Schawinski violated human dignity of talk show guest Balthus, according to ombudsman Blum

In his final report on the April 8 broadcast of "Schawinski," SRG-Deutschschweiz ombudsman Roger Blum supports complaints from ten viewers. After the broadcast of the interview with 34-year-old high-class prostitute Klara Johanna Lakomy, known as Salomé Balthus, they had expressed their displeasure at the way the 74-year-old presenter conducted the conversation.

In his 16-page commentary, Blum concludes that Schawinski, who is generally regarded as aggressive, did not take enough into account in his questioning style this time that a journalistic interview is intended for the public and that the direct personal question of whether someone was sexually abused in childhood does not belong in the public domain, even if the person was not abused.
 

Furthermore, Schawinski had not considered that Balthus' father, who had been prominently featured, and the conversation about his daughter's relationship with him had led to the audience immediately thinking of the father when the question about sexual abuse in childhood came up. Thus, the human dignity of the father had possibly also been violated, even if unintentionally.

The ombudsman criticized as "inappropriate" a "slightly contemptuous tone throughout the broadcast" towards the Berlin philosopher and escort service operator.

Blum wrote that one could not shake off the impression that the moderator had not conducted the interview out of an interest in knowledge, but had wanted to distinguish his guest's life plan as a "bad" one from a "good" one. "That had a discriminatory tendency. It was not fair to the audience either."

Schawinski sees no violation of the SRG concession. In a submission to the ombudsman, Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) defended the program and the critical questions surrounding prostitution and abuse.

Balthus deliberately makes her experiences as a prostitute public and thus breaks down boundaries, it was said. She seeks attention through provocations in her contributions as an author. However, those responsible conceded that the audience should have been given more background on the talk show guest, who is hardly known in Switzerland, at the beginning of the program.

In a statement on the ombudsman's report published on the Internet, SRF editor-in-chief Tristan Brenn acknowledged that the way Schawinski was questioned had hurt feelings, both of Balthus and of many viewers. SRF apologizes for this.

However, Schawinski had not asked about sexual abuse by his father and had not made any allusion to it, the statement continued. The quote circulated by Balthus was false and had led to partly defamatory reactions towards Schawinski.

Balthus said to 20minuten.chShe was overwhelmed by the commitment and solidarity of the Swiss public. Not only women, but also men have stood up for her. That means a lot to her. The matter no longer feels like a violation of her human dignity, but "more like a victory.

Balthus' appearance on "Schawinski" made some headlines. On the one hand, the presenter was harshly criticized in the media for exposing a prostitute on TV. On the other hand, Balthus lost her job as a columnist for the German newspaper The world after only nine months, after she complained about the controversial show in a column and misquoted Schawinski in the article.

This is not the first rebuke from the SRG ombudsman's office against longtime radio and TV talker Schawinski. In the past, his interviews in 2018 with SVP National Councilor Magdalena Martullo-Blocher were also criticized as one-sided and in 2014 with satirist Andreas Thiel as spiteful and improper. (SDA)