Abstract

The “Preamble to the Journalistic Guidelines” (“Präamble der publizistischen Leitlinien”) by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung is the introduction of news organization journalistic guidelines. It forms the basis for the journalistic work of the NZZ and is intended to help employees meet the high standards that readers and the public expect of the NZZ. It sets outs the organzation’s values and strategy such as providing factual, fair and unbiased information, promoting democracy and pluralism or advocating for individual responsibility. It also states that trustworthiness is considered the basis of a good relationship with readers, which is seen as vital. Journalism is described as dialogue with readers where NZZ functions as a platform and a discussion leader. The preamble also states that NZZ believes in moderation to provide consistent content and pluralism of opinions, and that it prefers gradual improvements to chasing trends.