Next Press Council President wants publishers on board

Dominique von Burg, the designated President of the Swiss Press Council, would like to include publishers in the self-regulatory body. "Anyone who sells a newspaper has an interest in it being credible," said von Burg in an interview with the media magazine Klartext, explaining his view. He is convinced that, in addition to the journalists' associations, publishers should also be part of the sponsorship of the Press Council in order to maintain the value of newspapers: "If one day our information is no longer more reliable than anything that comes from PR departments or is available on the Internet, the newspaper won't even be worth the paper it's written on," said von Burg. Publishers have the same interest in professional ethics as journalists.
Von Burg sees the role of the Press Council as being to make fundamental considerations on questions of professional ethics. It should not relieve editors-in-chief or publishers of their everyday responsibilities. The fact that the Press Council cannot impose sanctions for approved complaints is not a shortcoming for him, as sanctions would not help. He would find the obligation to publish the opinion of the Press Council in the relevant medium interesting.
Von Burg will take over the presidency of the Press Council from Peter Studer at the beginning of 2008. According to Sda, the Press Council was initiated in 1972 by the Swiss Association of Journalists (SVJ).