BaZ: Owners stick to Blocher mandate
Robinvest, owned by former SVP Federal Councilor Christoph Blocher, will be able to retain its controversial consulting contract with the Basler Zeitung Media Group (BZM). The editorial staff of the Basler Zeitung (BaZ) has been rebuffed in its demand that the contract be terminated.
BaZ publisher Martin Wagner explained to the editorial committee last Friday that he would not comply with the demand for the immediate termination of the consultancy mandate, the editorial team of the Basler Zeitung announced on Tuesday. It regrets this decision. In the view of the editorial team, the consultancy mandate "damages our reputation and our credibility in the public eye", as the press release states. The editorial team reserves the right to publicize any attempt to exert political influence that it discovers.
BaZ publisher Martin Wagner told the news agency SDA on Tuesday that he and Tito Tettamanti, as owners, felt free to choose who they wanted to consult on business matters. Public pressure has not changed this. The aim is to maintain BaZ as an independent newspaper for the Basel region. Wagner had already pointed out a few weeks ago that Blocher and his company had provided a solution for the recently loss-making company. "purely industrial" consulting and does not influence newspaper content. Wagner did not want to specify how long Robinvest has been advising the media company. That is irrelevant.
For the BaZ editorial team, fundamental questions about the future of the Basler Zeitung remain unanswered. Various discussions with the publisher and editor-in-chief Markus Somm have not been able to provide any answers, the editorial team also stated in its communiqué on Tuesday. The editorial team had hoped for more information from an initial discussion with majority shareholder Tito Tettamanti. However, the latter said a public lecture in Basel on Monday evening as well as a visit to the editorial office planned for Tuesday morning.
BaZ publisher Martin Wagner told the news agency SDA on Tuesday that he and Tito Tettamanti, as owners, felt free to choose who they wanted to consult on business matters. Public pressure has not changed this. The aim is to maintain BaZ as an independent newspaper for the Basel region. Wagner had already pointed out a few weeks ago that Blocher and his company had provided a solution for the recently loss-making company. "purely industrial" consulting and does not influence newspaper content. Wagner did not want to specify how long Robinvest has been advising the media company. That is irrelevant.
For the BaZ editorial team, fundamental questions about the future of the Basler Zeitung remain unanswered. Various discussions with the publisher and editor-in-chief Markus Somm have not been able to provide any answers, the editorial team also stated in its communiqué on Tuesday. The editorial team had hoped for more information from an initial discussion with majority shareholder Tito Tettamanti. However, the latter said a public lecture in Basel on Monday evening as well as a visit to the editorial office planned for Tuesday morning.
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