Press Council: Complaint by the Bernese government rejected
The daily newspaper *Der Bund* did not violate any journalistic obligations with its critical reporting on the plans for the train station in Bern. The Press Council has rejected a complaint to that effect filed by the Bern cantonal government.
The criticism presented does not show the people concerned in a particularly bad light, but is within the usual framework of political debate, the Press Council wrote in a press release on Tuesday. In addition, the journalist made it clear in the passages in question that he was reporting assessments and not established facts. He also named the source on which the thesis was based.
In his articles, the journalist accused the Bernese authorities of having ignored criticism of the station project for years and resisting a review of their planning by an independent body until the very end. The Bernese cantonal government, in particular Building Director Barbara Egger (SP), then took the matter to the Press Council. By publishing the articles, the federal government had violated the principle of fairness and truth, distorted or suppressed information and spread anonymous, factually unjustified accusations.
The government council emphasized that Egger had commissioned the external report on his own initiative and not under pressure from the federal authorities. This question cannot be answered unequivocally, writes the Press Council in its deliberations.
Overall, however, the excerpts from the minutes tended to support the journalist's point of view.
In his articles, the journalist accused the Bernese authorities of having ignored criticism of the station project for years and resisting a review of their planning by an independent body until the very end. The Bernese cantonal government, in particular Building Director Barbara Egger (SP), then took the matter to the Press Council. By publishing the articles, the federal government had violated the principle of fairness and truth, distorted or suppressed information and spread anonymous, factually unjustified accusations.
The government council emphasized that Egger had commissioned the external report on his own initiative and not under pressure from the federal authorities. This question cannot be answered unequivocally, writes the Press Council in its deliberations.
Overall, however, the excerpts from the minutes tended to support the journalist's point of view.
