Onlinereports – Society – “It must be clear who owns a medium”

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“An enormous opportunity”: BaZ course critics in the Basel University auditorium

Panel discussion on the crisis of the “Basler Zeitung” and the urgency of transparency and quality journalism

From Peter Knechtli

Moritz Suter, the new owner of the “Basler Zeitung”, must urgently make it transparent who owned the monopoly newspaper. This was the advice given by Zurich sociology professor and media observer Kurt Imhof at a panel discussion in Basel yesterday evening.

The auditorium of the University of Basel was packed to the brim with several hundred guests when no fewer than nine representatives and discussion leader Alfred Schlienger took their place on the podium. “Which newspapers does Basel need?” was the question that the discussion about the “Basler Zeitung” in the crisis revolved around. The panel was relatively broad, but the main actors Moritz Suter, the former owner (he cancelled at short notice), editor-in-chief Markus Somm and representatives of the SVP were missing – just as the discussion at the beginning of the week in the theater foyer, where the critics of the new BaZ course were missing from the panel.

A newspaper is not a screw factory

The main flaw in both events – the panelists remained more or less among themselves – is symbolic of what characterizes the current heated media debate in Basel: the newspaper operators and their audience are no longer able to engage in proper conversation with one another.

A newspaper, even if it is privately run, is not a screw factory, but an emotional asset that cannot deal with the dispositions of its customers at will. And if the dialogue between the leading figures of a newspaper publisher and the readers is so permanently disrupted, as it is currently with the “Basler Zeitung”, then there are “extremely poor starting conditions” for a new beginning, as Zurich sociology professor and media observer Kurt Imhof put it.

One important reason for the great uncertainty among media consumers in the region is that there are ongoing major doubts as to whether Moritz Suter is the sole owner of the BaZ group. “I am interested in who owns a newspaper,” said Bernhard Bonjour, a teacher who was invited as a passionate newspaper reader. He added: “Mr. Somm obviously has an order as to what he should do with the newspaper.”

Reputational damage and conspiracy theories

Imhof, currently probably the best expert on media structures in Switzerland, said: “It must be clear when a medium is owned, otherwise there is a risk of permanent reputational damage.” If transparency is not created, “conspiracy theories” will eventually arise, which will benefit no one. However, Imhof qualified this by saying that transparency “is not enforceable under company law, but it would be extremely unwise to forego it.”

However, the media analyst left no doubt that the SVP is cleverly exploiting the growing polarization and is probably pursuing plans to bring at least part of the Swiss media landscape under its control (see audio link below). Imhof described the “Save Basel” initiative, which was formed by the “Art+Politics” network, as a “great thing”. It is welcome that “a civil society movement is campaigning for a newspaper, for publicity and for quality journalism”. This opens up “an enormous opportunity if we do it right now”.

An SVP newspaper “will not survive”

For Basel FDP cantonal president and Grand Councillor Daniel Stolz, however, transparency of ownership is not so important. He trusts in the market: “I like having a choice.” However, if “the BaZ becomes an SVP paper, it will not survive.”

The liberal Riehem municipal councillor and former LDP cantonal president Maria Iselin justified the “former BaZ” as left-wing. SP finance director Eva Herzog was able to name three confidants on the BaZ editorial staff, while the bourgeois government councillors were unable to name any. The newspaper often “did not research well”. But the cultural politician is not satisfied with the current direction either: Editor-in-chief Markus Somm is “a first-class agitator”. With his “Saturday sermons” he marks the function as an “opinion maker”. She raised the question of whether support for investigative journalism could not be encouraged “through certain tax deductions”.

Harsh criticism of the choice of material

The cabaret artist Sibylle Birkenmeier even spoke of a “culture of silence”, feeling that her journalism was “set on a total anorexia track” and that her opinions were replaced by biting political satire interludes that were accompanied by applause. The former SP government councillor and National Councillor Remo Gysin identified a style “characterised by defamation”: “Editor-in-chief Somm is implementing an SVP strategy.” History professor Georg Kreis, head of the European Institute at the University of Basel, also expressed criticism. In the “Basler Zeitung” there is “no competition of opinions, but a pseudo-balance that is used to delude people.”

Juso President Sarah Wyss expressed similar views, saying that if there was a balance of opinions, she could also live with Somm's comments. Guy Krneta, writer and member of the “Art+Politics” network, which organized the event, summarized the results of the survey among the almost 19,000 “Save Basel” signatories (see box below). And he said: “We have to prepare ourselves for a long road.”

Critics’ strategy still unclear

How the critics of the BaZ course, who represent the vast majority of listeners, intend to proceed now remained unclear even in the audience discussion. There seemed to be agreement on what one speaker demanded: “Basel needs investigative journalism.” But how this complex form of information gathering should be financed remained unclear. Some brought up foundation models, others argued for the form of a cooperative or for the research fund, such as the one run by OnlineReports.

Before rapper Greis summed up the discussion in a spontaneous performance, Imhof pointed out the consequences of a progressive increase in the quality and standardization of the information media on democracy: “We could lose many constitutional patriotic values, especially those of concordance.”

To the OnlineReports Research Fund

10 December 2010

Further links:

BaZ review: What next?

“Why disclose ownership?”

The BaZ affair is the perfect opportunity for Kurt Imhof to effectively entice the Basel public. He has now acquired so many enemies at the University of Zurich and among a not inconsiderable number of Zurich residents that I am not at all surprised that he can stand such lectures. Simply to speak the language of the current Basel mainstream and promptly confirm everything that is popular in this city today. And then to underline that northwestern Switzerland narrowly escaped a huge SVP conspiracy. Incidentally, I am still surprised why it should actually be compulsory for a newspaper to disclose its ownership structure and why an industrial publishing and printing company such as the BZM should be subject to different laws than a screw factory. Those holders of the truth from the “Save Basel” club demand this at every opportunity, but they do not seem to believe in transparency in their own “shop”.

Max MantelKilchberg

“The excluded works”

When a media expert like Kurt Imhof calls for transparency regarding the ownership structure of the BaZ, this can only be supported. A good and important reason for this is the thesis: “The excluded have an effect!” This applies not only to the ownership structure of a newspaper, but also to its journalistic work. What and how something is written in a newspaper can and must give rise to public discussion and opinion-forming, and ultimately has an impact on daily activities.

But it becomes downright fatal when information is withheld from readers, when topics are excluded in the editorial office – for whatever reason. This is where the above-mentioned thesis has a negative effect, because the excluded information is not disseminated and public discussion and opinion-forming simply becomes impossible. A current example is the economic crisis, which has barely begun to be overcome. Here, journalism must accept the accusation of having failed to critically assess events in the financial markets. An outrageous exclusion with extremely lasting effects.

Bruno RossiGelterkinden