Spillmann succeeds Cathomas

Markus Spillmann succeeds Bernard Cathomas, who has chaired the foundation since 2012 and is now stepping down for reasons of age. Markus Spillmann is a journalist with management experience and a well-connected expert on the Swiss media landscape. He takes over the presidency of the foundation at a moment when it is preparing for the future.

"We live in a time of uncertainty. Professional journalism is under pressure, its credibility is eroding. As an industry, we must do everything in our power to counteract this development, to uphold our professional ethical standards and to develop them further in a dramatically changing information society. As an independent and widely accepted self-regulatory body, the Press Council has an eminently important role to play here," says the newly elected president with conviction.

Since 2015, Spillmann and his owner-managed company have been partners in the Klaus Metzler Eckmann Spillmann consulting group, which specializes in leadership, management and communication issues. In addition, he teaches as a lecturer in journalism and media management at several universities and moderates challenging discussion groups. Among other things, he is Vice President of the International Press Institute in Vienna and a member of the Swiss Federal Media Commission.