TV staff in Geneva fight against CHF 200 vote

Staff at Swiss public broadcaster RTS are breaking their silence ahead of the March 8 vote on the “200 francs is enough” initiative.

More than 50 employees have signed a manifesto denouncing what they call “permanent and obsessive attacks” on public service media.

They warn that if the Swiss People’s Party backed plan to slash the license fee passes, half of the SSR’s budget — and around 3,000 jobs — could disappear.

RTS union president Alexandre Madrigali says programs and cultural coverage would be gutted, and sports moved to pay TV.

Journalists describe growing political pressure and “recurring accusations of leftism” — tensions that, they say, are already hurting morale and production quality.

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