Press Council expresses concern about lack of declaration of native advertising
In a statement, the Swiss Press Council expressed concern about the lack of clarity in the disclosure of paid content. This was prompted by paid articles that appeared in Tamedia newspapers.
It is aware that newspaper publishers have to acquire advertising revenue, according to the statement. However, the Press Council is "deeply concerned" about the increasingly subtle forms used for "native advertising".
The supervisory body of the Swiss press finds clear words: "This intrusion of commercial content, which is designed in such a way that it is not clearly recognizable as such, into the editorial section shows a lack of respect for the readership. It undermines the credibility of journalism, a credibility without which it loses its meaning."
In its guideline 10.1 on the "Declaration of the duties and rights of journalists", the Press Council states: "The clear separation between the editorial section/program and advertising or paid content or content provided by third parties is essential for the credibility of the media. Advertisements, commercials and paid content or content provided by third parties must be clearly distinguished from editorial content in terms of design. If they are not clearly recognizable as such visually/acoustically, they must be explicitly declared as advertising. (...)".
The double pages - dedicated to the topic of 5G in the Sunday newspapers and internet security in the daily newspapers - were graphically designed as editorial pages. The mention of "advertisement" or "annonce" was not sufficient to remove any ambiguity about the advertising nature of the content, nor was the drawing of the articles, which indicated that they had been written by "Commercial Publishing Tamedia in collaboration with Swisscom".
This guideline is unambiguous, warns the Press Council: any paid content or content provided by third parties must be clearly recognizable as such. Either through the visual design, otherwise clearly and visibly through the designation "advertising".
The Press Council's intervention was triggered by violations by Tamedia in the recent past. The Press Council notes that this principle was violated on 12 May by the Sunday newspapers (Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung) and on May 13 by the daily newspapers (Basler Zeitung, Berner Zeitung, Der Bund, 24 Heures, Tages-Anzeiger, Tribune de Genève) of the Tamedia Group was not respected.
As far as the mention of "sponsored" or "sponsorisé" is concerned, it does not correspond to the facts. Directive 10.2 on the "Declaration of the duties and rights of journalists" states: "In the case of sponsored media reports, the name of the sponsor must be made transparent and the free choice and editing of topics by the editorial team must be guaranteed." However, the term "in cooperation with Swisscom" clearly shows that the company had a say in both the choice of topic and the wording.
In its statement, the Press Council calls on newspaper publishers to guarantee the journalistic credibility of their publications and to respect readers by clearly and visibly declaring their paid or provided advertising content. (hae)
