Media Accountability In The Era Of Posttruth Politics

Abstract

Media accountability basically includes all non-governmental instruments for improving media performance. To control and ensure media accountability in the newsrooms, suitable management concepts are necessary, which develop appropriate structures and create internal guidelines. In the area of media governance, a semi-governmental “Swiss model” was introduced by the media regulation authority in 2008, focusing on local commercial broadcasters and representing a form of regulated self-regulation. The Swiss case study shows that the implementation of regulated self-regulation concepts has the potential to engage media organisations in terms of media governance, to make their quality objectives transparent and to improve a crucial part of an editorial quality management system (EQMS). A central requirement of media governance is the implementation of an EQMS that systematically treats the interests of the stakeholders and functions as an instrument to establish a culture of responsibility and media accountability.