Media quality rating 2018: Radio SRF's "Echo der Zeit" once again sets the standard for media quality
The news magazine "Echo der Zeit" and the information program Rendez-vous from Radio SRF as well as the NZZ, Le Temps, NZZ am Sonntag and Lematin.ch are among the winners of this year's media quality ranking. However, 15 out of 50 media lost ground in terms of quality. These include the Berner Zeitung, the Aargauer Zeitung, 20 Minuten and Watson.
The second edition of the Media Quality Rating (MQR) shows substantial changes in quality in the area of information media. The radio news program Rendez-vous (+7 quality points) is the quality climber. The TV news magazine 10vor10 (+4) also improved in quality. The group of rising stars also includes the French-speaking Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps (+5) and the SonntagsBlick (+4) and Le Matin Dimanche (+3). WOZ The weekly newspaper is a new addition to the group of Sunday newspapers and magazines. It immediately achieved a top position in terms of reporting quality.
Media quality rating 2018: The news magazine #EchorTime is the best information medium in Switzerland #MQR pic.twitter.com/lm1c8AeL6z
- Media Quality CH (@medienratingCH) September 3, 2018
The MQR-18 covers the 50 most important information media in Switzerland. It measures the quality of reporting using a content analysis method and the perception of quality with the help of a representative population survey. The ranking is carried out separately for four media groups with a comparable journalistic orientation. Radio SRF's news magazine "Echo der Zeit" leads the list of the best information media for the second time. It is at the top of the radio and television program comparison group and sets the benchmark for media quality in Switzerland across all media titles surveyed - both in the content analysis and in the audience survey.
In the new media quality rating, the "NZZ am Sonntag" takes first place in the Sunday newspapers and magazines category. Many thanks for the award, @medienratingCH!https://t.co/PUu1IUzm6Q
- NZZ am Sonntag (@NZZaS) September 3, 2018
In the other comparison groups, the quality leaders are called:
- New Zurich Newspaper and Le Temps in the Daily and Online Newspapers group
- NZZ on Sunday in the Sunday newspapers and magazines group
- Lematin.ch in the tabloid and commuter newspapers group
Cost-cutting pressure leaves its mark
However, the MQR-18 also shows that 15 of the 50 information media surveyed have declined in quality compared to the 2016 survey. Substantial losses can be seen among the regional subscription newspapers, including 24heures (-8 quality points), Berner Zeitung (-6) and Aargauer Zeitung (-6). The driving factors are a loss of diversity of topics and a decline in background reporting. Apparently, the pressure to save money is leaving its mark on the print editorial offices. Contrary to the partial deterioration in the quality of reporting measured by content analysis, the public rated the quality of the corresponding title as better in 15 cases compared to MQR-16.
Suisse romande's information offerings in particular have gained quality points with the public. The media crisis in French-speaking Switzerland is coming to a head as editorial offices are being merged and closed. Obviously, this development is prompting the public to express solidarity, which is reflected in the perception of quality.
The survey results also show a comparatively pronounced increase in the quality of SRG information programs. This suggests that this is a sign of the public's trust. This is the result of a hotly contested debate on the planned abolition of radio and television fees in the run-up to the No Billag vote, the adoption of which would have resulted in massive cuts to public broadcasting.
Among the relegated titles in the survey-based quality measurement are the Swiss-German titles, which rely heavily on entertaining news 20 minutes, 20minuten.ch as well as Watson. Respondents rated their services significantly lower across all quality dimensions than two years previously.
The Media Quality Rating 2018 evaluates the information provided by the media examined according to the criteria of professionalism, classification performance, diversity and relevance. These are essential for quality journalism in the context of democratic opinion-forming. In order to measure the quality of reporting, around 20,000 editorial articles were analyzed and evaluated. Over 2,100 representatively selected people from German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland took part in the online survey on quality perception.
The full report is available in German and French at Mqr-switzerland.ch.
