Press Council insists on transparency in journalism

 
If a journalist informs the criminal prosecution authorities himself and thus triggers proceedings, he must inform the readership. This was stated by the Press Council in a statement in connection with a case involving an employee of the Sonntagszeitung. In spring, Reto Gerber, a journalist for the Sonntagszeitung, repeatedly reported on the industrial group OC Oerlikon (then still Unaxis) and its major shareholders, uncovering a number of irregularities in the process. According to a report in the SDA, Gerber wrote in July 2006 that the Zurich public prosecutor's office was investigating the two major shareholders for false certification. What he did not mention in his report was that he himself had reported the suspicions to the judiciary and thus got the case rolling.
The two major shareholders then lodged a complaint with the Press Council, claiming that important elements of the information had been concealed. The Press Council now agrees with them: it should have disclosed the report to the criminal investigation authority to the readership. Although the journalist had not compromised his independence or acted out of self-interest, he had violated the "declarations of the duties and rights of journalists", the Press Council continued.