Le Matin reprimanded for disregarding a blocking period

 The Swiss Press Council has reprimanded the French-speaking Swiss newspaper Le Matin for reporting the death of comedian François Silvant before the funeral took place in the family circle. François Silvant's manager had sent out a press release on the comedian's death on the morning of June 18. The 6 p.m. cut-off time stated on it was intended to allow his closest acquaintances to attend the funeral in peace. However, an editor at Le Matin posted the news online in the morning, which editor-in-chief Peter Rothenbühler later described as a mistake on the part of the person responsible. He had not been informed of the embargo period.
Because other editorial offices called Le Matin, the entry was subsequently removed from the web. However, the paper later put the article back online, as other media no longer felt bound by the embargo period and also published the article.
The Vaud section of the Impressum media union then lodged a complaint with the Swiss Press Council, which partially upheld it on Tuesday. The newspaper had breached its journalistic obligations by failing to comply with the embargo period.