Swiss Press Council
The Swiss Press Council is the self-regulatory body for media ethical issues in Switzerland .
history
In 1972, the Association of Swiss Journalists (VSJ) adopted the Swiss Journalists' Code ( declaration of the duties and rights of journalists ) and in 1977 it set up the Swiss Press Council. At the beginning of 2000, the Conference of Editors-in-Chief, the Swiss Syndicate of Media Workers and the Comedia Union joined the Press Council and founded the Swiss Press Council Foundation as the sponsor of the Press Council. Since July 2008 this sponsorship has also included the publishers' associations and the SRG .
composition
The press council consists of 21 members. Of these, 15 are professional journalists and six are public representatives who do not work in the media. There are quota regulations for the representation of language regions and genders. The current president (as of September 2013) is Dominique von Burg , Geneva, former (chief) editor of the Tribune de Genève . The vice-presidents are the journalist and historian Max Trossmann ( Adliswil ) and the audience representative Francesca Snider ( Locarno ). 1 January 2014, Ursina Wey takes over the management in the succession to the office of Government Governor of Interlaken-Oberhasli changing Martin Künzi .
The members of the Press Council are elected by the Foundation Council of the Swiss Press Council Foundation , which in turn is composed of 18 representatives of the Foundation's sponsors.
function
Based on its business regulations, cases are assessed from a professional ethical perspective. It handles cases from all media (print, radio, television, Internet), provided that a complaint relates to the editorial part. Anyone is entitled to complain. As an exception, the plenary session of the press council takes up current cases of its own accord with a majority vote - provided that fundamental questions arise.
The press council records in its statements whether the journalists' code has been violated. He cannot impose any sanctions on the media. The editors should at least report on those decisions of the press council that affect them themselves.
With its statements and its journalists' code, the Press Council wants to set standards for journalism that is fair in terms of professional ethics.
Legal basis
The organization has no legal influence. He cannot prohibit any publication, he can only make recommendations.
Basis of the opinions
The journalists' code of conduct, declaring the duties and rights of journalists, forms the basis of the statements . The opinion assesses the question of whether a publication runs counter to the journalists' code.
In 1999 the Press Council added almost 40 guidelines to the eleven duties and seven rights of the declaration. As practical comments, these guidelines explain the duties and rights on the basis of cases that have been assessed by the Press Council.
At the end of 2011, the organization summarized its previous practice in the guide How journalists work fairly .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ New managing director of the Swiss Press Council ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
