Press Council reprimands marketing supplement

The Council sees the link between editorial content and attached advertising as violating the "Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists". In question is the practice of the company Mediaplanet. In 2015, the latter had contacted the Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) and proposed to the SP to write an article of its choice for the supplement "Tabu" published by Mediaplanet. "Tabu" was to be inserted in the daily newspaper "Le Matin." According to the accompanying letter from Mediaplanet, the offer also included the suggestion that the SP should book paid advertising that would allow readers to identify the SP clearly and also visually. The SP complained about this practice to the Swiss Press Council.

The Press Council sees the offer as a violation of the Journalists' Code of Conduct, which stipulates that editorial content and advertising must be clearly separated. And it prohibits such forms of quid pro quo.

Mediaplanet produces "content marketing" according to its own statements. This mixes articles, publicity reports and advertising, which is often related to the articles. The Press Council accepted the complaint because the content and form of the supplement can mislead the reader as to its true nature, since it is distributed via a daily newspaper with a large circulation.

"Le Matin", on the other hand, was not involved in customer acquisition or in the content of "Tabu". The newspaper itself therefore did not violate professional ethics rules. Nevertheless, the Press Council notes that despite the different layout, confusion between Mediaplanet's product and the editorial content of "Le Matin" is possible. It recommends that the newspaper require Mediaplanet to make an explicit reference on the front page of such inserts that play on the possibility of confusion. The average reader must be able to unmistakably recognize the difference, the Council concludes.