Three complaints rejected: UBI finds no fake news at SRF
The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI) attests to SRF's objectivity, transparency and balance. It rejected three complaints in its public deliberation on Friday.
According to the report, SRF television's "Tagesschau" correctly reported on a change of opinion regarding the framework agreement with the EU. It correctly deduced a turnaround in the mood of the population from the opinion poll. However, the UBI agrees with the complainant that the presentation of the report was deficient and careless.
The UBI dealt with Radio SRF's "Samstagsrundschau" because Axpo CEO Andrew Walo spent half an hour giving information about the decision of the nuclear supervisory authority Ensi to restart the Beznau 1 nuclear power plant. The Ensi picket group complained that the presenter had not questioned Walo's answers enough and that the program had become a platform for nuclear power plant exponents. The UBI rejects this as well. On the contrary, the moderator had critically questioned the statements and frequently followed up on them.
The UBI also denies that the discussion program "Arena" on SRF television on the new weapons law was tendentious and rejects the complaint. The complainants identified a tendency in favor of the stricter weapons law. The UBI counters that the essential facts and the positions of opponents and proponents were conveyed correctly and transparently.
The nine-member UBI is an extra-parliamentary commission of the federal government and is chaired by Grisons lawyer Vincent Augustin. It must assess whether SRG broadcasts violate radio and television law or whether there has been an unlawful denial of access to programming. Its decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court. (SDA)
