Quality in the media continues to erode
The Swiss media are becoming increasingly poor at contextualizing events. According to the 2013 yearbook *Quality of the Swiss Media*, reporting is often fragmented and fails to provide background information. Researchers see this as further evidence of the media crisis.
Quality stocks lose ground
Overall, the quality of the Swiss media has continued to erode over the past eleven years. High-quality media titles have noticeably lost circulation and usage, while low-quality offerings have increased massively. This trend has been particularly pronounced in the media in French-speaking Switzerland. In terms of news quality, public radio is at the top, followed by national subscription newspapers such as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Le Temps and Tages-Anzeiger. Online portals, on the other hand, did not make it into the hit list of titles with the highest quality. They rank in the midfield or further down.
Softnews on the rise
The relevance of news has also decreased: Soft news became slightly more prominent in 2012 compared to the previous year. One explanation may be that the past year was characterized by prominent sporting events such as the Olympics, according to the yearbook. The researchers are concerned about the development of information media in the press, radio and TV. This is not the first time that they have experienced a decline in usage, according to the main finding of the study. Compared to the previous year, advertising revenue from the information press alone fell by CHF 183 million in 2012. However, the information media are an "indispensable element of democracy", the researchers state. In their view, however, it will not be possible to safeguard the existing offering in the future under current conditions.
Myths disproved
Publishers and editors-in-chief, whom the researchers accuse of being immune to criticism, were not spared either. However, the "myth of the best newspaper landscape of all time" is fatal in the long term. The researchers' appeal: the media guild must strengthen standards in journalism again. The 2013 yearbook "Qualität der Medien Schweiz Suisse Svizzera" was written by the Public Sphere and Society Research Unit (Fög) at the University of Zurich. The study was financed by the Foundation for the Public Sphere and Society. (SDA)
Under this link a detailed summary of the study can be downloaded.
Statement Association of Swiss Media
Here you can find the official press release of the Fög.
Image: Keystone
