Freedom of the press: Switzerland falls four places

But the economic indicator used by RSF, which measures media diversity in particular, strongly influenced this result. The legal environment also showed gaps, and an unprecedented climate of hostility and intimidation toward the media emerged on the brink of the Corona crisis, largely unheard of until then and characterized by verbal and sometimes physical violence against media professionals.

With this 14th place, Switzerland is now one of the countries where the press freedom situation is rated as "rather good", having been in the top ten of the ranking since 2016. Nevertheless, Switzerland remains a safe country for media professionals, where the political environment remains favorable and ensures that they can work free from government and party pressure.

At the moment, however, the Swiss media landscape remains exposed, without a solution, to the extensively documented developments that had prompted the Federal Council and Parliament to propose an increase in state media funding with the "Package of Measures for the Media": an inexorable reduction in the diversity of titles and steadily declining revenues. The rejection of the media package in the February 13 referendum leaves unresolved the question of how to regulate in the long term a situation whose impact on citizens' information and on the quality of public debate - especially at the local level - is worrying. RSF Switzerland calls on the public authorities, especially in the cantons, to reopen the dossier and promote lasting solutions for the media landscape.

Weaknesses are also evident in the legal framework that applies to the media in Switzerland. The increase in civil law "precautionary measures" applied for and often obtained against the media has shown that even Switzerland is not immune to so-called "gagging proceedings" aimed at preventing legitimate publications of general interest. The fact that the Council of States last year and the National Council Commission at the beginning of this year agreed to tighten these measures against the media without a serious study proving the need for them has sent the wrong signal. In addition, the "Suisse Secrets" affair has highlighted the threat to freedom of information posed by the penal provisions on banking secrecy. On these two points, RSF Switzerland repeats its appeals to Parliament to fully respect the freedom of the press and to adapt the laws accordingly.

In connection with the Corona crisis, 2021 was also marked by the sudden increase in verbal and, in some cases, physical attacks on media professionals, especially during demonstrations by opponents of the measures imposed by the authorities to combat the pandemic. The extent of this intimidation and violence has also surprised and worried media professionals. Our organization hopes that such acts will disappear with the end of the pandemic. It has always condemned them and called on the authorities to prosecute and convict the perpetrators promptly and severely.

Norway (1st), Denmark (2nd) and Sweden (3rd) occupy the top three spots on the list; Iran (178th), Eritrea (179th) and North Korea (180th) bring up the rear.

Reporters sans frontières have published the entire ranking on their Website published.