Swiss Press Council agrees with Cécilia Sarkozy
The Swiss Press Council has largely upheld the complaints filed by Cécilia Sarkozy and her new husband against Le Matin. The council believes that journalists should not publish unconfirmed rumors without first verifying them.
The Swiss Press Council has largely upheld the complaints made by Cécilia Sarkozy and her new husband against Le Matin. The French-speaking Swiss newspaper Tageszeitung had published unconfirmed rumors about the couple's liaison in December 2007. In January 2008, Le Matin also speculated on the question of which of the two Sarkozys would remarry first. The newspaper based its January report on a rumor published in Le Parisien. Both Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife and the new man at her side, a Geneva businessman, subsequently filed a complaint with the Press Council for violation of privacy.
For Le Matin, the public interest outweighed the protection of the privacy of those affected. The Press Council does not share this assessment: publishing unconfirmed rumors without checking them violates journalists' duty to establish the truth. If a rumor is disputed even after research, at least the source must be named and a possible denial passed on, the body announced on Tuesday.
As far as the violation of privacy is concerned, the Press Council differentiates between Cécilia Sarkozy and her current husband. Celebrities who bring their private lives into the public eye cannot demand total respect for privacy from one day to the next, writes the Press Council in relation to Cécilia Sarkozy.
In September 2006, Le Matin had already been condemned by a civil court in Thonon-les-Bains F for its reporting on the marriage crisis in the Sarkozy household. The court considered the privacy of the then Minister of the Interior to have been violated.
For Le Matin, the public interest outweighed the protection of the privacy of those affected. The Press Council does not share this assessment: publishing unconfirmed rumors without checking them violates journalists' duty to establish the truth. If a rumor is disputed even after research, at least the source must be named and a possible denial passed on, the body announced on Tuesday.
As far as the violation of privacy is concerned, the Press Council differentiates between Cécilia Sarkozy and her current husband. Celebrities who bring their private lives into the public eye cannot demand total respect for privacy from one day to the next, writes the Press Council in relation to Cécilia Sarkozy.
In September 2006, Le Matin had already been condemned by a civil court in Thonon-les-Bains F for its reporting on the marriage crisis in the Sarkozy household. The court considered the privacy of the then Minister of the Interior to have been violated.
