Coronavirus brings existential threat to Swiss press, despite more readers
The Swiss media has seen a spike in readership and audiences due to the coronavirus pandemic, but at the same time, revenues from advertisers have shrunk.
This content was published on
2 minutes
I like getting to know people. My interests are politics, refugee issues and national minorities. I was trained as a radio journalist. I previously worked in radio in the Jura region, then at Swissinfo until 2020. Today I work as a freelance journalist.
Switzerland has many faces, and each has many stories to tell. I am interested in the country in all its diversity. I write about agriculture and banks, diplomats and folk-style wrestlers, but also industrial excellence and cultural achievements.
The drop in income has forced many private media companies to introduce short-time work for their staff, effectively lowering salaries by reducing working hours. This has led to newspapers cutting back on the number of sections produced – in some cases no longer publishing local news, while TV and radio stations are broadcasting limited programming.
In French-speaking Switzerland, the Fribourg daily La Liberté is now only publishing two sections, instead of the usual four, while some radio stations in the western Jura region have implemented a reduced programming schedule usually reserved for the slow summer months.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
The Tamedia group, which owns numerous newspapers throughout the country, has also introduced short-time working. This measure is contested by journalists who feel that the conditions for short-time working are not being met since the workload has remained the same.
Publishers have also been under pressure from journalists and politicians who have called on them to offer coronavirus-related news to the entire population free of charge, arguing that this is a public health issue: in order to fight the pandemic effectively, every inhabitant should have access to reliable, independent and quality information.
Zurich-based Neue Zürcher ZeitungExternal link and Tages-AnzeigerExternal link (Tamedia group) have rejected this appeal, insisting that they must maintain their paywalls and subscription service at a time of drastically falling advertising revenues. But other newspapers, such as the German-language WOZExternal link, and Geneva daily Le TempsExternal link, as well as the French-language newspapers of the ESH GroupExternal link are offering unrestricted online access to their coronavirus-related articles.
Both unions and media owners have demanded financial support.
More
More
Coronavirus: the situation in Switzerland
This content was published on
An overview of the latest Covid-related information in the Alpine nation.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
This content was published on
The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.