Swiss reject plan to cut public broadcaster funding

Swiss voters have rejected a referendum to reduce funding for public broadcaster SRG. Preliminary results show that 62 per cent of voters opposed the plan to cut the annual licence fee, which critics said would weaken the media and encourage misinformation.

The campaign sought to reduce the annual licence fee paid by all Swiss households from 335 Swiss francs ($432) to 200 francs.

Supporters of the referendum – mainly from right-wing groups including the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) – argued that the fee, the highest in the world, was too expensive and that SRG, which operates 17 radio stations and seven television channels in four languages, had become too large. They also claimed that the broadcaster is not politically independent and has a left-wing bias in its reporting.

(reuters, su)