. and more sustainably. Our aim is to find ployees of the Swiss Broadcasting Corpora­ endangered than ever. In many countries, answers to this question – for this genera­ tion SRG and its enterprise units RSI Radio­ we can see attempts to influence and In a media world that is drifting apart, tion and the generations to come. televisione Svizzera, RTR Radiotelevisiun control the formation of opinions via the we, as an independent public media com­ Svizra Rumantscha, RTS Radio Télévision media for the purposes of power or money. pany, are a politically and economically We firmly stand by our belief in what we do. Suisse, SRF Schweizer Radio und Fern­ And we can see this in Switzerland too. impartial hub. We ensure a varied range of sehen and SWI swissinfo.ch. With profes­ opinions and a dialogue between different This is our contribution to the discussion. sionalism and passion, we champion Radio, television and online services interest groups, as well as between mi­ the free shaping of opinion. Day after day, for everyone norities and majorities. And we are com­ we roll up our sleeves to portray our nation All regions of Switzerland, with their four mitted to ensuring that political discussion in all its diversity and create moments national languages, are entitled to good remains democratic and differentiated. of collective experience in order to bridge radio, television and online services – to be linguistic, cultural and generational informed, reflect, participate, laugh and The format of our mandate is the subject boundaries anew. learn. SRG endorses this democratic idea. of lively discussion by the general public For this reason, we divide our revenue in and policy-makers. This is a good thing, An achievement spanning decades such a way that the minorities benefit from because a public media company’s job is to We belong solely to the people of this the majority. So French and Italian-speak­ serve society. Society is its customer. It country, and are obligated to them alone. ing Switzerland have a similar service to has a right to accountability and is obliged Although this feature is common to all that of German-speaking Switzerland, irre­ to question it repeatedly and critically. public media companies, the Swiss system spective of their size. The smallest Swiss These review processes have existed since is very special in one respect: SRG is an linguistic minority benefits in particular the inception of the public media system. association. Over 23,500 association mem­ from this equalization within SRG: without They are an expression of the relevance bers across the four language regions financial solidarity between large and that the public attaches to a public media together form SRG’s ownership structure. small, there would be no Radiotelevisiun company. Every citizen can become a member Svizra Rumantscha for the Romansh-­ and have their say. Thanks to its associa­ speaking population. tion structure, SRG journalists are able to operate completely independently, far Vital and valued removed from any specific political or The Swiss people are unanimous in their business interests. view that our public service is needed. 84 per cent of the population feel it is A pillar of direct democracy important that there is a TV, radio and An independent public media company is online service in Switzerland that is eco­ indispensable for open dialogue and nomically and politically independent.

4 5 Schaffhausen SRG: a presence in all parts of the country

EN | ENGLISH Main studios DE | GERMAN Regional studios/offices Basel Zurich FR | FRENCH St Gallen IT | ITALIAN Aarau Delémont ES | SPANISH PT | PORTUGUESE Moutier JA | JAPANESE AR | ARABIC Solothurn ZH | CHINESE RU | RUSSIAN Biel/Bienne

Lucerne

Neuchâtel Chur Berne

Fribourg/Freiburg Ilanz Scuol

Disentis

Savognin

Lausanne Samedan

Brig

www.rtr.ch Sion RTR apps

Geneva Lugano/ Comano

www.srf.ch SRF apps

www.rts.ch www.rsi.ch RTS apps RSI apps 1. Who we are and what we stand for

The Link Institut comes to this conclusion and for the benefit of a robust direct Professionalism in a representative study (Link, 2016) on democracy. the image of SRG. For 79 per cent of those questioned, well-functioning public TV, Credibility radio and online services are important for 1.1 Free shaping of opinion – democracy. Two out of three people think an attribute of democracy that SRG and its enterprise units fulfil their Information content mandate well. The discussion on the meaning of and necessity for public media is becoming ever More important than ever in a digital world broader. One reason for this is the recent Balance The digital revolution has hugely advanced restrictions on media freedom in European globalization, not least in terms of commu­ countries such as Hungary, Poland, Turkey nication. Media services have never been as and Russia – developments that are of easy to access as they are today. New digital concern not only in professional circles. SRG’s strengths from the public’s point of view business models aim at meeting individual People in Switzerland are aware that an needs to the greatest possible extent. The independent media company is a valuable Source: Final report from OFCOM project “The usage and evaluation of Swiss radio down side to this is that social groupings asset worth cultivating. and TV programmes 2015” (Fretwurst et al., 2015). that were once large are splitting up into countless small fragments. SRG is working The Swiss population is discerning. This to counter this by communicating shared is apparent from the annual national public experiences in an individualized world and survey on media quality commissioned creating a common public and a common by OFCOM (Fretwurst et al., 2015). SRG sta­ identity. tions are generally perceived as more credi­ ble, professional and balanced than those In the service of upcoming generations of other commercial providers. Those sur­ We want to involve all generations in the veyed also corroborated that SRG stations debate on current social issues, particularly had a higher information content. young people. They are growing up in a totally digitized world and increasingly This finding is no coincidence. Several come from a migration background. They studies attest the important role played by are focussing on new communication public media for democracy and the com­ platforms, including social media. The mon good. For example, a study by the upcoming generations are our future. As a European Broadcasting Union (EBU, 2016) public media company, we must therefore shows that well-functioning democracies be even more flexible and closer to the usually go hand in hand with strong public public. This is of fundamental importance, media. Countries with strong public broad­ so that we can continue to fulfil our man­ casters tend to be less extreme and have date to the satisfaction of the general public corruption better under control. Another

8 1. Who we are and what we stand for 1. Who we are and what we stand for

Solidarity with the smaller language regions

Regional revenue sharing of licence fee income (1.2 billion francs). A large proportion of licence fee income from German-speaking Switzerland is allocated to other language regions (including redistribution of central services; rounding differences possible).

The region collects this much licence fee money This much licence fee money is redistributed to the region This much licence fee money is available to the region correlation is that the higher the public languages. Swiss values such as solidarity broadcaster’s market share is, the greater and federalism make this possible – it is the media freedom and the greater the upon these that our self-image is based and population’s trust in the media. towards these that we focus our work. It is only thanks to the solidarity of the German-­ A well-functioning independent media speaking Swiss that we can provide a wide 43 % CHF 520 M system makes a significant contribution to variety of high quality radio, TV and online a country’s common good. The people of services every day in the other language Switzerland recognize and value the con­ regions too. CHF 120 M tribution made by SRG, as is shown by the 23 % 73 % CHF 870 M CHF 20 M “Gemeinwohlstudie” public value study With its solidarity-based revenue sharing, CHF 270 M CHF 210 M (St Gallen University, 2016), which has been SRG makes an important contribution to conducted by the University of St Gallen national cohesion, mutual understanding in German-speaking Switzerland since and dialogue between the language re­ 33 % 0,5 % 2014. In 2014 and 2015, SRF ranked highly gions. Although German speakers make up CHF 390 M CHF 5 M 4 % in the study’s list of companies. around 70 per cent of the Swiss population, CHF 50 M SRF receives only 43 cents of each Swiss Not just Swiss citizens but everyone with franc paid in licence fees. If the people in 2 % connections to our country should have Italian-speaking Switzerland had to fund CHF 25 M the opportunity to form a substantiated RSI programmes on their own, they would 22 % CHF 260 M opinion of direct democracy and political have to pay 2,300 francs a year in licence events in Switzerland. The SWI swissinfo. fees instead of 451 francs. ch corporate unit is carrying out valuable educational work in this area and is making a substantial contribution to the quality 1.3 Precision Swiss présent” (RTS), “Patti chiari” (RSI) and culture, society and education to music of democratic debate both in Switzerland craftsmanship “Cuntrasts” (RTR). In 2015, 58 per cent of and programmes for young people. On the and abroad. Using a virtual direct de­ TV programme expenditure went on in- radio, where music plays a central role, we mocracy platform launched in May 2015, In-house productions embody quality house productions. At peak viewing times take a clear stance against the mainstream SWI swissinfo.ch conveys the key elements Swiss craftsmanship in four national lan­ on SRF 1 in 2015, a full 90 per cent of pro­ with a wide variety of music tracks, concert of the Swiss political system to interested guages. No commercial media company grammes were produced in house. recordings and performances. citizens. today finances such a service. The annual programme analyses ­carried On the radio, almost all the spoken word 1.4 Active diversity out by Publicom AG on behalf of ­OFCOM 1.2 Supportive and federal programmes are produced in house. These (source: Publicom AG, “Die Radioprogram­ include formats such as “Echo der Zeit” SRG makes programmes for the entire me der SRG SSR 2014 – Deutsch­schweiz”, SRG is the only media company that pro­ (SRF), “Forum” (RTS), “Millevoci” (RSI) and population. Its offerings are corresponding­ 2015) confirm that the content of SRG’s duces audio-visual programmes in all “La marella” (RTR). On TV, programmes ly diverse and balanced, ranging from radio programmes is balanced. A variety of four language regions and in all national include “SRF bi de Lüt” (SRF), “Temps information, sport, entertainment, films, opinions and stakeholders are taken into

10 11 1. Who we are and what we stand for 1. Who we are and what we stand for

account, as required by the mandate and In May 2016, SRF’s “Neuland” production animated films. With the extension of are exclusively devoted to Swiss music. journalistic principles. SRG radio pro­ won the Information category of the the pact until 2019 and an increase in SRG awards advancement prizes for Swiss grammes cover a wide variety of differ- European Civis media prize. The Civis involvement from 22.3 million francs to newcomer bands, broadcasts over 200 ent genres, and the spoken and infor- Media Foundation recognizes radio and 27.5 million francs per year, this valuable hours of concerts by Swiss bands each year mation content covers a broad range of television programmes that promote collaboration has recently been given an and records over 500 classical concerts issues. the peaceful coexistence of people from extended lease of life. SRG also supports annually. Every week, Swiss bands are different backgrounds. As part of its numerous film festivals. In 2015 these in­ invited to make live appearances on the SRG itself is a linguistic and cultural re­ international mandate, the SWI swissinfo. cluded: Festival del Film Locarno, Festival radio. Numerous pop, rock, jazz, folk and flection of Switzerland: 46 per cent of our ch enterprise unit also makes a signifi- International de Films de Fribourg (FIFF), classical festivals can count on media staff speak (Swiss) German, 32 per cent cant contribution towards integrating Visions du Réel Nyon, Neuchâtel Inter­ partnerships with SRG. In 2015, these speak French, around 19 per cent speak foreigners. The platform reports daily on national Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF), included the Swiss Music Awards, Paléo Italian and three per cent speak Romansh. Swiss politics, business, culture, society Festival Tous Écrans Geneva, Internation­ Festival, Verbier Festival, Festival Archipel, In addition to our four national languages, and academia. In addition to publishing ales Festival für Animationsfilm Baden Cully Jazz, Festa da chant districtuala, 18 further languages are represented. German, French, Italian and English (Fantoche), Internationales Kurzfilmfestival Montreux Jazz Festival, Lucerne Festival, Overall, people of 39 different nationalities articles, SWI ­swissinfo.ch is the only Swiss Shnit Bern, Solothurner Filmtage, Inter­ Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Progetto Martha work at SRG. SWI swissinfo.ch alone, the website to provide top multimedia stories nationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and the Argerich, Settimane musicali Ascona, smallest SRG enterprise unit, employs peo­ and analyses in Spanish, Portuguese, Zurich Film Festival. Musica nel Mendrisiotto, Montebello Festi­ ple from 15 different nations. Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and Russian. val, Estival Jazz Lugano, Open Air Lumne­ Promoting Swiss music zia and Alpentöne. With the Swiss Music Charter, which was 1.5 Building bridges in 1.6 Promoting and maintaining signed in 2004, SRG confirmed its intention Promoting Swiss literature multicultural Switzerland Swiss culture to promote Swiss music and all forms of As well as films and music, SRG also pro­ new talent, and broadcast editorial articles motes literature. Programmes such as Cultural diversity is enriching and challeng­ We endorse Switzerland’s cultural heritage and special programmes on Swiss music. the following encourage people to read, ing – in our programmes, we address both by maintaining it, actively shaping it and The charter was renewed in April 2016. In and also invigorate the Swiss book market: its positive and negative aspects. Our man­ advancing it. Virtually no other institution the context of media convergence, we are “BuchZeichen”, “52 beste Bücher”, “Schnabel­ date also includes portraying the lives in the country promotes Swiss artists, liter­ now promoting domestic music-making on weid” and “Literaturclub” (SRF), “Entre of foreigners who live in Switzerland. We ature, music and film productions to the television and the Internet as well. SRG is les lignes”, “La librairie francophone”, “Lire make a conscious effort to do this within extent that we do. committed to broadcasting an appropriate délire”, “Vertigo” and “La puce à l’oreille” our existing broadcasting vehicles rather percentage of Swiss productions on its (RTS), “Geronimo letteratura”, “Blu come than in special programmes. This part of Promoting Swiss films radio programmes. And it is standing by its un’arancia”, “Il Segnalibro” and “Librintas­ our service mandate is becoming increas­ In 1996, SRG got together with partners word – at 20 to 50 per cent, the proportion ca” (RSI) as well as “Magazin da cultura”, ingly important given the global prevalence from the film industry to create the “Pacte of Swiss music on SRG radio programmes in “Impuls” and “Il Tavulin litterar” (RTR). of migration. The views of migrants tend de l’audiovisuel”. Since the creation of 2015 was significantly higher than it was Since 2007, SRG has been promoting Swiss to get overlooked in programmes. People this pact, SRG has invested over 400 million ten years ago. On SRF 3 it was 21.5 per cent literature within a media partnership from a migrant background should be given francs in domestic film-making and co-­ (2005: 13 per cent), and on SRF Virus it was with the Solothurn Literaturtagen festival. the chance to speak more often in our produced over 2,000 cinema and television 51.6 per cent (2005: 13 per cent). There are At the “Salon du livre” in Geneva, RTS has programmes. films, documentaries, short films and currently around 20 radio programmes that since the mid-1980s been awarding the

12 13 1. Who we are and what we stand for 1. Who we are and what we stand for

“Prix des auditeurs”. Added to this in 2005 2020, we want to convert all analogue SRG is making itself accessible was the “Prix RTS Littérature Ados”, the archive content to a digital system – a truly only French-language literature prize for Herculean task. SRG provides services for people with visual and hearing disabilities. SRG services for 2015 in figures. young people aged 14 to 16. Public archives are desirable in a number The SRG archives – of respects. But there are challenging tech­ SRF RTS RSI a valuable cultural asset nical, financial and legal hurdles to be SRG’s audiovisual archives are an identi­ overcome before full archive access via the Broadcasts with subtitles 49.8 per cent 50.4 per cent 49.8 per cent ty-forging cultural asset. Old television Internet is possible. Full access will only of broadcasting time of broadcasting time of broadcasting time and radio articles recreate the sights be possible once all the performing rights or 12,181 hours or 8,346 hours or 8,457 hours and sounds of shared experiences. They associations with whom SRG is in discus­ Broadcasts with sign language Daily Daily Daily encourage expatriate Swiss citizens to sion support the project. Main edition of Journal 19h30 Telegiornale ore 18 maintain their roots. They give migrants Tagesschau an insight into the background of their new plus repeat of homeland. The archives enable each and 1.7 Accessibility for people Kassensturz every one of us to contextualize our own with visual and hearing Broadcasts with audio description 136 Broadcasts 196 Broadcasts 80 Broadcasts bibliographies within contemporary impairments (incl. repeats) (incl. repeats) (incl. repeats) history. And they encourage the general public to revisit political and cultural People with visual or hearing impairments trends, events and people over time. need subtitles, programmes in sign lan­ guage and audio description to be able to The SRG audiovisual archives are actively use our services on an equal footing. In used by the public, by teachers and re­ 2012, SRG pledged to expand its services Per year and language region, 24 pro­ 1.8 Championing searchers – and by programme creators. over and above the legal mandate. In 2015, grammes with audio description are Swiss research Digitization has simplified access to this half of all the broadcasting time for SRF, mandated, with the number being depend­ valuable cornucopia that is a reflection RTS and RSI was already subtitled, with all ent on exchange options with other Innovation is the essence and power house of Switzerland and its people. Our archives broadcasts on the major channels during countries. of every media company. For this reason, contain no less than a million hours of prime time between 7pm and 10pm being we collaborate closely with Swiss universi­ broadcasts – radio productions from subtitled. And all articles that have previ­ Access services are also being transformed ties. In French-speaking Switzerland, RTS 85 years ago and television productions ously been broadcast on television with thanks to new digital technology. In fu- maintains a close partnership with Geneva, from 60 years ago. Each year, our archives subtitles are also available on the Internet. ture, for example, we will be able to offer Neuchatel and Lausanne universities and grow by 10,000 video hours and 20,000 The main output of SRF’s “Tagesschau” people with sensory impairments even also with ETH Lausanne (EPFL). The new audio hours. In addition to the actual radio and RTS’s “19h30” programme is broadcast better access to our services using inter­ RTS site in Lausanne will form part of the and television broadcasts, associated docu­ simultaneously in sign language on an active Hbb­TV. But there’s still a lot to be EPFL campus. There are plans for joint in­ mentation, scripts and promotional articles additional channel. On RSI, the 6pm edition done before all services can be accessed novation laboratories. RSI collaborates with are stored. Over the last decade, we have of “Telegiornale” is subtitled. In 2015, on all devices. We are working towards this the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) invested 40 million francs in digitizing and SRG broadcast 412 programmes with audio objective together with sensory impair­ in service provision matters and with place­ documenting our analogue resources. By description (SRF 136, RTS 196 and RSI 80). ment associations. ments for masters students, and with the

14 15 1. Who we are and what we stand for 2. What we guard against

Growth in Swiss broadcasters 2005 to 2015 2. What we guard SRG embodies continuity and remains streamlined. While the number of SRG TV stations has remained constant for ten years, the number of competing stations that are available free of charge has increased exponentially. Source: Mediapulse AG, 2016. against

2005 2010 2015

7 7 7

2.1 A weakening Switzerland as well (Research Institute for of the Swiss media the Public Sphere and Society/University of Zurich, 2015). The political climate has changed. The “Service public im internationalen Contextualizing is more important Vergleich” (International comparison of than ever public service) study (Puppis, 2012) Serious efforts are being made to restrict shows that public media systems are under publicly funded radio and television pressure transnationally. Society’s ex­ broadcasters in Switzerland, or even do pectations are high. Some private media away with them altogether. In December companies want to strengthen their 2015, the “No Billag” initiative to scrap own position by increasing the hurdles for the licence fee was submitted. At the same 132 public providers. However, the winners time, studies show that companies in won’t be private media companies in Swit­ the digital media industry need dispropor­ zerland, but primarily the major foreign tionately more independent information 387 393 private broadcasters and international than previously. The media system is media corporations such as Facebook and becoming increasingly commercialized and Google. transnational. SRG TV stations TV stations that are available free of charge in Switzerland Currently, foreign providers already have Due to cost-cutting exercises and restruc­ 65 per cent of the Swiss TV market (source: turing, many media companies, in particu­ Mediapulse, 2015). In 2015, 45 per cent lar print media, are no longer in a position of the money spent on Swiss advertising to ensure consistently high quality. The Scuola Universitaria Professionale della SRG regularly commissions studies – and slots for private broadcasters ended Yearbook of the Research Institute for the Svizzera Italiana (Supsi) for management also contributes its practical experience in up abroad (Swiss Advertising Statistics Public Sphere and Society at the University training and the technological development the form of lectures and seminars. Our Foundation, 2016). And in 2015, the five of Zurich (fög, 2015) maintains that “the of archiving platforms. In Chur, RTR and the research departments offer media and com­ global players Google, Facebook, Yahoo, significance of low-quality media” in Swit­ University of Applied Sciences (HTW) are munication science students the opportu­ Microsoft and Twitter posted 65 per cent zerland is on the increase and the "amount working together to develop survey and nity to write practically-based theses. We of online advertising revenue in the US for of contextualization" has decreased since measuring methods for small media find working together with universities to themselves (eMarketer U.S. Ad Spending 2010. With regard to the surfeit of infor­ companies. SRF works regularly with the be valuable and enriching since in these Estimates, 2016). No exact figures are mation, the German sociologist and futur­ Swiss Federal Institute of Technology partnerships we learn to look into the available for individual providers in Swit­ ologist Matthias Horx has for a long time (ETH), the Institute of Mass Communication future. At the same time, we make a zerland. Nevertheless, it is possible to stressed the great importance of integrity and Media Research at Zurich University contribution towards transferring theory say that, with a market share of one third and credibility: “The crucial question is, (IPMZ) the Zurich University of Applied into practice. and volumes that have increased almost who is structuring reality for us in a mean­ Sciences (ZHAW) and HTW. SRG subsidiary six-fold since 2007, search engines – pri­ ingful manner.” His Swiss colleague Dr Joël TPC also maintains an active dialogue with marily Google – are becoming very im­ Luc Cachelin sees one of the media’s key HTW. portant in the online advertising market in remits as monitoring and critically scruti­

16 17 2. What we guard against 2. What we guard against

nizing digitization. “The media should States, whose public media system is the largest single share of the revenue – such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and promote self-reflection and ultimately financed not through licence fees but via around 39 per cent. Snapchat are playing an important role self-determination in its consumers.” SRG donations and government subsidies, in this process. Conventional media can and must play an important­ role in this amongst other things. The public media Working together to support the Swiss companies ceased to have a monopoly on debate. systems there are of comparatively low advertising market content a long time ago. importance. The irreversible structural transformation Public media companies provide guidance of the advertising market is affecting At the same time, the media market is SRG acts within our media system as a A study commissioned by the BBC (BBC, SRG and private media companies alike. splitting up even further, with new radio “flagship brand” that offers information and 2013) shows that public media have So it is all the more important to find joint and television broadcasters and online guidance. This is attested by the regularly a positive influence on the revenue of solutions. We see much potential in services constantly being added to the mix. conducted independent OFCOM study on commercial broadcasters. They generally constructive collaboration between SRG As a result, the digital revolution is also programme quality in private and public lead to greater investment in in-house and private Swiss suppliers. To survive calling into question the existing business media (Fretwurst et al., 2015). It is based on productions and to greater diversity, long term in the increasingly digitized models of public media companies. public ratings and concludes that SRG thereby increasing the perceived quality advertising market, it will be important programmes score particularly highly in of media production overall in the country. to consolidate technology, data, marketing Global players such as YouTube, Google, terms of professionalism, information Markets with a good mix of public and expertise and exclusive access to quality Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft content and credibility. The study shows private media companies are therefore content. With this in mind, SRG has jointly are turning the new opportunities to their that the public are satisfied with SRG’s radio healthier. founded the marketing company Admeira advantage. They are much more familiar and television programmes, and generally with Swisscom and Ringier. Admeira’s with users’ habits than conventional media rate them as being more credible and in­ The triumphant march of the services are available to all advertising companies ever could be. With every click, formative than the programmes of private digital industry clients, agencies and other advertising users reveal something about their inter­ broadcasters. In other words, people value A McKinsey study (2015) on the global inventory suppliers. ests. Intelligent algorithms ensure that they SRG’s independent and objectively contex­ media revolution shows that print advertis­ will receive more and more customized tualized reporting. ing is under massive pressure. In just five content – and less of the rest. years, its share of global advertising income 2.2 Purely commercial A healthy mix of public and private media slumped from 84 billion dollars (2009) to business models The digital revolution is intensifying com­ 73 billion dollars (2014). Combating isolation, promoting openness petition between private suppliers and The Internet is the infrastructure of the and dialogue public media companies. There is a wide­ But it is not TV advertising that is benefit­ 21st century. The digital age has funda­ Though this might seem advantageous, spread notion that public media companies ing from this revolution. Its market share mentally changed how we think, commu­ as a media company that is supposed are directly or indirectly responsible for has remained steady at around 38 per cent, nicate with each other, make decisions, to contribute towards the free shaping of the economic difficulties being experienced with a slight downward trend (forecast for organize our work and distribute power. opinion, we are committed to countering by the private media. This is incorrect, 2019: 36 per cent). The biggest winner is At the same time, viewers, listeners and these principles. Because what’s happening as numerous international investigations the digital industry. In just five years, new users are increasingly becoming producers here has nothing to do with the free shap­ show. Private suppliers have to contend Internet suppliers have increased their in their own right. They are consuming ing of opinion – at best, it’s the shaping with economic problems even in markets share of the advertising cake by two thirds – media and producing it at the same time. of sentiments. Algorithms predict the infor­ with no public media companies. This from 17 per cent (2009) to 28 per cent They share and comment, thereby becom­ mation that is relevant for the user. So applies even to countries such as the United (2014). By 2019, they are forecast to have ing broadcasters themselves. Social media the content displayed is largely that which

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3. What the public think

conforms with previous usage patterns. sity of opinions and a dialogue between 3.1 An everyday companion Around 4.2 million people – 62 per cent Users therefore become very effectively interest groups. We guarantee that political for the Swiss people of the population – listen to one of our radio isolated and kept away from information discussion will remain democratic. This stations every day (Mediapulse, 2015). that conflicts with their previous behav- is one of the main reasons why the people Each week, SRG’s radio, television and SRG radio stations reach almost half of iour. The study published in 2016 by the in our productions are constantly discov­ online services reach over 94 per cent of 15 to 24 year-olds (45.4 per cent). For TV, Gottlieb Duttweiler Institut (GDI, 2016) on ering new and unexpected things. We be­ the population. If you ask the Swiss about the market share of SRG stations through­ the future of SRG in the digital ecosystem lieve that people like to see and hear new media they regularly use, 19 out of 20 out the entire day averages 29.7 per cent refers in this context to filter bubbles. things – even things that do not match their people mention at least one SRG station of all viewers; during the peak evening algorithm-generated profiles. (DemoScope, 2014). period between 6pm and 11pm, this figure Promoting a respectful attitude towards privacy SRG cannot and will not turn its back on these new opportunities. We too want to constantly improve our services and reach 29.7 % our public better on the Internet. However, 2015 TV market share we are doing this with respect for our users’ privacy, in accordance with our mandate 43.9 % Total SRG to serve society. Total foreign state-run broadcasters Total Swiss private broadcasters Promoting balanced journalism Total foreign private broadcasters in a digital age We are emphatically opposed to the use Source: Mediapulse television panel, Instar Analyt- of data-driven business models solely 20.9 % ics, Switzerland, people aged 3 and over including guests, 2015, Mon-Sun, 24 hours, all platforms, to encourage users to consume more and 5.5 % overnight +7. generate profits. Not infrequently, this occurs under the guise of supposed quality journalism. Journalism must not be mis­ used to optimize purely money-driven business. We will not relinquish the for­ mation of opinions in Switzerland to 28.5 % algorithms. The digital era needs balanced 2015 radio market share journalism more than ever before. Total SRG Promoting a diversity of opinions, Total foreign democracy and dialogue Total private Swiss In a media industry that is drifting apart, 5.7 % we want to act as a politically and financial­ Source: Mediapulse Radio panel, Switzerland, 65.8 % ly independent hub that ensures a diver- people aged 15 and over, 2015, Mon-Sun, 24 hours.

20 21 3. What the public think 3. What the public think

rises to over a third (36.6 per cent). In iano” and “Telesguard” report on issues total, SRG TV stations reach on average affecting people in German, French, almost half (48 per cent) of the language- Italian and Romansh-speaking Switzer­ as­similated Swiss population (3,511,000 land. people). • Talks, debates and magazines: Formats In 2015, the websites of SRG stations re­ such as “Samstagsrundschau”, “Der corded an average of 45 million visits Club”, “Forum”, “Arena”, “Infrarouge”, per month (with 2.9 million unique users “60 minuti”, “Democrazia Diretta” and each month). On average, seven live “Controvers” inspire people with their streaming sessions or on-demand requests fascinating and controversial debates. were initiated each second in 2015. This Magazine programmes such as “Kassen­ equates to over 15.5 million requests for sturz”, “A bon entendeur”, “Patti chiari”, SRG video content and 3.2 million requests “Reporter” and “Falò” explain, expose for SRG radio content per month on the and sometimes even provoke. In parallel Internet (ComSore Digital Analytix, 2016). with radio and TV broadcasts, issues are also given appropriate space online. The people of Switzerland live with our programmes every day. They keep them­ • Films, shows, series and documentaries: selves informed, laugh, share in the ex­ Programmes such as “Persönlich”, “Via citement, discover new things and have col venti”, “26 minutes”, “Cuntrasts”, their thought processes stimulated. They “Storie”, “Der Bestatter”, “1 gegen 100”, come across us in towns and villages, “Happy Day”, “SRF bi de Lüt”, “Un air de and communicate with us via the radio, famille” and “Le Kiosque à musiques” TV, telephone or Internet. captivate and entertain the public. They bring people, values and issues from • News: The news broadcasts “Echo der all language regions to the fore. They Zeit”, “Le 12h30”, “Le Journal du matin”, illustrate the cultural characteristics of “Radiogiornale”, “Tagesschau”, “10vor10”, our nation and help to promote mutual “Le 19h30”, “Mise au point” and “Tele­ understanding. giornale” deal with national and inter­ national issues in an objective, in-depth manner. 3.2 Why we need series and entertainment shows Coverage of SRG radio and TV stations • Regional news: The regional news pro­ grammes “Schweiz aktuell”, “Couleurs We want to have something good in our In 2015, SRG stations (radio and TV) reached 94 per cent of the Swiss population each week. locales”, “Il Quotidiano”, “Cronache della schedule for as many different interests Source: Mediapulse AG, Analysis of infrequent and non-users of SRG TV and SRG radio, 2016. Svizzera italiana”, “Voci del Grigioni ital­ as possible – entertainment forms part

22 23 3. What the public think

We accompany our audience throughout the day

06.00 Between 6am and 2pm, Radio SRF 1 is the most-listened-to radio service in German-speaking Switzerland.

07.00 Almost one in three young listeners aged between 15 and 24 (31.6 per cent, Mon–Fri) chooses SRF 3 in the news hour between 7am and 8am. of SRG’s overall social mandate. And the On 19 June 2016, over 2.2 million viewers public agree with us. In the representative in Switzerland cheered on the Swiss na­ 08.13 39.7 per cent of all radio listeners catch up on consumer issues in “Espresso” on study on SRG’s image, 70 per cent of those tional football team as it battled to get into SRF 1 (Mon-Fri). questioned were in favour of having enter­ the last 16 of the European Championships. tainment programmes in SRG schedules Over a million viewers followed the con­ (Link, 2016). clusion of the Swiss National Wrestling and Alpine Festival on 1 September 2013. They Swiss citizens make extensive use of SRF’s news app throughout the day to keep Our in-house entertainment broadcasts watched Matthias Sempach triumph over up to date with events. The app is used by over 270,000 different browsers each month. and bought-in series differ from those Christian Stucki – and then chuckled as of private suppliers – not so much in the Stucki affectionately kissed Sempach’s “what”, but above all in the “how”. We head. An equally large number of viewers treat the people in our programmes fairly witnessed the Austrian Hannes Reichelt 18.00 The information programme “Echo der Zeit” reaches more than 13,000 young and with respect. Well-made entertainment spoil the party at the Lauberhorn downhill listeners aged 15 to 24 each day (Mon-Fri). and fiction open up a new, perhaps unex­ ski race in Wengen on 18 January 2015, pected view of the world. Particularly in beating the Swiss contingent of Beat Feuz, this respect, well-made fiction can offer a Carlo Janka and Patrick Küng (Mediapulse). lot – for example the series that are cur­ 19.00– Almost 40 per cent of the TV-watching public spends the peak evening viewing rently extremely successful and popular We regularly broadcast around 25 different 22.30 period with SRF 1, SRF zwei or SRF info. with our young audiences. Their success sports live, from ice hockey and show is no coincidence. They often address jumping through to wrestling. In Olympic topical and highly relevant issues in an years, this figure is significantly higher. accessible and humorous manner. Without SRG, there would currently be no 19.30 Almost half of all viewers sit down to watch SRF 1 at 7.30pm, when the day’s news Swiss platform for at least half of these is presented, commented on and contextualized in SRF’s “Tagesschau” programme. When selecting formats and issues, we will sports. There would be very few opportu­ in the future be guided even more closely nities, if any, to view them on Swiss sta­ by our fundamental journalistic approach. tions. Many highlights of the sporting year 20.05 From 8.05pm onwards, one hundred thousand people watch SRF 1, SRF zwei or Quality and added social value will be our would move to pay TV. SRF info. With fascinating and investigative documentaries, SRF 1 reaches one in five people every Thursday in the peak viewing period. Each Friday, “SRF bi de Lüt” benchmark. reaches over a third of the TV-watching public on SRF 1. The fourth series of SRF’s On the morning of 9 December 2015, over in-house production “Der Bestatter” averaged almost 700,000 viewers in 2016. Over a third of the German-speaking TV public watched the latest series of the half of the Swiss viewing public tuned in Saturday night show “Die grössten Schweizer Talente”. 3.3. Live broadcasts – bringing to an SRG station to discover the results of Switzerland closer together the parliamentary elections. On 18 October 2015, around 1.7 million people in German-­ 22.20 Each day, almost 130,000 viewers watch the day’s sporting highlights on SRF zwei When SRG stations report on events, stories speaking Switzerland listened to coverage in “sportaktuell”. and destinies, millions watch and listen. of the general election on Radio SRF 1. Shared moments are an important cohesive During the Zurich Film Festival, 627,000 Sources: SRF market and audience research, Mediapulse TV and radio panels, ComScore Analytix (app element in multilingual Switzerland with listeners followed the live reports on Radio usage). Unless otherwise specified, the average figures relate to 2015 and the German-speaking population of Switzerland aged three and over (TV) or aged 15 and over (radio). The dimension for TV usage is “over- its diverse cultures. SRF 3 direct from Sechseläutenplatz each night +7” (live and deferred viewing within seven days of transmission).

24 3. What the public think 4. What we are working towards

4. What we are working towards

day. On 15 October 2010, 42 per cent of 4.1 Purposefully investing radio and television broadcasters. This the Italian-speaking population watched funding in the future mixed financing model has two benefits: the historic breakthrough of the Gotthard thanks to being largely funded via licence Base Tunnel on RSI LA1. Each Saturday Media are increasingly being consumed fees, SRG remains journalistically inde­ at 8.15pm, an average of 38 per cent of the via laptops, smartphones and tablets. The pendent, while the commercial revenue French-speaking population watch the availability of these devices increases reduces pressure on the level of the licence “26 minutes” programme on RTS Un, with the challenges we face. Users constantly fee. Due to its high fixed costs, audiovisual over 117,000 following this comic review expect new services, higher speeds and production in a small market with four of the week on Facebook. Thanks to live-­ technical quality standards that are better languages remains an expensive undertak­ streaming technology, people in Romansh-­ than those of just a few years ago. Public ing, even with digital technology. We are speaking Switzerland have since 2015 media companies are having to adapt their constantly adapting our organization and been able to watch and listen to full cover­ structures to the new digital world and our procedures. We have already taken the age of political, sporting, cultural and social continuously enhance their digital plat­ first few steps. In 2016, for example, SRF events. forms. brought together its online services under a single umbrella (“SRF Online”), so as to Regardless of new digital opportunities, In conventional radio and television pro­ manage all its online projects in a one- Swiss people still predominantly consume duction and also in signal transmission, stop shop. “SRF News Lab” produces news their media “live”. For example, in the technology costs are falling as older equip­ content especially for social media and first half of 2016, live TV accounted for ment is being replaced by a modern, stand­ mobile devices. At RTS, the “Cellule réseaux 87 per cent of total usage time. We must ardized infrastructure. At the same time, sociaux” governs the broadcaster’s social not neglect conventional transmission the costs for new Internet services are media strategy. RSI is undergoing a restruc­ paths, as that is where a large majority of increasing. Technology costs are therefore ture and consolidating its young talent our audience is still to be found. remaining at a high yet stable level. In in the “LAB DPN” project (digital audience addition to the conventional linear dis­ proximity). However, on-demand TV usage is also semination of radio and TV, parallel new, increasing at breakneck speed in Switzer­ online-based dissemination channels We use our resources economically. An land. 12.8 per cent of viewing each day are emerging. SRG is mandated to reach all expert report by the federal government currently takes place “on demand”, and in citizens; for this reason, there will be an concludes that SRG has suitable modern households with smart TVs this figure is overlap in dissemination technologies for a monitoring and control processes, and 22.1 percent; in the first six months of 2013 good while to come. it uses its licence revenue carefully (OFCOM, these figures were just 5.6 per cent of all 2016). Over recent years, we have cut our households and 12.7 per cent of households With an annual budget of 1.6 billion francs, administrative and infrastructure costs with smart TVs. As a public media com­ we produce 17 radio stations and 7 tele­ by around twelve per cent, and channelled pany, our mandate includes serving users vision channels in four language regions. this money into programming. We want independently of time and location. This Three-quarters of our income currently to pursue this path systematically. The is where the future lies – and we are com­ comes from licence fees, and almost a Federal Council also targets this approach mitted to it. quarter from commercial and other revenue in the public service report it published in such as the sale of programmes to other June 2016.

26 27 4. What we are working towards 4. What we are working towards

Return on investment. Licence fees and how they are used – a comparison of European public broadcasters

SRG produces radio and TV programmes in four languages with just one sixth of the licence fees available to ARD. ORF, ARD and the BBC produce output almost exclusively in a single language.

TV stations Radio stations 4.2 Focussing 4.3 Giving a face on a digital society to our multicultural society German French Digitization is revolutionizing society. SRG’s integration mandate is more relevant Italian Smartphones are our constant companions. than ever – a quarter of the Swiss popula­ Romansh Systems communicate intelligently with tion do not possess Swiss passports. In view No presenter each other and process huge quantities of of the ongoing crisis in Syria and other English data faster and faster. New professions countries, refugees will continue to head Scottish Gaelic are constantly springing up, while at the for our country. So SRG’s integration efforts Welsh same time we are seeing the disappearance must not be restricted to merely depicting of individual tasks and even entire pro­ the diverse cultures in Switzerland. Our fessional groups. programmes should encourage people to get to know each other and thus improve Licence fees in CHF/year: 1.2 billion Licence fees in CHF/year: 0.7 billion Bodily metrics are being continuously their mutual understanding. Foreigners Stations: 24 (7 TV and 17 radio) Stations: 16 (4 TV and 12 radio) measured, steps are being counted and therefore have a fixed place in our program­ Languages: German, French, Italian and Languages: German locations tracked. Mere voice instructions me schedules. SRF’s new comedy format Romansh and gestures are increasingly superseding “Müslüm Television” shows that integration physical commands. can be really rather colourful and amusing. Müslüm, a Berne comedian with Turkish In today’s world, social media have become roots, takes his audience on an action-­ an integral part of our lives. “Likes” and packed tour of migrant life and, in so doing, “shares” decide the relevance of issues – delves deep into Swiss traditions. and trends can change abruptly. In the digital world, waiting is an alien concept. Alongside the young urban population, This development that has taken us people with a migrant background are a by storm is undeniably fascinating. But group we want to pay particular attention sometimes it also threatens to overwhelm to in our programmes in future. This objec­ us, since it is changing culture and society tive is also enshrined in SRG’s corporate rapidly and irreversibly. strategy.

We want and need to keep pace with this acceleration. However, part of SRG’s remit 4.4 Reaching a sophisticated is to shape developments, critically ques­ young audience tion them and publicly debate them. Because even in the future, we want to Young people are growing up with new Licence fees in CHF/year: 7.1 billion Licence fees in CHF/year: 5.6 billion assess the newsworthiness of events media, and are making significantly less Stations: 81 (17 TV and 64 radio) Stations: 66 (9 TV and 57 radio) carefully and observe and contextualize use of public service broadcasting than Languages: German Languages: English, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh global affairs with prudence. older people. It is much harder for conven­

28 29 4. What we are working towards 5. Our ideas for the future

5. Our ideas for the future

tional media to reach them than it is to RSI is offering young people a website 5.1 Focussing on the general 5.2 Ongoing learning and reach their parents. We need to work at that uses modern language, and this au­ public and society self-renewal this, since the coming generations are our tumn RSI is also launching a new infotain­ future. This also means that we need to be ment offering named “Spam”, which will We see SRG as an audiovisual service SRG’s online services are increasingly being present with our services where our young be published on social networks. We will be provider for the people of Switzerland. consumed via mobile devices. At the end of audience is – on the Internet. This objective pursuing this path systematically and with To­gether with the public, we are reviewing 2015, two out of every three accesses were is also mentioned in the Federal Council’s a maximum of openness since, for young and enhancing our services. To this end, from smartphones or tablets. SRG’s 30 or June 2016 report. people, to­morrow’s media landscape will we are involving our users, listeners and so apps were downloaded over 1.3 million already be completely different to today’s. viewers even more closely in jour­nalistic times last year (ComScore Digital Analytix, In all language regions, we are developing processes – we are giving the public a 2016). Young people in particular are con­ web-based video and radio services, voice and, wherever possible, making our suming media from mobile devices: 60 per promoting new talent and bringing to­ 4.5 Dissolving traditional broadcasts as interactive as possible. cent of 15 to 29-year-olds consider the gether content from different channels categories smartphone to be an absolutely indispen­ and stations for young people. For example, Around-the-clock dialogue sable source of current news – more than at SRF the editorial teams for “Zambo”, In the digital media landscape, traditional On social media platforms such as Face­ the radio (17 per cent), daily newspapers “MySchool” and “SRF Virus” have since terms such as radio and TV are becoming book, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and (8 per cent), or television, at just 4 per cent early 2016 been consolidated within the blurred. Today, television sets can easily WhatsApp, we are talking to the general (Link, 2016). In future, we will therefore "Young Target Group" unit. In RTR’s online be used to surf the Internet, and smart­ public around the clock. We are posting be focusing even more closely on our basic format “Battaporta”, young editors discuss phones are also televisions and radios – on YouTube and experimenting with principle of “mobile first”. current issues with young people and amongst many other things. The same platforms such as Snapchat and Periscope publish content, primarily via Facebook, applies to classification by genre. The in order to discover what motivates Developing apps is an ongoing process, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and allegedly razor-sharp boundaries between and interests Switzerland. SRG stations which often calls for experimentation. The WhatsApp. in­formation, entertainment, culture, currently have over 200 social media “RTS Lab” app, for example, involves users education and sport are becoming much profiles on the Internet. Four or five times in the testing of innovative video clip lay­ Web services are an important develop­ vaguer. What is decisive is the attractive­ every minute, posts from SRF and RTS outs. In “Dans Ton Quiz” on Couleur 3, view­ ment area. In 2015, SRG stations launched ness and relevance of content. Affinity are commented on, liked or shared. Every ers can test their musical knowledge and a total of eight web series. In 2016, RTR with a particular genre is taking a back other second, somebody visits rsi.ch or play with presenters’ voices and playlists. embarked upon live streaming with the seat. If we want to reach the public, we uses the RSI app. In Romansch-speaking In 2016, a year of sporting events including production of five events spanning sport, need to increasingly think with this new Switzerland, RTR more than tripled the European Football Championships and culture, politics and society. Ten trans­ logic when developing programmes. the rate at which it communicates with the Olympic Games, RSI, RTS and SRF are missions per year are planned from 2017. the public between September 2015 launching new sport apps that give users Since October 2015, the Nouvo editorial It is up to us to make this move towards the and February 2016 (Quintly, 2016). Even up-to-date information on highlights. team at RTS has been producing eight to public, even if it means taking leave of more important are direct, personal on- ten current affairs videos per week, which familiar terms and categories. With this in site dialogues, for example during live Here in Switzerland, we want to be techno­ are disseminated via Twitter and Face- mind, we welcome the Federal Council’s productions, broadcasts with an audience, logical trailblazers. After the introduction book. And RTS programmes such as intention to replace existing radio and dis­cussions with the public (for example of HD quality, matches at the European “26 minutes” are getting large audiences television legislation with state-of-the-art “Hallo SRF”), or one of our numerous studio Football Championships were transmitted online and on social media. With “Cult+”, media legislation. tours. in four times as much detail (UHD/4K quali­

30 31 5. Our ideas for the future

The six pillars of programme quality

1

Quality standards and norms ty) for the first time. This enabled redistrib­ organization as part of advancing digitiza­ utors to conduct large-scale testing on tion – together with private partners and the new technology. The platform that SRG tailored to fit in with the government’s supports for HbbTV interactive television terms of reference. For SRG to restrict 6 2 (Hybrid broadcast broadband TV) will in itself – either to just digital or just conven­ future also be available to private channels. tional channels – would be counter-pro­ Audience and Management We are currently using HbbTV to test ductive. Some of the public would be ex­ market research by objectives live subtitling technology for people with cluded from our services, with generations sensory disabilities. and sections of the population being split by a media divide. SRG would no longer be Programme From November 2016, we will be broad­ able to fulfil its social mandate. quality casting all radio programmes using the new DAB+ digital standard, which enables Technological development goes hand in up to twice as many programmes to be hand with programming innovations: the 5 3 transmitted in even better quality. It will latest additions include web-first series Training Resources and also be possible to receive most private such as “Güsel” (SRF), “Bipèdes” (RTS) and processes radio stations with DAB+ for the first time. “Arthur” (RSI). Numerous new formats In south and south-east Switzerland, have been launched on TV and on radio we are optimizing the bandwidth of our over recent months. SRG is also promoting own radio programmes, thereby creating innovation events with external guests, 4 capacity for further private stations. such as the “Hackathon” on the subject of migration that took place at RTS in Geneva Feedback and In RTS’s “Labo numérique”, web experts in March 2016. quality control are working with editors to develop novel web services such as the “360 degree Within programme development, we videos” and “virtual reality” projects. are focusing even more closely on Swiss RTR is enabling reporters to submit their productions. In all these new develop­ contributions even more directly and ments, the standards for journalistic care, quickly via smartphone in video format programme diversity and uniqueness 1 5 Key rules and standards are defined and can be referenced in The training available includes solid education and training, individ- using the “Mobile Reporting” service. will remain high. manuals or guidelines. ual training programmes and specific programmes for managers. As part of the “LAB DPN” project, digital 2 6 natives from various departments within Targets are defined, agreed and monitored for staff as well as for Records are kept of how large audiences are for particular offerings, RSI are producing pilot Internet formats 5.3 Quality as a waymarker programmes. and how these figures are arrived at. Feedback from surveys is that are being published via YouTube and passed to editorial teams so they can continuously improve their 3 planning. social media. Information is spreading around the globe Processes for recruitment and appointment are clearly defined. faster and faster – increasingly unchecked. 4 We need to continue systematically and SRG’s Corporate Principles, with their five Systematic feedback and quality checks exist. The findings are transparently with the technological re­ central values – “credible”, “independent”, incorporated into editorial processes.

32 5. Our ideas for the future 5. Our ideas for the future

SRG’s internal and external supervisory bodies

We are systematically supervised by many instances, and the public have opportunities to have their say, via internal monitoring bodies with access to the ownership structure or via external monitoring bodies such as the five SRG Ombudsman’s Offices and the Independent Complaints Authority (UBI).

SRG SSR supervision

Internal monitoring External monitoring

SRG SSR Association Non-editorial Editorial

SRG SSR Delegates’ Meeting SRG SSR Company

Independent SWI Swiss Press 5 Ombudsman’s Federal Supreme SRG.D Corsi SRG.R RTSR SRG SSR Board of Directors DETEC OFCOM > Complaints swissinfo.ch Council Offices Court Authority (UBI)

Audience Audience Audience Audience Audience 5 committees Internal Audit Council Council Council Council Council

The audience councils are the interfaces between programme makers and the public. Audit and Finance Financial supervision Supervision regard- Policing organiza- Investigating com- Dealing with com- They are made up of representatives from different sections of the population. Their task Committee ing adherence to tion for monitoring plaints regarding plaints regarding is to assess SRG's publication services. For programme managers, the audience councils Approving SRG • the RTVG the quality of Swiss the content of the content of edi- are important discussion partners. Investment statutes • the implementa- journalism editorial services torial services and Committee tion provisions and any refusal any refusal to grant Approving pro- • the SRG conces- The Press Council’s to grant access to access to these Human Resources gramme collabo- sion journalistic guide- these, as well as Committee ration with other • relevant interna- lines as a binding mediating between Possibility of sub- providers tional agreements basis for SRG complainants and mitting the com- Transparency the editors/manag- plaint to the Federal Committee Approving interests Obligation to report ers of the publishing Supreme Court in other providers on any non-conces- service SWI swissinfo.ch sionary activities Committee Subsidiary measures The Ombudsman’s in the event of a Offices are estab- failure to agree lished by the SRG collaboration with Association and are Swiss filmmakers, answerable to the the audiovisual relevant Audience industry or the Council (see p. 34). Swiss music industry They are a mandato- ry legal precursor to Complaints regard- mediation for com- ing the content of plaints to the Inde- editorial publications pendent Complaints to the UBI Authority (UBI)

34 35 5. Our ideas for the future 5. Our ideas for the future

“diverse”, “creative” and “fair" – set a coun­ The SRG annual report provides informa­ contribution to the MAZ Foundation, SRG (finance, human resources, communication, terpoint to this trend. Founded upon these tion on the efforts made regarding journal­ is also supporting the training of prospec­ etc.). guiding principles are its Programming istic quality. In terms of quality manage­ tive journalists financially. In western Charter and journalistic guidelines, which ment, we want to increasingly measure Switzerland, we offer short-term intern­ Since 2013, SRG has participated in the act as a guide for the work of all SRG’s ourselves against others and report on the ships to prospective journalists from the government’s equal pay dialogue. The Logib media representatives. outcome. “Académie du journalisme et des médias tool is used to measure annual pay differ­ de l’Université de Neuchâtel” (AJM) and the ences between men and women. According Quality as a process “Centre de Formation au Journalisme et to this tool, women’s wages at SRG are Quality is not a state; it has to be constantly 5.4 Education and training as aux Médias” (CFJM). RSI maintains partner­ 3.7 per cent lower than men’s. Compared to regenerated. SRG has developed tools to an investment in journalistic ships with cantonal and federal institutions the Swiss economy as a whole, this is a good measure, control and monitor its program­ quality and also with local publishers, for example result (the government’s tolerance thresh­ me quality. Staff suggestions and proposals to organize the “Corso di giornalismo della old is 5 per cent), but it is not enough. help us to enhance quality management Each year we invest around eight million Svizzera italiana”. Together with our social partner the Swiss in practical terms. We maintain a close dia­ francs in internal and external education Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM), logue with colleagues from other countries and training for our employees. Internships we are taking steps to further reduce the and from the research community. And enable young journalists to get a foot on 5.5 Transparency and fairness difference. the public are also an important yardstick – the professional ladder. 60 to 70 interns the five Audience Councils monitor pro­ undergo a 12 to 24-month trainee pro­ As the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, we With women accounting for 43 per cent grammes critically and independently. gramme focussing on “on-the-job” journal­ are accountable to our licence payers. We of the workforce, the gender ratio at SRG is The public’s opinion is sought even outside istic training. Since 2010, this training has want to be more transparent than the law relatively balanced. For staff (including these councils, for example in group had a three-pronged approach. As well requires, and will continuously investigate trainees) employed under the collective discussions on programme development. as regular internships, we also offer short- where we can expand our transparency. bargaining agreement (GAV), the proportion term internships lasting between one For this reason, we publish our transmis­ of women is 45 per cent, and for managers There are also numerous external control and six months, from which 250 young sion costs each year. After SRF’s publication it is 27 per cent. We have set ourselves bodies that oversee our work and make professionals benefited in 2015. In compar­ of its TV transmission costs last autumn, the goal of increasing the share of women suggestions for improvements: OFCOM and ison, the number of apprentices at SRG the TV broadcasters in French, Italian and in management to 30 per cent by 2020. DETEC check whether legal principles is somewhat lower. This is because Switzer­ Romansch-speaking Switzerland followed 52.2 per cent of GAV employees work part are being fulfilled. As a policing body, the land has many apprenticeships for tech­ suit in May 2016. All regions report on their time (managers: 14.5 per cent). To increase Swiss Press Council supervises the quality nical trades and support functions, but not radio stations’ costs as well. SRG also pub­ the number of part-time managers, we of public radio and Swiss journalism. for journalism or publishing activities. lishes facts and figures on pay and its work­ are encouraging part-time contracts for all The five Ombudsman’s Offices mediate in force each year. new appointments. the case of all complaints from the general A solid journalistic training is essential public regarding SRG’s news, information for Swiss journalism. For this reason, SRG wants to be a good and fair employer. and entertainment services. If someone we support journalism courses in German-­ With around 6,100 employees equating 5.6 Joint initiatives is not satisfied, they can then submit a speaking and French-speaking Switzer­ to 5,000 full-time staff (excluding subsidi­ in the Swiss media complaint to the Independent Complaints land. SRG is a co-founder of the Lucerne-­ aries) it offers skilled jobs in all of Switzer­ Authority (UBI), which will conduct legal based Swiss School of Journalism (MAZ), land’s language regions in the fields of SRG is the only large media company in proceedings. which was founded in 1984. Via an annual journalism, media production and support Switzerland that is not concentrated

36 37 5. Our ideas for the future 5. Our ideas for the future

around economically strong regions such as 5.7 More public-private experiences. These might involve Formu­ launching a multilingual “Swiss channel” Zurich and Geneva. We are thereby setting partnerships la 1, athletics, indoor sports or tennis. on YouTube to showcase private produc­ a countertrend to the media concentration tions as well. that is primarily apparent in the print SRG has for many years cultivated a • Training: SRG is prepared to systemati­ industry. In 2001, 80 per cent of the press wide variety of partnerships, for example cally open up its training programmes • DAB+: SRG is making space for private market in French-speaking Switzerland with the Swiss film and music industry, to journalists from private media compa­ radio stations to broadcast digitally was run by western Swiss publishers that with festivals and archives, with cultural, nies. (DAB+) in south and south-east Switzer­ have since ceased to exist. The remaining sporting and sensory disability associa­ land by reducing the bandwidth of private media companies Tamedia AG tions, with churches and the education • HbbTV technology: SRG has developed its own channels and also reducing the and Ringier AG control almost 80 per cent system, with training establishments and technology for interactive television – sound quality slightly. of the press market in French-speaking research institutions, with network Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV or Switzerland and 60 per cent in German-­ operators and technology partners, with SmartTV. It is now making this available • SRG news bulletins: SRG is reiterating its speaking Switzerland (fög, 2015). performing rights societies, with 3+ for to private television channels. offer to private radio stations that want distribution via Sat-Access, with private to concentrate their resources in their But the biggest competitors are not domes­ radio stations for the changeover to DAB+ • Swiss TXT: SRG’s technology subsidiary own regions – in return for a small pay­ tic media companies but rich media and with individual publishing companies. has a wealth of technological expertise, ment, they can broadcast up to 24 SRG companies from neighbouring Germany, for example relating to video platforms news bulletins daily, in full and simulta­ France and Italy – particularly in the case Together with publishers, SRG also oper­ and media hubs. Swiss TXT is also open neously. of television. Almost half of advertising ates the Swiss Press Agency (SDA) and the to collaborative undertakings or even income (45 per cent) ends up in the Swiss Swiss Media Database (SMD). joint ventures. • Transregional windows for regional advertising slots of foreign channels (Swiss television: As part of SRG’s public-private Advertising Statistics Foundation). We are actively seeking public-private part­ • Web player: SRG is offering to distribute partnership with “PresseTV”, NZZ, Basler nerships that will benefit the Swiss media selected content to private broadcasters Zeitung, Handelszeitung and Bilanz Google and Facebook have more users than and advertising industry – at a regional, on its web player (Play SRG). This will already broadcast programmes on SRF. all the websites of Swiss media companies national and international level. The increase their visibility, even though SRG is now additionally opening up together. The advertising power of these Federal Media Commission is backing SRG 20 million contributions are already the channels SRF info, RTS deux (French-­ global players is continuing to increase. in this undertaking. In January 2016, accessed each month. speaking Switzerland) and RSI LA 2 Only by joining forces will Swiss companies SRG therefore published eleven proposals (Italian-speaking Switzerland) for suita­ be able to put a stop to this trend. With for cooperation: • Shared apps: SRG is proposing to private ble programmes by television channels strategic partnerships and shared advertis­ media companies, educational establish­ with regional concessions if they wish to ing marketing, we can stem the flow of • Videos: SRG will provide publishers with ments and third parties that they jointly gain transregional visibility. advertising money to other countries. For newsworthy videos, either on the pub­ develop or enhance applications for this reason, SRG has jointly founded lisher’s Internet player, embedded in the mobile devices and collaborate on app Greater collaboration between private and the marketing company Admeira with publisher’s website or for playback on content. public media brings benefits on both sides. Swisscom and Ringier. Admeira’s services SRG’s video player. Digital technology calls for high investments, are available to all advertising clients, • Swiss channel on YouTube: SRG is pro­ and joint ventures reduce the infrastruc­ agencies and other advertising inventory • Sport: SRG is proposing joint ventures in posing to private media companies that ture costs for all partners. Cooperation be­ suppliers. the field of sport in order to gain common they jointly investigate the feasibility of tween several media companies can also

38 39 5. Our ideas for the future Closing words

Closing words

lead to more efficient advertising market­ SRG is for everyone. We belong to the We want to get closer to our audiences. We ing, since many advertising clients target people of this country – it was they who are in dialogue with our viewers, listeners their audiences across a variety of different created us almost ninety years ago. The and users, and communicate with them on media. Collaboration therefore also offers balanced journalism in which we engage is social media platforms. To reach young economic benefits. And finally, partner­ needed today and in the future more than people better, we want to listen more ships also provide a fresh journalistic impe­ ever. We personify prudent, growth-critical closely to what they think and need, and to tus. journalism that delves into information, what they have to say. And we want to categorizes content and reveals back­ develop more attractive online formats and SRG is currently holding numerous talks grounds. We do not want to surrender have a more definite presence where our and negotiations with associations and opinion forming in this digital age to young audience is. individual media companies. The first steps algorithms and filtered information from have already been taken. For example, RTS news platforms. We want to use our funding even more provided private radio broadcasters in efficiently and continue to play our part in French-speaking Switzerland with inter­ We want to build bridges that link multil­ shaping Switzerland’s media landscape. view recordings during the 2016 European ingual, multicultural Switzerland. We As a company with a digital core business, Football Championships. SRG is going to represent cohesion in diversity. We bring we are a front-runner when it comes to work together with Radio Südostschweiz to diversity to the fore. With attractive for­ using new technology. For this reason, we broadcast radio programmes in the Grisons mats, we promote and shape Swiss culture are investing extensively in training our DAB+ layer. And the west Switzerland and instil identity. As a corporation funded staff, and are entering into new, mutually regional television station “La Télé” is going by licence fees, we can, must and wish beneficial partnerships with other busi­ to include live indoor sports coverage to serve all target groups without simply nesses. We are using the opportunities from SRG in its schedules free of charge. striving to achieve quotas or commercial presented by digitization for our public and success. In this way, we can also address for everyone in our country. the concerns of minorities and make our­ selves accessible to people with visual These are the values by which we stand. and hearing disabilities. This is our pledge.

40 41 Bibliography

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