Press Council reprimands NZZ article on climate issues on SRF

The author of the report published in October 2023 NZZ-The author of the article wrote that SRF broadcasts have been sounding the alarm for many years, although there is no scientific basis for this alarmism. Two complaints were received against this article, the Press Council announced on Monday.

One complainant considered the sentence "Science still sees no trends towards more extreme events" to be a violation of section 3 (omission of important information elements) of the Journalists' Code. The Press Council came to the conclusion that debates in science are part of the knowledge process. However, it should be noted that the position of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is considered the gold standard in climate research.

According to the Press Council, journalists may and should critically examine and question a generally recognized state of research. However, if they disagree with this, they should also provide evidence or at least state that it is a minority position.

Baden free newspaper also criticized

The Press Council also rejected a complaint against the free newspaper Baden Week City because of the mixture of advertising and editorial content. The first text was a completely uncritical questioning of the new Lexus car model and its advantages. According to the Press Council, the front article is obviously public relations and not journalism. Such a report should have been labeled as advertising or should have stood out from the rest of the newspaper due to its layout.

The immediate proximity of text and advertisement in a second text about a private learning workshop in Olten SO also suggests an inadmissible combination of paid advertising with a pleasing report, according to the Press Council. Section 10 of the Code of Journalism prohibits journalists from using any form of commercial advertising in their professional activities. (SD/swi)