Bakom becomes the journalism police

[roseline371277]

Regional TV stations in Switzerland have a license and a service contract that obliges them to provide regional information. So far, so good and completely undisputed. Recently, however, the responsible Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) has been acting as the journalism police and controlling the stations with a truly absurd system. It is not the journalistic quality that counts, not the content of the contributions, not the variety, but only - the duration!

The regional TV licenses now state: "The portugal rcs data licensee ensures that its own-produced programs include at least 150 minutes of local or regional information about its region during prime time (6 p.m. to 11 p.m.) per week." Sounds harmless, were it not for the absurd criteria of what is considered "regional" and "relevant" by which the Bakom officials "measure" journalistic performance with a stopwatch in hand.

Would you like a few examples? Only what takes place in the concession area is considered truly regional. The home game of the local football team is. The away game, however, is not. And in general, something can only be counted as regional if the place name is explicitly mentioned. So if Telebasel reports on a demonstration "on the middle Rhine bridge", then that doesn't count. Only if it says "on the middle Rhine bridge in Basel". Viewers will scratch their heads, "I know, I think the bridge is burning in Basel!"