Politics is an industry of trust and therefore aspects concerning the private sphere of top politicians can be justifiable to publish.
The reporting involves a difficult balancing act where respect for privacy stands against demanding responsibility from a heavy politician.
Fredrick Federley is the Vice President of the Center Party, a person with great influence in his party.
But what further complicates the reporting is that it revolves around a person who is close to Fredrick Federley and who does not have assignments in public.
When the first publications were made in other media, we at SVT Nyheter chose to be restrained because we had limited personal information.
What we did know was that this was serious information about a person close to Fredrick Federley.
No accusations were made against Fredrick Federley personally.
We knew that the relative was convicted of serious sexual offenses against children, but we did not know much more than that it was about a person who has no heavy public or political assignments.
In our reporting, we focused on the political consequence: that Fredrick Federley is on sick leave and can not fulfill his duties, a circumstance that is of great public interest.
Fredrick Federley takes a break from politics: "Has fallen to pieces" |
SVT News
A few days later, SVT, as the first editorial staff, was able to report that the Center Party's leadership believes that confidence in Fredrick Federley is damaged.
The trust question from the Center Party is about how open Fredrick Federley was to his party leadership regarding the relationship he had with the close relative who was convicted.
Sexual crime against children is also a type of crime where the party has chosen to profile itself and demand harsher punishment.
In that context, when the information about Fredrick Federley's private sphere has political consequences, I mean that it is reasonable to tell more about what it is about, what made the party speak in this way.
C: Fredrick Federley's confidence is damaged |
SVT News
Publications of this kind are difficult.
How far into a private life is it relevant to go?
What responsibility does a high-ranking politician have for close relatives?
Why do we not immediately tell everything we know?
In this case, when it gradually turned out to have clear consequences for both one of Sweden's parliamentary parties and one of their main representatives, I believe that our publications have been balanced and defensible.
We were reluctant to provide information in the beginning, but as the political consequences became clearer, we went further.
As I write this text, the Center Party has not yet commented further on the confidence in Fredrick Federley.
We will make more publications and deliberations.
This is a type of publication that is always difficult.
The conclusion is never in advance.
Based on press ethics rules and legislation, each decision is unique.