Markus Somm lets "Arena" show go off the air
Markus Somm drops a planned "Arena" show on Basel as a media center because he does not want to discuss the issue with former employees. In a communiqué, the Baz editor-in-chief comments.
As journalist Philipp Loser of the rival Basel newspaper Daily News reports, Baz editor-in-chief Markus Somm dropped a planned Arena broadcast - because he didn't want any competitors on the show. Vis-à-vis Blick.ch Somm confirmed the report, according to the tabloid's website: He did not want to discuss the matter with ex-employees in the "Arena. "There would have been a risk that internal details would have been discussed. This would have caused problems under labor law.
Shortly after the Arena cancellation became public, Markus Somm issued a communiqué with an personal statement which we naturally do not want to withhold from you:
"The Arena editorial team of Swiss television informed me today that they have canceled Friday's planned broadcast on the situation of the media in general and the Basler Zeitung in particular because I set conditions that they did not want to fulfill. The intention was that I would take part in this edition of the Arena. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I am stating the following:
Only after I had accepted was I informed that employees who had until recently been employed by BaZ were also to appear in the program. For reasons of labor law, it was not possible for me to discuss events at BaZ in public with former employees of the Basler Zeitung, regardless of whether they now work at TagesWoche or at AZ Medien or other publishing houses. The risk that internal information and business secrets would have been divulged in front of the camera with my involvement seemed too great.
I always gladly accept criticism of the Basler Zeitung or of myself and face it without hesitation - as long as I can speak freely without having to take my employer or labor law into consideration. That was not the case here.
I understand that the Arena did not want to respond to this request. I regret that the broadcast cannot take place.
Markus Somm
Editor-in-Chief Basler Zeitung"
Journalistic independence of "Arena" top priority
Swiss Television (SF), for its part, explains the cancellation - or rather the change of the topic of the program - in a communiqué by saying that Somm had tied his participation to unacceptable conditions: He had not wanted to discuss with three prominent Baz alumni who had been scheduled in the front row. The "Arena" editorial team would not give in to any pressure and would decide for itself who would take part in the discussion; the journalistic independence of the "Arena" had top priority.
(Image: Keystone)
