Swiss press shifts to the right

 According to a study commissioned by the Sonntag newspaper from the Institute of Media Studies at the University of Bern, the most important Swiss-German newspapers are now positioning themselves further to the right politically compared to four years ago. According to media professor Roger Blum, this is mainly due to the Christoph Blocher phenomenon: "The media are increasingly courting the Minister of Justice, they want to be part of the party - even if they don't share his opinion". Blum was commissioned by the newspaper to revise the left-right diagram of the most important Swiss-German print media, which he had drawn up for Facts in 2004. After analyzing comments from weekly and daily newspapers, the positioning of various titles shifted significantly to the right. Weltwoche, for example, is now classified as "right-wing" in Blum's scheme, and no longer as "right-liberal".
 
In an interview with the newspaper, Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger criticized the Swiss press's coverage of the National Council and Council of States elections. He had the impression that the media had allowed themselves to be instrumentalized by the campaigners. "Most of the media mainly reflected the very professionally staged bluster of the campaigners and their organizers. They hardly question the political claims of the parties," said the media minister.