Tamedia is planning a group-wide quality monitoring programme for all media

Zurich, 25 August 2016 – In the course of next year, the Swiss media group Tamedia is planning to introduce a group-wide quality monitoring programme for all its journalistic media in German- and French-speaking Switzerland. In addition to general journalistic principles, specific media-related quality dimensions will be taken into account. Andreas Strehle will be in charge of the project on behalf of Pietro Supino. The long-time Editor-in-Chief of Tages-Anzeiger was elected president of the Swiss Journalism School MAZ at the end of 2015.

In the process of quality monitoring, regular audits will be carried out at randomly selected dates. The audits will be performed by a three-pronged committee consisting of the respective editor-in-chief, an external expert and Andreas Strehle as the Head of Quality Monitoring. On the one hand, they will evaluate the quality of services by means of objective measuring instruments. In addition, a survey of the stakeholders affected by the reporting is another part of quality monitoring. Reader and user analyses are expected to provide a further important component. The resonance and relevance of the media contents for the public will be measured with these analyses. In October and November 2016 the quality monitoring programme will be tested at Zürcher Regional-zeitungen ZRZ and Le Matin Dimanche. 

«The establishment of a modern quality monitoring process is an additional aspect of our investments in the development of our journalistic services in terms of content and technology. They are our core business and we intend to successfully take them into the future», said Tamedia publisher Pietro Supino. «Quality monitoring is supposed to be objective and independent, but primarily it is expected to support our journalists in their daily activities. Due to the many years I have worked with Andreas Strehle, I am convinced that he will carry out the project to the benefit of all partners.»

«Our goal is to have a realistic quality monitoring programme that addresses the differences between the individual media», explained Andreas Strehle, project manager of Quality Monitoring. «A commuter paper, which does not convey an opinion, cannot be expected to publish analyses and long articles. At the same time, a weekly paper cannot be expected to be complete and up to the minute. Every editorial team has its own quality claim and should be measured by that.»