The reports of sexual violence on New Year's Eve in Cologne have sparked a dispute in which the German Press Council has also come under fire. Through a guideline in the press code, the Council is said to have contributed to the fact that several media outlets have concealed the nationality of the perpetrators in Cologne, thus demanding self-censorship and is an authority that suppresses and patronizes the truth.
In fact, the dispute reveals the urgency of a fundamental debate with three thrusts, which is also long overdue in Switzerland: firstly, the media industry must reflect on a contemporary, media rcs data malaysia ethics compass; secondly, media professionals must know the press code and thirdly, the media should use the growing interest of society in how journalists report, which is reflected in the current controversy, in a positive sense.
In the crosshairs
At first, journalists were in the crosshairs of the public. Because some media initially did not report on the attacks on New Year's Eve in Cologne or were cautious about doing so, many people accused the journalists of not daring to report critically about refugees and felt that they could no longer be believed. This accusation - especially against public service media - was not only made by those who had long been shouting "lying press".