ZURICH, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Switzerland votes next month on a proposal to slash funding for its state broadcaster SRG, a step supporters say will save Swiss households money, but opponents say reflects pressure globally on public media corporations from the political right.
National broadcasters across Europe, squeezed by declining audiences, fierce competition and falling revenue streams, have been accused of political bias by right-wing groups.
Backers of the organisations see them as an independent voice that can hold the powerful to account and which populists wish to stifle.
The proposal, backed by several groups including the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), is to cut an annual 335 Swiss franc ($433) fee that residents must pay to fund the broadcaster, to 200 francs.
Young people, they argue, rarely watch or listen to SRG TV or radio, preferring social media and streaming services.
"SRG's journalistic work has a political bias, a bias to the left," said Thomas Matter, an SVP lawmaker.
SRG rejects this, saying it follows strict standards, and referred to a University of Zurich study which found it does not skew left or right.
The March 8 vote is expected to be close, with 46% in favour and 52% against, according to a recent survey from GFS Bern.
The broadcaster, which runs 17 radio stations and seven TV channels in four languages, says slashing its 1.5 billion franc annual budget would be "the end of the SRG" in its current form.
A study from the BAK Economics think tank estimates that if the initiative passes, around half of SRG's 5,479 jobs could go. SRG, which is already planning staff cuts, has said its programming would be drastically reduced.
PUBLIC BROADCASTERS UNDER PRESSURE
The Swiss initiative echoes debates in Britain over the funding structure of the BBC, which has come under greater scrutiny as politicians from different sides accuse it of bias.
The right-wing Reform UK Party, which leads opinion polls, wants to scrap the 174.50-pound ($235.33) TV licence paid by every TV-watching household that funds the BBC. Party leader Nigel Farage says the BBC has long been "institutionally biased" and should be slimmed down.
The BBC is also facing a $10 billion lawsuit from U.S. President Donald Trump over its editing of a speech that made it appear he directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
It has apologised to Trump, admitted an error of judgment and acknowledged that the edit gave the mistaken impression he had made a direct call for violent action. But it has said there is no legal basis to sue.
A spokesman for Trump's legal team said last December the BBC "has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda."
Trump last May signed an executive order to cut funding for NPR and PBS, two U.S. broadcasters that rely partially on government financial support, in another move to sanction institutions his administration view as opposing his political agenda.
Germany and Austria's main far-right parties are calling for the abolition of their national annual licence fees, accusing state broadcasters of leaning leftwards.
The bias claim has long been a favourite tactic by right-wing parties and populists to weaken public broadcasters and create space for their own media, said Mark Eisenegger, professor of public sphere and society at Zurich University
"They see independent journalism as a threat," he said.
Campaign posters against the SRG cuts in Switzerland argue they would encourage the spread of "Russian lies" and "American fake news".
Laura Zimmermann, leader of the campaign against the cuts, said SRG helped unite Switzerland by broadcasting in all four official languages and was a check against misleading the public.
"We're living in an age of disinformation," she said. "It's a vital part of our security."
($1 = 0.7735 Swiss francs)
($1 = 0.7415 pounds)
(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Dave Graham, Alexandra Hudson)
