"Facts and opinions about the country and the people who call it their home, or are associated with it. Interesting, informative and professional. That was swissinfo.ch in 2016."
Marina Karlin
SWI Public Council
Foreword to the2016 Annual Report
The year that just ended was as eventful as it was successful for our company. January saw Larissa M. Bieler take over as Editor in Chief and immediately set a new editorial tone. In June, the Federal Council approved the new international remit for 2017–2020, which had been carefully negotiated between OFCOM and SRG SSR. Then, in August, we invested considerable resources in covering the centenary congress of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) (#WeAreSwissAbroad).
Eight questions
for our Editor in ChiefLarissa M. Bieler
Remarks by theSWI swissinfo.ch Public Council
Discussions and meetings
The Public Council held three regular meetings in its new configuration in 2016. The joint meeting with the Committee of the SRG Board of Directors responsible for SWI swissinfo.ch was held in February. The new President, Urs Ziswiler, attended three meetings of the Committees of the various SRG Public Councils. Prior to the June meeting, the Council attended the meeting of all editorial staff, making three presentations at the event.
“The renewal of the charter between the Swiss Confederation and SRG SSR (SWI) for the 2017 to 2020 period is evidence of the recognition and appreciation afforded to swissinfo.ch‘s achievements and impact to date.
For us, it is an enormous motivation to keep developing our online services according to what our readers want, and thereby make a relevant contribution to Swiss public value"
Peter Zschaler
Head of Finances and Controlling, Dep. Director
SWI swissinfo.ch Committee
Lucy Küng
SWI swissinfo.ch Committee
Regula Bührer Fecker
SWI swissinfo.ch Committee
Oscar Knapp
Ombudswoman SWI
Sylvia Egli von Matt
100 YEARS OF THE OSA – #WEARESWISSABROAD
SWI swissinfo.ch Audience Council
In accordance with the SWI swissinfo.ch swisconstitution, the Public Council ensures close contact between the programme managers and the audience.
The Public Council advises the managers in all programme matters and monitors and supports programme work with observations, suggestions and ideas. It regularly evaluates the development, organization and success of the international mandate in terms of quality, relevance, variety and uniqueness.
Urs Ziswiler, President of the Public Council
Former ambassador (Canada, USA, Spain), member of the Board of Directors and member of various committees since 2013, Zurich
Diccon Bewes, Vice-president
author and bookseller, Berne
Chok Woo
Engineer and manager, Berne
Marina Karlin
Publishing director, editor and journalist, Zurich
Takemitsu Morikawa
Senior Lecturer at the Universities of Lucerne and Zurich, Lucerne
Organization chart
Key figures
| 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating result (CHF 1'000) | -216 | 0 |
| Total expenditure (CHF 1'000) | 18'817 | 17'732 |
| Total return (CHF 1'000) | 18'601 | 17'732 |
| Financing SWI swissinfo.ch | ||
| Proportion SRG SSR (in %) | 51.3 | 50.0 |
| Proportion Confederation (in %) | 48.5 | 49.5 |
| Proportion SWI swissinfo.ch (in %) | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Investments (CHF 1'000) | 189 | 310 |
| Proportion of turnover committed to investment (in %) | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| Depreciation (CHF 1'000) | 478.0 | 505.0 |
| Equity capital (CHF 1'000) | 1'453 | 1'669 |
| Provision (CHF 1'000) | 1'345 | 581 |
| Full-time positions | 85 | 85 |
| Salary increase (in %) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
”swissinfo.ch explains Switzerland, its unique democratic processes and hot topics in ten languages – and all in a top-class digital format. At a time of growing international tensions, with democratic processes under threat, swissinfo.ch has an increasingly important contribution to make.”
Lucy Küng
SWI Committee
The Chalandamarz in Zuoz is very important. The spring custom was made world-famous thanks to Swiss children's book ...
Video journalist Julie Hunt talks about her latest documentary that she filmed in Kyrgyzstan. It's about a group of Swiss ski ...
Kayaking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are just a few of the winter activities the Swiss are supporting in the Central ...
At SWI swissinfo.ch we like to explore new ways of untangling Swiss politics for our audience abroad. Here video journalist ...
When and where the next avalanche will happen is hard to predict. In a special cold laboratory in Davos, researchers simulate the ...
In October, Swiss voters elect their political representatives for the next four-year term. Parliament is made up of two chambers to ...
Just like in alpine Switzerland, there is also a ski industry in the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, and it's getting some ...
In a special live recording of the Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes was joined by experts in conflict resolution to ...
Solar irradiance provides heat and light for life. It waxes and wanes with the cycle of solar activity, which currently cannot be ...
Cate Riley has flown to Switzerland from Australia on a mission to discover her Swiss roots. SWI swissinfo.ch joined her and her ...
“DEAR DEMOCRACY,HOW ARE YOU?” #DEARDEMOCRACY
From the Arab Spring to Brexit, from Trump to “fake” news: direct democracy is a hot topic. Reflective of this, Swiss students came up with the evocative hashtag #DearDemocracy for an event for which SWI swissinfo.ch was media partner. This is now the name of our platform on modern direct democracy, the most important topic addressed by swissinfo.ch. This article explains what is behind #DearDemocracy.
TRUSTED TWEET?
Fact checking the rumours spread on social media
SWI Highlights 2016
