NZZ: Editorial Board Does Not Want a National Conservative Chief Either
Following the NZZ correspondents, the NZZ editors have also issued a warning in a letter to the board of directors against appointing an editor-in-chief with national-conservative views. 163 members of the editorial staff have signed the statement.
This is virtually identical to that of 63 correspondents on Monday (Werbewoche.ch reported). In the opinion of the editorial staff, a national conservative editor-in-chief would "mean the end of the culture of a liberal and cosmopolitan NZZ," according to the letter published on Tuesday (Link to the letter in PDF format). The editorial team had noted with the greatest concern that the board of directors of the NZZ media group had held talks with Markus Somm about Markus Spillmann's successor. Somm had said on Monday that he had held talks with the leadership of the NZZ media group, but that "after careful consideration" he had decided to continue as editor-in-chief and publisher of the Basler Zeitung (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Even after Markus Somm's cancellation, the NZZ editorial team is deeply concerned about the future of the NZZ. "Should the political direction in which a new editor-in-chief has apparently been sought be confirmed, we protest against these plans in the strongest possible terms," the statement reads.
Imprint criticizes NZZ management
The NZZ editors were supported in their protest by Impressum, the professional association of journalists. The sudden resignation of Spillmann was irritating, the association wrote in a statement. The fact that Somm had already been asked to succeed him suggests that Spillmann had been asked to resign. Imprint condemns the fact that the editorial staff was not consulted in the run-up to this departure and was not openly informed afterwards. The editorial team must now be consulted about the succession.
Imprint is also critical of the decision to close the printing plant in Schlieren. Having its own printing plant is crucial for the independence and responsiveness of the editorial teams. With such hasty decisions, the management from outside the industry is endangering the journalistic products. (SDA)
