The Swiss Federal Administration has invested heavily in podcasts over the past few years to bring its work closer to the public. Despite high production costs and elaborate formats, the interest of listeners seems to be almost non-existent. Instead of providing factual information, self-congratulatory content often dominates, reaching only a few.
In total, around one million francs have been invested in the production of numerous podcasts. Almost every authority has brought its own audio format to the market, from the army to the Federal Office of Public Health or the “national network for regional development”.
However, the response is disheartening: some episodes are only heard by twenty people.
A particularly expensive example is the podcast “A Plus for Humanity”of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which promotes the work of the Directorate for Development and Cooperation (DEZA). With a budget of 300,000 francs, high-ranking employees were interviewed, praising their own work. Criticism or problematic aspects are nowhere to be found. Despite the high costs, the podcast was discontinued in the summer after the episodes averaged only 300 listeners.
Other federal authorities have had similar experiences. The Federal Office of Public Health spent 210,000 francs on the podcast “Spectra”, which was eventually discontinued due to cost reasons. The Federal Office of Culture produced a podcast on the Swiss Literature Awards, which sometimes only reached twenty listeners – at a cost of 53,000 francs.
Only the Swiss Army was able to achieve success with its podcast “Swiss Army Podcast”. With 5,400 listeners per episode, it is the only format of the federal administration that can seriously establish itself on the market.
Behind the podcast boom is a larger trend: the administration is increasingly relying on PR formats that present its own work in a positive light. The expenses for public relations have increased by 40 percent since 2017 to 110 million francs per year. However, whether these expensive productions are in the interest of the population remains questionable.
The question that arises is: why should it interest anyone? The answer to that seems to be one that the federal administration still owes.