It is assumed that democratic freedom is greater if journalists can independently decide on editorial matters such as selection, agenda-setting, and interpretation and framing of issues. Our interviews reflect a mixed picture. On one hand, there is no direct pressure on journalists working in the newsroom; however, on the other, there are no clear democratic structures in most editorial offices, and the editor-in-chief is nominated and appointed solely by the owners of the newspapers.
Although journalists in newsrooms can decide how political topics are to be presented, interpreted, and evaluated, they usually take a neutral stance according to the professional understanding of their roles, or otherwise must agree with the editor-in-chief. There is no newsroom council in any of the selected media organisations. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR has a formal editorial statute, which was formulated in 2019 by employees of SRG, ORF, ARD, and ZDF (AGRA, 2019). Pietro Supino and Res Strehle of the Tamedia Group formulated Guidelines for Quality in the Mediain 2017. Currently, the NZZ is revising editorial guidelines, based on an older version prepared by its former editor-in-chief Hugo Bütler from 1998 (Atasoy, 2019). While these documents focus on basic principles and minimum standards for journalism, they say little about internal practices in newsrooms. Moreover, the importance of these principles in daily journalistic work remains unclear.
For the media analysed, the nomination of the editor-in-chiefis exclusively in the hands of management. In some cases, the acting editor-in-chief holds informal discussions with the heads of other editorial departments; however, this does not seem to have any influence on the management’s final decision. Some interviewees stated there were no formal procedures or company rules to ensure the participation of journalists in decision-making processes. At least, the general opinion of newsroom journalists is taken into account when a new editor-in-chief or a new newsroom boss is nominated. However, past experience has shown that editors-in-chief who take over the job against the will of the staff have a hard time succeeding. There is, so to speak, an informal democratic practice, but no formal bottom-up democracy.
Also, leading news media organisations in other European countries usually have no formal rules regarding democratic practices in newsrooms. Media professionals can (co)decide on the selection and interpretation of the news in editorial conferences. However, there are exceptions. For example, in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, the decision-making processes are documented in editorial statutes. But like in Switzerland, there is no formal co-determination anywhere. In practice, a prior hearing is usually held on the appointment of the editor-in-chief.
