The challenges in context

There are many challenges facing PSM worldwide. In this section we’ll explore just two: a police raid on Australia’s ABC in 2019 and attempts to remove the licence fee from Swiss public broadcaster, SRG SSR, in 2018.

ABC: Police raid and press freedom

While ABC enjoys a high level of trust among the Australian public, it faced an unprecedented police raid in June 2019 over a set of 2017 investigative reports into alleged abuses of Afghan citizens by Australian special forces. The raid highlighted the weak protections for public interest journalism and reporters, leading to a lengthy press freedom inquiry.

Watch the video and explore the links below to find out more about the raid and its implications for ABC. Additional content can be found at the end of this section.

The “No Billag” referendum

In 2018 the Swiss public broadcaster SRG SSR faced a referendum on whether the public should continue to pay a licence fee (billag). The ensuing debate brought the role of public media to the fore of public and political life. While the public ultimately backed the fee, the tense vote had significant implications for the future of the SRG SSR. The public broadcaster is still having to make additional budget cuts today.

Watch the video below and read our Insight report from the CEO of SRG SSR to find out more about the implications of the No Billag referendum.

WATCH: A public vote on removing the TV and radio licence fee (SRG SSR – 2 min)

Insight: The “No Billag” Swiss Saga

Additional reading:

• Unprecedented police raid on ABC (PMA, June 2019)
• ABC Update: Cuts and AFP continue to challenge public broadcaster (PMA, July 2020)
• Australia: Public media funding and press freedom challenges continue (PMA, October 2020)
• Funding pressures for Swiss public media (PMA, October 2020)