Advertisement

Leuthard voices concern as Swiss news agency continues strike

The Local
The Local - [email protected]
Leuthard voices concern as Swiss news agency continues strike
The strike is into its fourth day. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Communications minister Doris Leuthard has spoken out about the importance of the Swiss news agency SDA/ATS where journalists have been on strike for three days.

Advertisement

The strike began earlier this week as management began laying off staff following an announcement that 35 out of 180 jobs would be cut at the national news provider, which supplies most of Switzerland’s newspapers.

In an interview published in newspapers on Friday, Leuthard said the three-language agency was important for the diversity of the Swiss media.

As a consumer of its news, the government trusted the agency’s high quality, she said.

Leuthard said the government had discussed the situation at SDA/ATS and supported funding the private agency to the tune of 2 million francs, however this would need to be approved by parliament.

The minister said newspaper publishers were facing huge challenges in the online market.

But she criticized them for launching free online products, saying journalistic output should not be free.

Instead print media should look for new business models and partners to cooperate with.

SDA/ATS workers have staged demonstrations against the cuts in Zurich, Bern and Lausanne.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also