If you want to express your solidarity with the Swiss colleagues from Swissinfo, you can send the following letter of protest to the contact persons indicated below:

Dear Mr. Walpen (or respective contact person)

We learned with great concern that the SRG / SSR – Administrative Council decided on 22 March 2005 a massive dismantling of swissinfo. This announcement is not understandable to us, as swissinfo plays the role of the “voice of Switzerland”, not only for Swiss citizens abroad, but also for a general international public, which appreciates quality programmes produced by public service broadcasting. The massive reduction of the nine language programmes is an inadequate behaviour, without precedence from a general management of public Radio/TV.

The suppression of a part of the financial contribution of the Swiss Confederation cannot be used as a pretext to give up this important provider of international news. The maintenance of the sole English edition – reduced to half of its current size – ignores any multicultural principles, not only in Switzerland, and constitutes a further step towards an unacceptable standardization at global level.

Therefore we strongly urge you and the management of SRG / SSR to reconsider your fatal decision. Furthermore we ask you to avoid the harmful lay-off of 70 to 80 employees in various newsrooms, as well as several dozens of freelancers. As the media branch, not only in Switzerland but all over Europe, is facing a dramatic transition period Public Broadcasters must prevail their best practices according to their public mandate.

Best regards,



Contact to send protest:
- SRG / SSR idée suisse General Director Armin Walpen, Generaldirektion,
E-mail : [email protected]
- Bundesrat Moritz Leuenberger, UVEK, Bundeshaus-Nord,
E-Mail: [email protected]
- BAKOM/OFCOM, Dr. Martin Dumermuth, Postfach, CH-2501 Biel
E-Mail: [email protected]