Franz Fischlin moderated the “Tagesschau” from SRF. Image: keystone
Franz Fischlin, known to television audiences from “Tagesschau” and “Medienclub” among others, is launching a new project: He wants to sensitize young people to fake news.
Benjamin Rosch / ch media
Franz Fischlin has been many things: radio and television journalist, producer and co-founder of the “investigate!” foundation. He has also been committed to media literacy among young people for several years: in 2017, for example, he and others launched the Youth Media Week.
Now he is continuing a similar commitment as an entrepreneur. This summer Fischlin is launching youmedia.ch. This is intended to present media content that comes from young people. The platform, which also contains background information on the subject of media literacy in dossiers, is aimed at interested school classes, teachers and parents.
The main channel for Fischlin’s new initiative is social media. He wants to reach out to young people, especially on Instagram and Tiktok, to warn them about the dark side of the media: fake news, false ideals or doomscrolling, i.e. the endless reading of negative news.
“The experience with YouNews showed me how committed young people are when they are intrinsically motivated,” said Fischlin in a press release available to CH Media. Both sides, the professional media professionals as well as the YouNews reporters, could benefit from each other. “YouMedia goes one step further, is even closer to young people, even more focused on them.”
Also on board: Fischlin’s daughter
To a certain extent, YouMedia is a family business: Fischlin’s daughter Lea Romana Fischlin, a graphic designer and art director by profession, is also involved.
Norbert Bernhard is also responsible as co-founder. Bernhard is no stranger: he has been publishing the investor magazine “Private” for more than 20 years. It also awards an annual prize for “quality journalism”, whose jury includes Fischlin. He appeared in the media primarily in 2021 when he announced that he would launch a free daily newspaper for Bern. However, the project with a targeted circulation of 70,000 copies was never realized. Bernhard also briefly left his mark in politics: in 1995 he ran for the nationalist Swiss Democrats.
Bernhard and Fischlin announced the YouMedia project in Bernhard’s magazine as early as 2022. It was already clear back then what was to become a central component: a media prize. “Prices are a dime a dozen. But not a prize specifically for the youth who produce digital media,” Bernhard wrote at the time. It is now said that media products and media content from young people between the ages of 13 and 20 will one day be nominated in various categories and honored at an awards ceremony in Bern.
Bernhard and Fischlin were able to recruit another prominent name to manage the project: Priska Amstutz will lead YouMedia. Amstutz was co-editor-in-chief of the “Tages-Anzeiger” from 2020 to 2023 and then held the position of head of innovation at the newspaper for a few months.
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