Germany

[DE] ZAK finds breach of reporting principles

IRIS 2014-7:1/13

Peter Matzneller

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

On 13 May 2014, the German media authorities’ Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht (Commission on Licensing and Supervision - ZAK) ruled that reporting principles had been violated in the “Kabel eins” programme “Abenteuer Leben” on 20 March 2013.

The ZAK considered that the report had given the impression that a factory in Holland used horsemeat to produce a special type of Dutch sausage (known as “Frikandellen”) because the “original recipe” included 5% horse meat. The report had also claimed that the factory was owned by a Dutch company. However, both statements had turned out to be false. The factory did not use horsemeat to produce “Frikandellen” and it was not a Dutch company, since its headquarters were in Germany.

The ZAK stated that, although the company’s name had not been expressly mentioned, it had appeared on a lorry shown in the report.

For these reasons, the ZAK considered that the TV broadcaster “Kabel eins” had breached “recognised journalistic principles” in its reporting.