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»SZ« publishing building: informant in our own editorial team
Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa
The editor-in-chief of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had its employees' emails and telephone connections searched for contacts with the industry service "Medieninsider" after information from an internal editorial conference was published by it.
According to the SZ, the search for an informant from within the company was coordinated with the works council. “If the heart of an editorial team is being tapped, we cannot accept it,” said editor-in-chief Wolfgang Krach about the process – which was once again revealed by the “media insider” himself. "That destroys the working basis of an editorial team."
The editorial conference, which the “media insider” reported in detail, took place at the end of last year. At that time it was about allegations of plagiarism regarding the handling of sources in texts by deputy editor-in-chief Alexandra Föderl-Schmid.
They are said to have taken some contextual paragraphs in their stories word for word from other portals without labeling this. According to Krach, the editor-in-chief of the “SZ” has now confirmed this incorrect handling.
The "media insider" not only reported on Föderl-Schmid's unclean work, but also on the internal reactions to the revelation. Leading editors should therefore view this as a “campaign” against the “SZ”.
have referred to, including noise.
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With their search operation, the editor-in-chief wanted to find out who had passed the information on to “media insiders”. "We didn't look at any personal accounts or the content of emails or phone calls," said Krach. Only searched for connections between “SZ” publishing house and “media insiders”. The search remained unsuccessful and was ended in 2023.
A statement from the “SZ” said: “The editorial committee, works council and editor-in-chief agree that protecting editorial secrecy is essential for our work. That's why there's no question for us that we try to find colleagues who violate editorial confidentiality.«
The search operation was again revealed by the “media insider”. Accordingly, the campaign came out last Tuesday evening at an early editorial general meeting. Krach expressed his disappointment that his statements were made public. The term “mole” was also mentioned several times.
“Serious questions” about source protection
The editor-in-chief later explained that they had not found out how the information got out. There were critical questions about this. Only then did Krach inform about the search operation.
The organization Reporters Without Borders criticizes the actions of the “SZ” editor-in-chief. It raises “serious questions regarding the basic journalistic principle of protecting sources,” said board spokeswoman Katja Gloger.
In their work, the media often base their research on internal information from companies and organizations - and protect these sources as best as possible. It is therefore "concerning" that the editor-in-chief of the "SZ" is now looking for such confidential sources, said Gloger. »Confidential communication forms the basis for journalism, especially when it involves investigative research.«
A statement from the editor-in-chief said: "The 'Süddeutsche Zeitung' does not tolerate any attack on the protection of press freedom, neither from outside nor from within." The company's own actions are seen as covered by a company agreement. The works council also referred to this regulation.
ssu/dpa