Obersee Nachrichten accepts verdict - Bruno Hug resigns
The Obersee Nachrichten in Rapperswil-Jona, SG, has accepted the ruling in the «KESB case.» Bruno Hug, the director and editor-in-chief of the free newspaper, who was accused of waging a campaign that infringed on personal rights, is leaving the company. The Obersee Nachrichten announced this on Friday.
The Board of Directors has decided to hand over the management of the company to Ralf Seelig with immediate effect. Seelig previously worked at Somedia in Chur as a member of management and head of the Newspapers, Magazines and Book Publishing department. "The previous head and editor-in-chief, Bruno Hug, is leaving the company", the press release states. For reasons of personal privacy, no further information will be provided. The Board of Directors has also decided to accept the ruling of the Werdenberg-Sarganserland district court in the KESB/Town of Rapperswil-Jona case. The editorial team in Rapperswil was informed of these steps on Friday.
Violation of personality rights
On Tuesday, the district court largely upheld a lawsuit brought by the town of Rapperswil-Jona and the president of KESB Linth against Obersee Nachrichten. The court came to the conclusion that the free newspaper had conducted a campaign against the plaintiffs that violated their personal rights. According to the ruling, Obersee Nachrichten, its publisher and editor Bruno Hug and another editor conducted a campaign between September 2014 and August 2017 with numerous reports and letters to the editor, the thrust of which was to discredit the KESB Linth and its president in public. "In the present case, the limits of personal injury were exceeded," wrote the court. Obersee Nachrichten will be obliged to publish the decision in the newspaper as soon as it becomes legally binding, to add corresponding notices to its online archive and other data sources and to delete numerous Facebook entries.
Critical reports allowed
The court stated that "critical reporting by the media should neither be prohibited nor restricted". However, the important role of the media is also associated with obligations. The right of the media to report freely ends where the interests of personal privacy prevail. The dispute between Obersee Nachrichten and the KESB authorities has a long history. Among other things, it also played a role in the local election campaign in autumn 2016: Bruno Hug, publisher and editor of the free newspaper, ran against the incumbent mayor of Rapperswil-Jona and won the most votes in the first round. He then withdrew his candidacy. (SDA)
