Press Council does not feed politicians' egos

 The Swiss Press Council has decided against stroking politicians' egos in a ruling on a political farce in eastern Switzerland. It states that the opening speech of a politician at an event does not necessarily have to be mentioned by the media. The committee wrote this in a statement on an article in the St. Galler Tagblatt about the opening of a nativity scene. On August 11, 2007, the daily newspaper reported on the opening of a crèche in the Heiligkreuz district. No mention was made of a cantonal councillor who had traveled from Wil SG to give the opening speech.
On September 10, 2007, a third party filed a complaint with the Press Council. He objected to the fact that a number of guests present had been mentioned, but not the cantonal councillor as the main speaker. The newspaper had thus withheld important information and also violated the principle of truthfulness.
However, the Press Council rejected this complaint on the grounds that the selection of the information to be published was at the discretion of the editorial offices. In this case, it was understandable from the reader's point of view that the report focused on the history of the crib.