A newspaper must always listen to the criticized

Even if the newspaper interviewed the person's superior and reported on that person's statement at a press conference a few weeks after the articles, it cannot dispense with it. The requirement of a hearing in the case of serious allegations must be respected in any case, writes the Press Council in a statement on Friday.

In August 2013, the Valais newspaper "Le Nouvelliste" published two critical articles about Vincent Bettschart, a doctor at Sion Hospital. In them, it reported on the death of several patients after operations performed by Bettschart. The information for the first article came from the satirical newspaper "Vigousse". In the second article, "Le Nouvelliste" reported on a new death after an operation, quoting essentially anonymous sources.

Bettschart appealed to the Swiss Press Council. He saw several principles of the journalists' code violated: the duty to tell the truth, processing of sources, hearing of serious accusations and the presumption of innocence.

In its decision, the Press Council states that "Le Nouvelliste" handled the available information correctly by attempting to verify it. Citing anonymous sources was, in view of the shattered climate within the health network
Valais, whose recent history is marked by incidents and scandals, justified. The Press Council recalls that a newspaper is not obliged to repeat the whole history of an affair that regularly makes the news. It may also mention the name of a well-known personality such as Vincent Bettschart. After all, the doctor was the subject of the article.

On the other hand, "Le Nouvelliste" should have heard the complainant on the serious allegations or at least tried to do so. The editorial office can neither claim that it questioned the chairman of the board of directors and the responsible government councilor, nor that it let Bettschart have his say a few weeks later.