•Written by The Editors• ••Monday•, 04 •July• 2011 03:14•
Swissinfo.ch has been given a reprieve by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation despite budget cuts and will continue to focus on informing international audiences about Switzerland. Last month, the SBC undertook a review to decide whether Swissinfo, the only official news operation remaining to inform both Swiss expatriates and the outside world about the country, should be axed or not. Concerned journalists and readers informed The Essential Edge earlier this year that eliminating Swissinfo would deny the Swiss public one of their most effective day-to-day information outlets for keeping the outside world updated on what is happening in Switzerland.
On June 28, 2011, the board of directors of the SBC, Swissinfo's parent company, agreed to a new strategic plan. The Bern-based Swissinfo will now offer background information on Swiss politics, the economy, culture and social affairs in ten languages, including Russian from 2013. Editorial processes will be reorganized. Its annual operational costs of 26 million Swiss francs will be slashed by nine million to 17 million Swiss francs. This will mean the loss of at least 40 jobs, most of them through natural attrition or golden handshakes, but at least one third through firing. Some fear that these editorial cuts will mean a reduction in quality content.
Ever since the Swiss government eliminated Swiss Radio International broadcasts over ten years ago, it focused on swissinfo.ch to fulfil its information mandate, complementing the work of the online services of the SBC's radio and television stations. The Geneva-based World Radio Switzerland is part of this mandate.
According to the SBC, on-the-ground realities have changed radically as the result of rising information sources worldwide and the broadening of the global multimedia platform. In order to ensure the long-term viability of its mandate for international news and information, the SBC has proposed a new strategy that will include a major overhaul of its news website.
Certain services will be "streamlined," notably the amalgamation of its French, German and Italian news desks into a single department. A Russian subsite will be created as the result of growing interest among Russians, particularly business interests, for Switzerland. Swissinfo itself will report in English, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese. In addition, while news are expected to remain the core of the Swissinfo site, it will also provide voting and electrion dossiers for Swiss citizens living abroad.
These and other proposed changes will serve as a negotiating basis for the pending discussions with the federal authorities concerning Swissinfo's role for 2013-2016. As before, Swissinfo will continue to provide text, video, photo galleries, audio slide shows and podcasts as part of its offer.
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