Doris Leuthard wants "biting media"

Around 400 people, mainly from the media industry, gathered on Thursday evening for a double celebration: on the one hand, the Swiss School of Journalism Maz in Lucerne has been in existence for 30 years and, on the other, it has a new director in 55-year-old Diego Yanez. The former editor-in-chief of SRF television replaces Sylvia Egli von Matt, who headed Maz for 15 years (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Keynote speaker Doris Leuthard painted a critical picture of a media industry facing major challenges. Uncertainty will increase and keep the industry on its toes. So far, publishers have mainly reacted with acquisitions and takeovers, while other sectors have responded with training and further education. Leuthard called for innovations for new business areas.

Danger: snippets of information instead of information

The media minister gave the Swiss media a comparatively good quality rating. Nevertheless, she expressed concern that this quality could suffer as a result of increasing economic pressure and editorial overload. She sees a danger in the reduction of information to snippets in the morning and evening and to sensationalist stories. This leads to half-knowledge, to information without commentary and criticism. Citizens are dependent on free access to information. Without this communication, there is no public sphere, and communication is indispensable for the democratic formation of opinion. What is important is not so much how citizens inform themselves, but that they inform themselves. Leuthard referred to the Federal Council's mandate for a promotion concept for the media, which provides for short and long-term measures. However, if a decision is made in favor of direct funding, a constitutional basis is required.

Over 1000 students

The MAZ began operations in September 1984 under founding director Peter Schulz with 27 students. Today, the School of Journalism has over 1000 students from practically all media companies in German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein, 300 lecturers and a team of 30 permanent employees. It is networked with universities in Switzerland and abroad. The Maz describes itself as "the leading competence center for journalism in Switzerland". It is supported by Swiss publishers, SRG SSR, professional associations and the city and canton of Lucerne. The Board of Trustees is currently chaired by Iwan Rickenbacher. The annual budget of the Swiss School of Journalism is around six million francs. The Maz is financed to 80 percent by the students and their employers. The public sector (Federal Office of Communications and cantonal tuition fees) and the founders each contribute 10 percent. (SDA)

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