Anger is brewing in the corridors of Sveriges Radio (SR), the Swedish “house of radio”. Informed, at the end of January, of the austerity plan prepared by the management, the objective of which is to release 250 million crowns (22 million euros) in 2024, the journalists warn against a deterioration in the quality of the programs, at a time when reliable information has never been more important.
In total, 180 positions out of 2,000 will disappear, including 80 following voluntary departures. Many programs will be affected. News bulletins in Kurdish, Tigrigna (spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea) and Russian will disappear. Also canceled are the program “People and Faith”, which addresses questions of spirituality, the satirical program “Public Service” and the weekly podcast on China.
The three flagship current affairs programs are not spared. Their editorial offices will be merged, leading to a reduction in staff. Furthermore, SR decided to terminate the position of “climate correspondent”, created in 2020 – one of the most controversial decisions.
In September 2023, the boss of the radio station, Cilla Benkö, justified the savings by rising costs: “Rents increased by 10% in 2023 and salary increases of [2024] are twice as large as our increase in credits (2% per year)”, she explained. Each year, SR receives around 3 billion crowns in royalties (set at a maximum of 1,219 crowns per person).
Request for increase in credits
The Sveriges Television (SVT) group is also concerned. It will have to reduce its expenses by 400 million crowns in 2024. SVT has already given up part of its premises and reduced the management team by 10%. Between 70 and 80 additional positions will be eliminated.
However, even if they tighten their belts, public media will need more money in the coming years, due to the security context. In the event of a crisis (or war), SR and SVT must continue to broadcast and ensure that the information is reliable. The presidents of the two groups therefore requested a 50% increase in credits by 2026.
In February 2023, the conservative liberal government, supported by the far right, set up a commission of inquiry into the future of public media. At its head, the former Christian Democratic leader Göran Hägglund must formulate proposals for “build confidence” listeners (whose rate is more than 70%).
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