19th PR Symposium: Power
On Monday, September 24, 2012, the 19th Swiss PR Symposium, organized by PR Suisse, took place in the Grand Council Chamber at Basel City Hall. The theme of the 19th Swiss PR Symposium was “power.”.
The symposium was opened by Kurt Imhof. He spoke on the topic of "Media and democracy". In his presentation, Imhof addressed historical aspects of the media and journalism. In the past, the question of power did not arise to the same extent as it does today, writes the organizer on Presseportal.ch Information would have been more important than opinion-making. Today, the media are tailored to a target audience and serve them with content that readers expect. The media were also not under the same competitive pressure.
The second presentation was given by National Councillor Christine Bulliard-Marbach. The President of the Swiss Commission on Fair Trading explained how the Commission on Fair Trading is structured, how it operates and which complaints are dealt with. Hannes Britschgi, long-standing television presenter, publicist at Ringier, lawyer and journalist, explained "The question of power from the perspective of the movers and shakers" to those present, according to PR Suisse. Britschgi made it clear that good journalists focus on researched information, not headlines for the sake of sensation. Using the example of Spiegel magazine, he showed that the power of the media is limited. Although Helmuth Kohl was constantly the subject of negative headlines and caricatures on its front pages, it took seventeen years before he had to resign.
Britschgi handed over to Christoph G. Meier, Head of Corporate Communications at UBS. In his presentation, Meier talked about "Talking up the worst-case scenario". UBS often came in for harsh criticism from the media during the financial crisis. Interrogative headlines in the media stoked fears and conveyed facts that were not true. This could have been very dangerous for the bank. Meier explained how UBS communicates both internally and externally with media representatives at the highest level and constantly seeks out dialog.
PR versus journalism
After a short break, the discussion between the media representatives and communications representatives continued on the podium. Under the chairmanship of Baschi Dürr, Member of the Basel-Stadt Parliament and Managing Director of Farner Basel, Kurt Imhof, Thomas Borer, owner of Dr. Borer Consulting, Christoph G. Meier, Hansi Voigt, Editor-in-Chief of 20 Minuten Online and Willy Surbeck, Editor-in-Chief of Tele Basel, engaged in a debate. They explored the question of what topics society wants and should be informed about, what really moves people, as Pr Suisse writes on Presseportal.ch. How can stories be placed prominently without jeopardizing credibility? How do you pick up your readers? However, it is clear to both sides that communicators and journalists are dependent on each other. One needs the information, the other the publication. This requires mutual trust.
It was also shown that online platforms bring an additional dimension to the media landscape, as they enable direct and rapid communication and opinion-making within target groups. This shifts the power away from the actual print medium and towards the general public, who disseminate their comments and information on online platforms. The panel participants agreed that the media have a great responsibility and that messages must be checked for truthfulness. Otherwise, they assessed the power and influence of the media very differently.
