By John Revill
ZURICH, March 8 (Reuters) - Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a referendum to slash public broadcaster SRG’s funding, with the interim results showing 62% opposing a plan to cut the annual licence fee, a move critics warned would weaken media and fuel disinformation.
The campaign wanted to reduce the annual licence fee that all Swiss households must pay from 335 Swiss francs ($432) to 200 francs.
Supporters, mainly from right-wing groups including the Swiss People's Party (SVP), had argued that the charge – the highest in the world – was too expensive, and that SRG, which runs 17 radio stations and seven TV channels in four languages, had become too bloated.
They also said the SRG was not politically independent, and had a left-wing bias in its coverage.
LOWER FUNDING WOULD IMPACT SRG OUTPUT, OPPONENTS SAY
Opponents had said the move reflected pressure on public media organisations from the political right, which has accused national broadcasters globally of being politically biased against them.
News, sports and cultural coverage would suffer, opponents said, while an SRG weakened by lower funding could mean that disinformation would be easier to spread.
"A major dismantling of Switzerland's media infrastructure has been prevented," said Laura Zimmermann, leader of the campaign against the cuts. "Our access to reliable information remains protected."
"We remain fully committed to accompanying the public in their everyday lives with a diverse and high-quality programme," said Susanne Wille, SRG director general.
($1 = 0.7757 Swiss francs)
($1 = 0.7757 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Ros Russell)
