Credibility of Swiss media ‘surprisingly stable’

Switzerland's Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) consistently earned the highest credibility ratings. Keystone

A qualitative study reveals that on average, Swiss media inspire a consistently high degree of confidence in consumers across age groups and regions.

The results come from the 2017 edition of the annual MediaBrands study conducted by Zurich-based consultancy Publicom, and run counter to the growing concerns about “fake news” in many countries, including Switzerland.

According to figures communicated on Friday by Publicom to the Swiss News Agency, the average credibility score across 180 press, radio, television and online media brands in Switzerland was 4.5 out of a maximum possible 6. The results are based on representative surveys conducted between 2014 and 2017 of over 5,000 people nationwide between the ages of 15 and 79.

The media outlet that has inspired greatest confidence in the public since 2014 is the German-language NZZ newspaper, with a stable grade of just over 5. For French-language media, which have only been included in the survey since 2016, the Swiss Public Radio programme La Première came out on top with roughly the same grade as the NZZ. Italian-language media were included for the first time this year, with the Swiss Public Radio programme Rete Uno coming in first with a grade of 5.

“The confidence of the public in the media they use is surprisingly stable,” Publicom summarised in a statement.

Poor marks for social media

There were some variations in media types, however: for example, social media scored consistently lower than subscription-based newspapers and public radio and TV programmes, with an average credibility score of just over 3.

The study also revealed that confidence in media sources remained consistent across age groups, with the younger generation attributing greater credibility to “established quality media than to new digital brands”, according to the Swiss News Agency.