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The Yearbook “Quality of the Media 2020” states that the media were sometimes not critical enough of the authorities during the pandemic. The 5 most important points.
Newspapers on the shelf of a K-Kiosk point of sale, a convenience services format of the Valora Group, photographed on January 7, 2020 at the Oerlikon train station.
Photo: Christian Beutler (Keystone)
Corona: Shortly before closing, the media was not critical
Corona has dominated media coverage like no other topic since March 2020. At times, around 70 percent of media reports referred to the pandemic. That is one of the findings of the yearbook “Quality of the Media 2020”, which was presented yesterday by the Institute for Public Research and Society of the University of Zurich (Fög).
Another Fög finding: Covid-19 numbers and statistics were often reported “naked” and explained very little. In the “sensitive phase” before the shutdown, the media was not critical enough of the authorities either. When asked, Linard Udris, a Fög employee, said they would have described the Federal Council as too passive. “By doing so, the media helped prepare and legitimize the shutdown.” In early April, the mood turned to the contrary, the measures were criticized for being too harsh.
The Fög found that around 80 percent of the media reports examined were based on expert opinions. This reliance on experts shows that information journalism has lost its power and is less able to classify facts on its own.
Science: incorrectly a niche department
According to Fög, this also has something to do with: “The dismantling of science journalism is taking its toll.” Despite its great importance, knowledge is neglected. Its share of the total supply was stable between 2015 and 2019. But at 2.1 percent, this is a low level.
In 2015, the Fög rated 36.4 percent of knowledge contributions as ranking, in 2019 it was only 13.5 percent. “Classify” means explanatory, rather than simply reproducing facts.
Corona II: the media and the established authorities determine the discourse
In 2019, the yearbook stated that social networks invert the hierarchy of opinion leadersin. Civil society actors and individuals, as well as political interest groups, shaped the Twitter agenda more than journalism. Corona has changed that: Dominate today Newspapers, radio and television as well as the authorities. In times of great uncertainty, established forces are apparently catching up.
The information provided by the respondents from German-speaking Switzerland agrees with this: The informationkfederal government channels givewthey put the highest, followed by retransmissions and offers from private media companies. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were less important.
Financial problems: willingness to pay for online news increases
Even before the Corona crisis, Swiss media advertising revenue was falling dramatically, and that was made worse by the pandemic.
But the good news is that the number of people willing to pay for news online has increased. In 2016, 10.1 percent were willing to do so, last year it was 13.4 percent. Willingness to pay is generally low among older people and also among women. For younger women, however, it has increased the most in recent years, from 12 to 19 percent.
The growing willingness to pay gives hope to a growing generation that is willing to help finance journalism, write the Fög scientists.
Young readers: journalism should develop “influencers”
A large part of the population, especially the younger generation, seems to have little interest in world events. The Fög has dedicated itself specifically to them and asked 19 young Swiss about their interests in the media. The result: you have an accurate idea of what “news” means to you, that is, relevant information about current world events. Messages often reach this group of readers by chance, through social media, friends or family. Interest depends a lot on who distributes or recommends the article. Hence Fög’s recommendation: Information journalism should specifically build journalistic influencers who give a face to substantial information on the Internet. Titles and images are also important for “smart clickbaiting.”
Young adults surveyed vehemently reject payment limitsThey see free press reports as a fundamental right. At best, they would be willing to pay for a combined offer from multiple sources at a low fixed price.
