The selection of news in Swiss media is still based on the professional routines of individual journalists, more than on formalised guidelines. As our interviews emphasised, and also highlighted by the editorial statutes, news selection is still oriented towards social relevance of topics. In 2020, however, news selection to a certain extent is more tailored according to expected audience needs (Umbricht & Esser, 2016). For example, due to online click rates (Hofstetter & Schönhagen 2014; Prince 2018), newsworthy topics, or “shitstorms” on social media, news selection is more focused on personalisation (Vogler et al., 2019). And concurrent to other European countries, news selection takes place in the newsroom’s daily editorial meetings. When interpreting news, namely the way in which an event or topic must be framed, leading media professionals have “the last word” after interviews, but they cannot determine how their journalists would interpret a particular event.
Basically, the difference is based on media types.The selection of news is influenced by the characteristics of the media, such as elite press as opposed to tabloid or free commuter press (e.g., Engesser et al., 2014). Especially those with a tendency towards “boulevard” journalism, such as Blick in Switzerland or the free-sheet 20Minuten, choose content according to the perceived entertainment-oriented wishes of their audiences. But the journalistic selection also differs between the press and the public broadcaster SRG SSR, because not every topic on the political agenda is equally suitable for every medium. The selection and interpretation of topics is also influenced by the political position of a newspaper, for example, the selection of topics of the NZZ as an elite newspaper committed to liberalism is not the same as that of the politically slightly left-wing Tages-Anzeiger.
On the basis of our interviews with journalists, it can be said that all leading news media have at least one editorial meeting every day, in which the main topics are selected and defined. This selection is made according to the medium and its readership, viewers, or listeners. Public service radio and television must fulfil their public service mission. When it comes to politically controversial (voting) issues or elections, however, all media seem to try to report neutrally or at least without bias by looking at and presenting both sides, namely pros and cons, according to the comments of our interviewees.
Recent findings based on empirical content analyses show that Swiss media tend to focus on the powerful. Established performers from politics, business, and culture get significantly more space in the media (Tresch, 2009). This is legitimate in that they are usually relevant in society or in the specific discourse. But journalism for minorities, for example, in the form of advocacy for weaker or marginalised groups, is rather rare. The left-wing weekly Die Wochenzeitung (WOZ), or the new online magazine Republik, remain exceptions in this respect.
The processes of news selection in the Swiss media are largely in line with the leading news media in the other European countries. In these, too, news selection tends to follow informal rules or editorial meetings, and there are usually no formal rules in editorial statutes or so-called stylebooks, which play a role in the selection of news. The pressure to respond to “breaking news” due to online information or social media, as well as the importance of click rates, have increased in most media landscapes around the world.
