Migrants underrepresented in SRF reports
According to a study, foreigners rarely appear in SRF coverage. And when they do, they are usually portrayed as a problem.
In its current issue, the Sonntagszeitung relies on the results of a study conducted by the Rapperswil-based media monitoring institute Media Tenor on behalf of the UN Academic Impact program. All 2992 "Tagesschau" broadcasts from 2014 were examined. 14'056 actors appeared in the broadcasts. Media Tenor shows that in January - the month before the mass immigration initiative - only four percent of the features dealt with minority politics and immigration. Only one percent of the actors were foreigners. That is very little considering the 20 percent of foreigners in Switzerland, the study says.
After the vote, there was a high: 16 percent of the articles dealt with immigration, and the tone toward foreigners was increasingly positive. After that, interest fell sharply again, to two percent in September, and even the Ecopop initiative did not allow the share to climb above four percent in October. In addition, reports about foreigners tended to be negative again.
As a conclusion, Media Tenor concludes from the study that on Swiss television, the Swiss experience their fellow citizens primarily as a problem. SRF's media office tells the Sonntagszeitung that in the run-up to votes, strict care is taken to ensure that the pro and con sides have a balanced say. This guideline was also adhered to in the run-up to the Ecopop vote. (hae/SoZ)
