Almost a fiche scandal
Oliver Classen on Carlo Schmid's illiberal view of journalism.
Oliver Classen on Carlo Schmid's illiberal understanding of journalismThe main media ethics front of the recent RTVG deliberations in the Council of States has remained strangely quiet. No wonder, one might think, with all the clamoring about fees and lobbyists. Nevertheless, we find it astonishing - not least in view of the applicant for the correction of Article 94bis, which called for nothing less than the creation of a central register for radio and TV professionals, in which their "vested interests" and those of their partners would be stored. The originator of this narrowly failed attempt by the state to intrude into journalistic privacy was not a hardliner on the left or right, but Carlo Schmid, a CVP member who is otherwise considered liberal.
It's bad enough that one of Switzerland's longest-serving elected representatives still believes in the childish ideal of journalism that can depict politics without necessarily influencing it. But Schmid's counter-right argument is almost grotesque. "Anyone who never tires of demanding disclosure from us should not be complaining about spying here," said the Appenzell native in Bern. And deliberately concealed the fact that many of our militia parliamentarians are lobbyists paid by the private sector. You can say all sorts of things about our journalists, but certainly not this.
The episode is also embarrassing for the Swiss Advertising Association (SW), which Schmid has chaired since 1998. Because in this capacity - keyword advertising bans - he rails against encroachments on the market freedoms of commercial communicators. However, when it comes to their journalistic brothers and sisters, a deeply rooted, statist reflex seems to take hold.
We can only hope that the Janus-faced nature of its chief lobbyist will not ultimately harm the SW. After all, its basic resources are credibility and argumentative consistency - also and especially in the upcoming battles for the free advertising word.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
It's bad enough that one of Switzerland's longest-serving elected representatives still believes in the childish ideal of journalism that can depict politics without necessarily influencing it. But Schmid's counter-right argument is almost grotesque. "Anyone who never tires of demanding disclosure from us should not be complaining about spying here," said the Appenzell native in Bern. And deliberately concealed the fact that many of our militia parliamentarians are lobbyists paid by the private sector. You can say all sorts of things about our journalists, but certainly not this.
The episode is also embarrassing for the Swiss Advertising Association (SW), which Schmid has chaired since 1998. Because in this capacity - keyword advertising bans - he rails against encroachments on the market freedoms of commercial communicators. However, when it comes to their journalistic brothers and sisters, a deeply rooted, statist reflex seems to take hold.
We can only hope that the Janus-faced nature of its chief lobbyist will not ultimately harm the SW. After all, its basic resources are credibility and argumentative consistency - also and especially in the upcoming battles for the free advertising word.
> Oliver Classen, Editor
