On the road with Switzerland’s public broadcaster

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Live from parliament square in Bern: For special events, like the 2011 parliamentary elections, the SBC puts mobile studios in public places. (SRF/Peter Mosimann) SRF-SWI

German-speaking news presenter Maureen Bailo during an exchange with Radiotelevisione svizzera (RSI), the sister service in Italian-speaking Ticino. (RSI/Loreta Daulte) RSI-SWI

March 4, 2018: Behind the scenes on a vote day at Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) in Geneva. (Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi) Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone

On the set of 60 Minuti (RSI) RSI-SWI

All ears at the SRF 4 News radio station in Bern. SRF stands for "Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen", which is German for "Swiss radio and TV". (Keystone/Anthony Anex) Anthony Anex/Keystone

Editor Armon Schlegel on location for Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR), the Romansh service (Keystone/Gian Ehrenzeller) Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone

SWI's Renat Künzi (right) discussing direct democracy via Facebook Live with Anna Lührmann, political science professor at the University of Göteborg, and Parag Khanna, a Singapore-based expert on globalization and democracy (swissinfo.ch) swissinfo.ch

Home Affairs Minister Alain Berset being interviewed on RTS's Saturday morning radio show in 2016 (Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott) Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone

Featured in the DOK series of documentaries: 21-year-old candidate Elias Meier speaking to a citizen during the race for mayor of Grenchen (SRF) SRF-SWI

During the "Sternstunde Religion" show, moderator Norbert Bischofberger (right) in conversation with parliamentarian Barbara Schmid-Federer and her brother, Urban Federer, abbot of Einsiedeln Monastery (SRF/Oscar Alessio) SRF-SWI

The team behind Nuovo, the video channel for young adults: Flavio Deflorin (RTR), Seraina Derungs (RTR), Sophie Badoux (RTS, in front), Pascal Burkhard (SRF), Céline Stegmüller (SWI), and Marija Milanovic. (RSI) (SRF-SWI) SRF-SWI

In 2007, a gathering with a focus on the presidents of the four political parties represented in the Federal Council: the conservative right Swiss People's Party, the centre-right Radical-Liberals, the centrist Christian Democrats, and the leftwing Social Democrats. (SRF/Gian Vaitl SRF-SWI

"Quartier des banques", a dramatic series co-produced by RTS. (SRF/Point Prod) RTS-SWI

In Chur, Gaby Degonda hosting a live radio broadcast for RTR. (Keystone/Gaetan Bally) Gaetan Bally/Keystone

A joint RTS/SRF live broadcast from the federal palace during the 2015 federal elections. (Keystone/Alessandro della Valle) Alessandro della Valle/Keystone

Scene from a DOK film showing how Swiss ballots are sorted. (SRF) SRF-SWI

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Switzerland has a long history of public media – and the challenge of keeping it current for future generations.

The range of programming produced by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) is varied, especially considering the fact that the budget has to cover the four national languages as well as an additional seven at its international arm SWI swissinfo.ch. This linguistic quirk is why newsmakers in Switzerland often end up speaking into multiple SBC microphones.

With the popularity of citizen journalism and YouTube, the competition for eyeballs is fiercer than ever. A particular challenge is trying to appeal to younger viewers who barely remember a time before Netflix.

But last year, both the SBC and its supporters were relieved when Swiss voters rejected a proposal to do away with the mandatory licence fee for public broadcasters. Every household pays CHF365 ($365) per year for access to radio and TV in Switzerland.

This piece is part of ongoing coverage from the International Public Media Conference in Bern on March 4, where participants will discuss the future of public media and how it’s responding to political, financial and technical changes.