Rigi-Post printed letters to the editor without checking serious allegations

The Press Council announced on Thursday that not verifying the allegations and, in particular, not hearing the politician on the allegations constituted a clear breach of professional ethics. It therefore approved a corresponding complaint. In spring 2016, the candidate for the municipal presidency of Arth SZ was accused of illegal and particularly reprehensible behavior in letters to the editor of the local newspaper Rigi Post, which is published on Thursdays.

The principle of fairness and the ethical requirement that both sides be heard ("Audiatur et altera pars") impose a duty on journalists to hear those affected before publishing serious allegations, the report continues. Their opinion is to be reproduced "briefly and fairly" in the same media report. According to the Press Council, the editor would therefore have been obliged to intervene: Either he would not have been allowed to publish the letters to the editor. Or it should have given the candidate the opportunity to comment on the accusations in the same issue of the Rigi-Post, writes the Press Council.

A guideline belonging to the Declaration of the Duties and Rights of Journalists states that the professional ethical standards also apply to the publication of letters to the editor and online comments. However, it also states that freedom of expression should be given "the greatest possible leeway", especially on the letters to the editor page, which is why an editorial team only has to intervene in the case of obvious violations of the declaration.

In the view of the Press Council, the Tages-Anzeiger, the Basler Zeitung and the Zürichsee-Zeitung were not at fault. Complaints against all three media were rejected. (SDA/hae)