To the point: it is enough
The quality of the media in Switzerland has become a hot-button issue. For as long as anyone can remember, left-wing politicians have complained about the right-wing bias of certain journalists, while right-wing politicians have grumbled about the left-wing bias of the mainstream media.
Business bosses complain about the generally anti-business attitude of journalists, and alternative groups denounce the interconnectedness of the media houses. All complain about journalists' dwindling or even non-existent dossier competence. Media researchers warn of ever-increasing tabloidization and the personification that goes with it, and self-appointed media ethicists complain in general. Print journalists complain about the superficiality of their online colleagues, and online journalists smile at the eternal arguments of the print dinosaurs.
Much is exaggerated and in some cases very interest-driven, but the countless cost-cutting measures have already left certain traces in the editorial offices. In some cases, these have clearly led to a drop in quality. Producers are being cut back, proofreading is being cut back, and time for in-depth research is also becoming increasingly scarce. Instead of sitting back and reflecting, it's online first. More and more critical comments about the media's performance are appearing in the comment columns, and not just from the usual petty cholerics and trolls, mind you. I have never had to defend my profession as often as I have in recent months. That's not easy when you don't have the arguments.
The media, for their part, do little to pack the quality club again. They show mangled victims of plane crashes and shot prisoners of war in the Middle East, and if they can't show it, then they at least point out that the video of the execution can be found on YouTube ... Everything is either not pixelated at all or then in such a way that it only piques the reader's curiosity even more. Every smallest story becomes a national outrage (porn selfie from the Bundeshaus, Geri-Gate), privacy rights are no longer taken into account or at least only in parts. Meanwhile, practically every reader can identify H. X. in Y. with little effort - thanks to Facebook.
The "Stifterverein Medienqualität Schweiz" wants to establish a foundation that evaluates the quality of the Swiss media neutrally and fairly by setting up and operating an independent evaluation institution and that creates a rating of the Swiss media. Things are moving, and that in itself is good.
Pierre C. Meier, Editor-in-Chief
