- According to a study in Switzerland, online media replaced television as the most opinion-forming media type for the first time in 2021.
- Print newspapers have therefore also lost importance.
- Big brands like “20 Minuten” and radio and television SRF have lost influence in favor of smaller titles.
What about media diversity and the possibility of free opinion formation in Switzerland? Publicom is investigating this on behalf of the Federal Office of Communications (Ofkom). Print titles have slipped to the end of the genre ranking in terms of importance for opinion-forming. Still behind radio and social media as it is in the Media Monitor Switzerland 2021 means.
The latest edition comes to the conclusion that online was able to benefit significantly in terms of opinion power compared to the previous year. In addition to an expansion of the calculation basis, the authors of the study identified increases at the expense of traditional distribution channels.
Legend:
The Swiss are increasingly using their mobile phones rather than newspapers.
Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott
On the one hand, this happens within the same media brand by being used more online than in print. This can be observed above all with regional media brands.
On the other hand, online-only brands were among the biggest beneficiaries, the 204-page report said. Watson.ch in particular, but also the SRG news offers examined. In contrast, TV and radio brands were mostly in decline.
Big brands are losing their power to influence opinions
In the course of these developments, the majority of the nationally or regionally largest reach brands had to accept losses in opinion power in 2021: These included around “20 minutes” (nationally -4 percent), SRF 1 (-9 percent), Radio SRF 1 (-7 percent) , Blick (-21 percent), RTS 1 (-8 percent) or La 1ère (-8 percent).
The study commissioned by the federal government rated this as “fundamentally positive” for the diversity of opinion. The largest offers would become less important in favor of smaller ones. The bottom line of the study was that the prerequisites for a balanced formation of opinion in the population were given.
In addition to the online boom, the study also showed that media use continued to be above average overall. A small part of the increase in reach and opinion power from the Corona year 2020 was lost again last year. Compared to the years before the pandemic, however, the two values continued to increase.
More and more old people in the SRG audience
Media Monitor observed a further increase in age in the audience of many established media brands. Television and SRG are particularly badly affected.
On the other hand, social media and above all Instagram enjoyed increasing favor with young audiences in Latin-speaking Switzerland. Online increased primarily in the middle and older age categories in German-speaking Switzerland.