Power and politics terminate local broadcaster

Michael Hedges November 2, 2008

“Scandal” shouted the media after the denial of a successful local broadcaster’s concession. But popularity and a sustainable business model may have turned the government against them. We’ve said it before; all politicians seek to control all media.

The Swiss government made its decision about the final “contentious” set of local radio and television concessions and made the announcement Friday morning (October 31). Fourteen radio and seven television concessions were distributed, some to new broadcasters and some to incumbents. In Geneva, top rated ONE FM’s concession renewal was denied. 

Radio licenses (concessions) for private, local broadcasters in the Arc Léman region in the French-speaking part of Switzerland were considered controversial, in part, because of recent ownership changes. Radio Lac, one of the first privately owned broadcasters, succumbed to pressure from its principal owner free newspaper publisher GHI and was sold to the owners of Rouge FM. Almost immediately the new owners relocated Radio Lac out of Geneva. Radio Lac had been losing money for several years. The Radio Lac concession was renewed, to the surprise of many, as was the Rouge FM concession.

“Applications from existing stations Radio Lac, Rouge FM and Lausanne FM were the best, but for different reasons,“ said the DETEC statement. “While Radio Lac and Rouge FM argued convincing benefits in terms of information, Lausanne FM was distinguished by working conditions as well as its training and development. The case of One FM was certainly equivalent to that of Lausanne FM in inputs, but it turned out much worse than its competitors in the outputs. Strongly focused on entertainment, One FM showed almost no benefits relating to information required in the tender. Buzz FM won for (the) One FM (concession); the station has submitted an innovative concept, strong focus on information. With its program in English, Léman Local Radio had no chance to obtain a concession.”

Buzz FM is the project of a local Geneva real estate developer. Its successful application was more or less expected as was the denial of an application for an English language station. English is widely used in Geneva, banks and international organizations preferring the common working language, but troublesome for conservative Swiss politicians.

The decisions were made by the Swiss Department of Energy, Transport and Communications (DETEC). Consensus is an admirable trait of Swiss government. Decisions are not taken in haste with wide consultation with all stakeholders. Quite obviously, the views of listeners and advertisers were not considered. The City of Geneva had been consulted and weighed in for ONE FM and Buzz FM. If this had happened in Ukraine or Serbia the OSCE would send observers, publish reports, write strong letters.

Denying a broadcast license to an incumbent and well-regarded commercial broadcaster is rare. Most denials in Europe, when they occur, are based on either gross negligence or financial incapacity. According to local sources, ONE FM has been earning around CHF 1 million (about € 675,000) revenue per month, certainly sufficient to sustain itself. The station reaches about 100,000 listeners, roughly one-quarter of Geneva’s population. ONE FM employs 40 people.

Radio Cité, a non-profit broadcaster that received a license renewal, was recently saved from bankruptcy by a private foundation set up by local millionaires. The station is a hodge-podge of ‘programs’ more appropriate for the 1950’s.

"This is a sledgehammer blow of falling on our heads," said ONE FM Managing Director Antoine de Raemy to Tribune de Genéve (October 31). "We have morning news… and we offer info flashes almost every hour." One-quarter of ONE FM’s staff is devoted to news and information programming, insufficient according to the government. More perplexing to ONE FM’s owners is the outcome for co-owned Lausanne FM, which is dependent on production, sales and staff support from its Geneva sister station. Lausanne FM, recently rebranded LFM, is “not economically viable” without ONE FM, said de Raemy.

An appeal to the Federal Administrative Court would be launched, said de Raemy, perhaps buying a year or more for a final outcome. DETEC says it is guided by the Swiss Law on Radio and Television (2006) that requires local commercial broadcasters to provide coverage of political, cultural social issues within the service area. Independent candidates – those without other media investments – are given preference when applications are otherwise equal. Open to interpretation is the requirement that the candidate best able to execute the concession mandate must be chosen.

The case bears striking similarity to a painful thrashing the Czech government received at the hand of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The license for incumbent television broadcaster TV Nova was handed over to a politically connected third party in hopes of removing a financially independent broadcaster from the scene. TV Nova’s owner Central European Media Enterprises (CME) fought the decision all the way to the ECJ. The courts decision awarded €300 million in damages to CME and reversed the license denial to the embarrassment of the Czech government.

The Swiss government’s decision on private sector broadcasting gives the appearance of preferring the inexperienced and financially weak. Also denied was the local Zürich television application from Tamedia, owner of major newspaper Tages Anzeiger. Radio Energy, majority owned by mega-publisher Ringier, was also denied renewal of its Zürich radio license. Radio Cité, the Geneva not-for-profit station that received a renewal, will receive more than CHF 400,000 from the license fee ‘top slice’ for broadcasters in distress. One local report suggests that nearly half of Switzerland’s privately owned local radio broadcasters will receive support from taxpayers.

A dependent media is a compliant media. Governments can count on ‘responsible journalism’ from broadcasters that come hat-in-hand to the dole. That entertainment value and public acceptance are not considered speaks volumes to the pervasive retrograde top-down attitude of governments toward independent media and plurality.