2023-05-19 15:28:56
Two complaints once morest “24 hours” dismissed
An account of an abuse case and an investigation into evangelical circles drew criticism. The Swiss Press Council dismissed them.
In October 2021, “24 hours” covered a hearing at the La Côte Criminal Court, in a case involving sexual acts with a child.
Christian Brun
When a lawsuit or topical issue is sensitive, its treatment by the media sometimes attracts criticism that turns out to be unfounded. The Swiss Press Council has just agreed with “24 hours” in the face of two different complaints.
Emotional trial
The first considered that a trial report, in October 2021, had privileged sensationalism to the detriment of the facts and that it had given elements making it possible to identify the victim and the accused.
“You cannot ask journalists to simply report facts and at the same time not want facts to be quoted.”
The paper reported the trial of a man convicted of sexual acts on a 15-year-old child. Were the details given by the article too specific and the narrative lacking in discretion? The Press Council disagrees: “You cannot ask journalists to ‘simple report the facts’ and at the same time not want the facts to be quoted.”
Has the private sphere of the protagonists been undermined? On this subject, the Swiss Press Council notes that – as it should be – the facts reported by the article did not allow identification by persons outside the family, social and professional circle.
Religious controversy
The second complaint once morest “24 hours” was aimed a survey also published in October 2021. It addressed criticism of the Vaudois Union of Muslim Communities (UVAM), which had its source in a network where evangelical groups played an important role.
One of the protagonists of this network considered in particular that he was in favor of qualifying it as a “nebula” activating to “torpedo” UVAM. He also judged that the author of the article “does not at any time suggest that our criticisms may have a rational basis”. The Swiss Press Council notes, on the contrary, that an entire box is devoted to this person’s point of view.
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