SWR – We give impulses, reflect, accompany, and enrich the lives of people in the southwest. Information, education, advice, entertainment and culture: as a public broadcasting corporation, we offer valuable contents on all platforms. We stand for regional focus and currency, and supply high-quality and independent programming for Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate on SWR1, SWR3, SWR4, SWR DASDING, SWR Kultur and SWR Fernsehen. In addition, we are strongly involved in the ARD community offers.
Contribution to free speech
We are a public-law media enterprise. We support the free and democratic formation of opinions with our contents. In this respect, the SWR Interstate Treaty provides: SWR shall contribute to assuring a diversity of opinions, “its offers shall serve the purposes of information, education, advice and entertainment” (excerpt from Sec. 3 (1)). As the bodies representing interests of the general public, committees check that we comply with the principles of the programming and operating efficiency.
Independence as a valuable good
Our financing is borne jointly by everyone through the payment of the broadcasting license fees. This is a key guarantor for our independence from any influence being taken. Furthermore, this permits the production of contents aiming, on the one hand, at the broader public and at groups of persons with special interests on the other hand. This way, we provide quality for everyone.
Media and offers for the digital age
The digitalisation of the media and the changed media usage pattern leave their mark on us as well. We are venturing on new paths in programming and program distribution, conduct a dialogue with our users and design new offers specifically for web-based use.
The southwest in view
In an increasingly globalising world, our offers provide regional proximity and roots, while we keep an eye on nationally and internationally relevant topics at the same time. Regardless if it is the Tatort crime series with episodes in Stuttgart or Ludwigshafen, news and stories from Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate on news programmes SWR Aktuell and Landesschau, or contributions broadcast in our radio programmes – our dedicated services combine regional character with currency and reflect relevance.
We are there for you
We actively promote media competence and with SWR Medienstark, we develope media offers specifically for children, parents, tenders and seniors. We also take the responsibility for the protection of youths seriously in our programmes. We offer barrier-free webpages to people with disabilities and subtitles for all current programmes on SWR Fernsehen for people with impaired hearing.
Strong in association with the ARD
As a multi-state broadcasting corporation, we are the second largest station within the ARD – the working group of public broadcasting corporations in the Federal Republic of Germany. A strong association comprised of overall nine state broadcasting corporations and Deutsche Welle. Besides the Tatort episodes from the southwest, we produce shows like Verstehen Sie Spaß?, Report Mainz or blockbuster films such as Mackie Messer or Aenne Burda. In addition, we also integrate contents in the other ARD community programmes – 3sat, ARTE, phoenix, funk, KiKA. We are a guarantor for reliable information, good entertainment and diverse culture.
The employees
All of this is made possible by our permanent employees and freelance staff. They provide the foundation for our modern media enterprise and the prerequisites for good programming. As proof of the high quality of our programme, our employees and productions receive awards on a regular basis. At the same time, we ourselves also actively promote the media and cultural landscape by awarding our prizes of our own.
