RTS La 1ère and Le Temps are the most credible media brands in Switzerland
Two media brands from French-speaking Switzerland are considered the most credible media outlets in the country. At the top of the list is SRG Radio La 1ère, followed by the daily newspaper Le Temps. In general, traditional media brands are held in high regard by the public. The Swiss population considers social media to be less credible.
The top media brands in Switzerland 2019. Listed are the media brands that were rated by their users with the highest value achieved across Switzerland in the respective dimension. (Minimum number of cases: n=50)
This is the result of the latest Mediabrands study by Publicom. Publicom has been measuring the brand images of Swiss media brands every year since 2013. With over 4,800 interviews and 172 media brands included, mediaBrands is the largest qualitative media study in Switzerland. It analyzes the assessment of media brands by the population in all language regions.
In terms of the quality criterion "credibility", this year the RTS radio station La 1ère and the traditional newspaper Le Temps The Swiss population ranked SRF 4 News at the top of the nationwide ranking - ahead of last year's frontrunner SRF 4 News. The Swiss population considers social media to be less credible, especially Facebook, which once again came in last place this year, lagging far behind.
Credible regional newspapers and SRG media
mediaBrands cannot confirm the often claimed loss of media credibility. On the contrary, the average credibility of media brands is unchanged compared to 2018 and previous years. The Swiss population continues to consider regional, subscription-based daily newspapers and publicly funded radio and television stations to be particularly credible. In general, the Swiss trust domestic media far more than foreign media. ARD is the only foreign medium to make it into the top 50 most credible media brands. (Regional) Swiss media brands are also ahead in terms of other journalistic and functional quality features: La 1ère leads the ranking in two other quality dimensions (relevance of information and utility value). Further absolute top positions are occupied by New Zurich Newspaper (competence), the bilingual regional television station TeleBielingue (proximity to the audience), the newcomer Republik.ch (uniqueness), SRF Virus (youthfulness) and SRF Musikwelle (entertainment value). The Ticino SRG television channel RSI LA 1 creates the strongest brand loyalty. The Fribourg daily newspaper La Liberté achieved the highest popularity rating. Of the global internet offerings, only YouTube and Instagram achieved top rankings in the dimensions of entertainment value and youthfulness respectively.
Magazines and cinema suffer the most from digitization
In addition to individual brand profiles, mediaBrands also tracks general usage trends. Digitalization continues to leave its mark. Magazines in particular are experiencing a noticeable loss in reach, having lost five percent since 2017. Cinema is suffering from Netflix and other streaming services and has lost three percent of its reach in the last two years. Newspapers are holding up comparatively well, but their use is increasingly shifting to digital editions, even though the majority of the population still (also) reads newspapers in paper form. Those who only consume newspapers digitally still form a small minority.
Every year, Publicom uses the Mediabrands study to determine the brand performance of media brands among the Swiss population. The data is used for qualitative media planning, among other things. The 2019 survey was conducted in May and June and is based on a representative sample of 4,839 people aged 15-79. The statistical margin of error is +/- 1.4%.
