Renouncing opinion journalism - Nathalie Wappler wants to restructure SRF

According to Wappler, the stations of Swiss television SRF should do without opinion journalism in the future. News reports should merely depict, no longer evaluate, said the designated new SRF director Nathalie Wappler in an interview.

"We have to make programming that informs but doesn't polarize. We don't have to do opinion journalism," said the 50-year-old, who will succeed SRF Director Ruedi Matter in spring 2019. Wappler, who is currently program director of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Halle, wants to recalibrate the public service in Switzerland after the fiercely contested "No Billag" vote.

"If we let a politician have his say in an article and the journalist then gives the impression that he knows better, that provokes a loss of trust." Journalists would have to pull themselves together that they would not simply serve clichés of the type "SVP equals stump smoker." The station had repeatedly been criticized by politicians from Switzerland's strongest party.

Journalist pools to serve private

Under no circumstances should public service entertainment be inhumane or voyeuristic. And information should not be scandalized. "I don't want any lurid titles in the future either, so that there are as many clicks as possible," said the longtime TV editor and former SRF head of culture. She wants to give more space to research.

Wappler also announced her intention to cooperate with private media and publishers in the future. She envisages joint pools of journalists in the regions, through which smaller editorial teams could tap into SRF's expertise. "The BBC has created a network of local journalists with regional media that smaller editorial offices can draw on. In this way, it strengthened local journalism." Such models could also be interesting for Switzerland.

"Making decisions that don't please everyone".

Wappler wants to strengthen the culture, she will not expose this to any quota expression. "Our posts don't have to be viewed 16 million times on YouTube. Rather, I want to find a way to measure relevance." Cultural posts often gain a respectable reach over time, he said. Culture conveys values and is important for the cohesion of a society. In the future, the new director wants to produce more series like "Wilder," for example.

Since SRG will have to make annual savings of 100 million francs from 2019, Wappler says she will probably have to cut 47 jobs at SRF. She did not comment in the interview on where she wants to apply the lever in concrete terms. "I will have to make decisions that not everyone will like." (hae/SDA)