Media and animal protection: Animal Rights Switzerland publishes guide
Ringier was reprimanded for surreptitious advertising for meat. There is also a lot of cooperation between the media and the meat lobby. According to Animal Rights Switzerland, this also affects reporting on animal welfare issues. A guide with constructive recommendations for good reporting and concrete examples is intended to show what distinguishes critical media professionals.
"Attitude good, performance good" headlines a paid Facebook ad by the NZZ. "From happy Swiss pigs" reports an article of the 20 minutes. Behind both is a collaboration with the lobby brand "Swiss meat". Such paid partnerships between media and animal products lobbies are commonplace today, Animal Rights Switzerland writes in a statement. The lobbies would have thanks to industry and tax money more than enough funds left for it. A reprimand from the Press Council only occurs in exceptional cases when an advertisement is not declared as such.
In animal protection, one knows the problems that can arise from connections between media and lobbies. "The industry can simply buy attention, the non-profit animal protection has no money for it," says Céline Schlegel, co-director of Animal Rights Switzerland. This, she says, creates a one-sided discussion. "This also influences the political debate around animal protection, and in the end the animals suffer," Céline Schlegel continues. How animal protection issues are reported on and who has their say is therefore absolutely crucial.
For media professionals who want to report critically and independently on animal welfare issues, Animal Rights Switzerland now publishes a list of recommendations. It is about a wide range of topics: About paid lobby advertising, but also about animal stereotypes, about interest groups in animal protection, about legal vocabulary and about the portrayal of animal rights activists. 20 problematic examples from Swiss daily newspapers are addressed. "We are not denouncing anyone, but we want to raise awareness of the problem and point out what critical media professionals are already doing better than others," says Céline Schlegel. We also want to make it easier for editors to set guidelines for themselves.
