How the Swiss Abroad keep tabs on politics

Daily news by Swiss public broadcaster SRF on a mobile phone screen. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Where do the Swiss Abroad get news about their home country? A study analysing the habits of readers of the Swiss Review magazine offers some clues. It also finds a clear link between media consumption and political participation.  

It all started with a readership survey of the Swiss Review magazine, the flagship publication of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). Published six times per year, the print and digital format magazine provides news on what is happening in Switzerland and on the activities on Swiss associations around the world.  

The Swiss Abroad have been the subject of many surveys but very few have investigated their media consumption habits. The OSA commissioned the Research Centre for Public Sphere and Society (fög) at Zurich University to do just that by polling Swiss Review readers.  

“Not a lot of research had been done in this field,” says research director Daniel Vogler. “Measured against Switzerland’s population, the Swiss Abroad form a pretty large group that usually falls through the cracks.”  

Vogler and his fellow researcher Jörg Schneider used the results of the survey as the basis of a scientific paper that was recently published in the Journal of International Communication. The first major finding confirmed what was already widely assumed: despite being a heterogenous community, the Swiss Abroad behave like their peers in Switzerland. They tend to consult the same media outlets. 

The second finding had more relevance to the researchers. They found that Swiss expats who regularly consume news about their homeland are the most likely to participate in Swiss political life. “Media consumption and political participation are very closely linked,” says Vogler. 

Average behaviour 

The study is based on a dataset of the summer of 2020 when nearly 14,000 readers of the Swiss Review participated in a survey. However, the dataset is not entirely representative. Participants over the age of 65 are overrepresented, note the authors. In spite of their advanced age, most of the surveyed Swiss Abroad obtain their news about Switzerland digitally from various Swiss news websites. 

“We asked the participants where they got their news about Switzerland from,” explains Vogler. “We were surprised to see that the user group of the Swiss Abroad follows the same patterns as the user group in Switzerland.” He speaks of ‘classic repertoires’ of behaviour that are common to both groups. These repertoires may include the tendency to watch television, versus consuming news digitally or reading newspapers.  

The making of a Saturday programme by Swiss public broadcaster RTS. © Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

The authors identified five distinct groups based on their media consumption habits. “We were able to prove for the first time that these repertoires exist among the Swiss Abroad just like they exist among other groups,” Vogler observes. 

Swiss Abroad make a difference 

The international ramifications are of specific interest to the authors. “Because of its direct democracy system, Switzerland is an interesting case for analysing transnational voting,” the study says, especially since referendums and popular votes are held several times per year.  “The political parties often aim their campaigns directly at the Swiss Abroad.” 

The Swiss Abroad are usually news-savvy expatriates who stay up to date by consulting a broad range of media outlets. “Politically speaking, the Swiss Abroad can make a big difference,” says Vogler. “Such users regularly participate in elections and popular votes.” 

The stronger the ties to Switzerland, the more the Swiss Abroad tune into events back home. Vogler and his co-author Schneider were not only able to show this empirically for the first time, but they could also explain why it is significant.  

“Since many Swiss Abroad exercise their right to vote, it is relevant to find out more about this heterogenous population and how they obtain news about Switzerland,” the study notes. 

Media rankings 

This led to the research question: which media Swiss expatriates use to inform themselves about their home country.  

The responses yielded the following ranking: 

• Swiss online newspapers  
• Non-Swiss online newspapers 
• Social media 
• SWI swissinfo.ch, the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) 
• Free Swiss online newspapers 
• Swiss television (Swiss Broadcasting Corporation) 
• Swiss radio (Swiss Broadcasting Corporation) 
• SBC websites 
• Swiss print media 
• Swiss private television and radio 

Vogler and Schneider established that the Swiss Abroad used SWI swissinfo.ch more frequently than the SBC’s domestic websites. “SWI swissinfo.ch provides news on issues which are more relevant to the Swiss Abroad than other daily news,” explains Vogler. 

Indeed, SWI swissinfo.ch’s mandate is to provide news for the Swiss Abroad. This is the agreement between the federal government and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. According to the study, the Swiss Abroad are convinced that SWI swissinfo.ch fulfils its mandate.  

Media consumption with the morning coffee: It also works without a newspaper. © Keystone / Christian Beutler

“This is a clear confirmation for SWI swissinfo.ch,” says Mark Livingston, editor-in-chief at SWI swissinfo.ch. “It is our goal to be the most relevant Swiss media for the Swiss community abroad.” 

Social media is also an important news provider for the Swiss Abroad. The study found that it is more frequently used than SBC’s television or radio channels, while print media is hardly ever used.  

Vogler points out another interesting finding of the study. “A lack of interest in Swiss news does not necessarily mean there is a lack of interest in other media,” he says. Some expatriates, for example, read the Swiss Review for general news, but are not interested in Swiss news as they are too far removed from their homeland. 

Profound and focussed 

Like SWI swissinfo.ch, the Swiss Review is supported by the government to help the Swiss Abroad stay informed about and  involved in Switzerland’s complex political life. “The Swiss Review is profound, gives advice and focuses on issues relevant to the Swiss Abroad,” says Vogler. The federal government supplies most readers with the digital version of the Swiss Review, however, the print version is still available and is sent out upon request. 

The authors of the study deem both media outlets very important. “There are few media channels with such a pronounced national or international focus,” the study says. Most Swiss media, they argue, are more focused on regional issues which limits their outreach to foreign media consumers. And what’s more: “Switzerland has a relatively small media market which is divided by language.” 

Paywalls remain a mystery 

Despite the depth of the study, it did not explore how subscriptions or paywalls affect media consumption habits. “We would have liked to ask whether cost is an additional obstacle,” observes Vogler. He thinks that the Swiss Abroad are only willing to pay for a subscription if they have a strong link to their homeland. 

Translated by Billi Bierling