SRF boss Matter puts himself in front of Schawinski
After the Thiel scandal, Roger Schawinski has received backing from SRF director Rudolf Matter. This is despite the fact that they actually want to get rid of him, as the NZZ am Sonntag knows. Matter and de Weck are said to be afraid of Schawinski's reaction.
The program has triggered a public debate on how to deal with religions, says Matter. This is a desired effect of SRF programs. However, the TV director does not address the question of whether a presenter who calls his guest "pubescent", a "pompous guy" and even an "asshole" after the show is still acceptable. Instead, Matter refers to the statement by editor-in-chief Tristan Brenn. He had described the "Schawinski" show with Andreas Thiel as "unsuccessful", but did not want to turn it into a fundamental issue. In the talk show, Koran critic and satirist Andreas Thiel was supposed to comment on his controversial Islam article in the Weltwoche. From the very first minute, however, the show was characterized by spitefulness and there was no objective discussion at any time.
"The two scaredy-cats at the top"
As the NZZ am Sonntag knows, SRF employees as well as TV boss Matter and SRG Director General Roger de Weck are generally dissatisfied with the talk show, which has been running since 2011. This naturally raises the question of why the show was not canceled on this occasion. The newspaper asked around at Leutschenbach and wants to know the reason: They were afraid of Schawinski's reaction if he was thrown out. Schawinski was a bitter critic of SRG for decades. Since he has had his own SRF program, he has been much more reserved in his comments towards Leutschenbach - a development that not only Roger Köppel is likely to have noticed. Köppel constantly accuses Schawinski of the sudden SRG mildness in the program "Roger gegen Roger". The SRG bosses don't seem to be in the mood for the old acrimony. The NZZ am Sonntag quotes a television journalist: "Schawinski's unspeakable show remains in the program because of the two scaredy-cats at the top.
Ombudsman has his hands full
The scandal in the interview with Andreas Thiel is keeping the ombudsman busy. According to SDA, Achille Casanova had received 65 complaints by Friday afternoon. All but five of the complaints are directed against the way in which Schawinski dealt with Thiel. According to Casanova, the critics described the interview as "inadequate, provocative, rude, disrespectful or insulting". Next, Casanova must confirm each complaint individually. He will then forward the objections to the SRF editorial team for a statement. Only then will he issue a report on whether a complaint is justified or not. This report must be submitted within 40 days of receipt. (hae/NZZaS/SDA)
