publication. Photos of Federal Councillors often adorned the cover. Over time, the “Swiss Review” became a journalistic product that differentiates between official and editorial material, offers a range of views, provides analysis, moderates debates and covers diverse issues. “The 'Swiss Review' began to rely more on attractive content to appeal to readers,” says Wyder, who helped shape this evolution. Independent journalism In 1992, the Swiss Abroad were able to vote at federal level by post for the first time instead of having to travel to Switzerland to cast their vote in person. This boosted their political rights and, from the point of view of the Federal Council and parliament, mittee was established as a supervisory body and as a point of contact in the event of complaints. This set-up has continued to the present day. It goes without saying that Swiss politics has always been one of the magazine’s key preoccupations, but the “Swiss Review” has never neglected issues related to culture, business, society or sport either. Glacier Express or “Needle Park”? Readers’ letters and the editorial piece have often reflected a significant push and pull with regard to ❮ Edition 4/1993: Focus on multicultural Switzerland, with some imagery that today seems a little stereotypical Edition 5/2003: ❯ Edition 4/2014: ❯❯ Roger Federer – the only star to make it onto the cover more than once afforded the “Swiss Review” greater scope in terms of giving expatriate voters the information they needed to form their own opinions. Reporting had to be balanced and unbiased. The OSA and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) set out this requirement in writing. According to a recommendation by the Federal Council, the frequency of publication was to be doubled from four to eight issues a year. In the end, there was only enough funding for six issues. The magazine would also enjoy editorial independence. A comhow Switzerland is portrayed to the magazine’s expatriate readership. Should the “Swiss Review” focus on the beautiful, traditional and successful aspects of Switzerland – like articles about fondue, the Glacier Express, or tennis legend Roger Federer who has appeared twice on the front page? Expats are our country’s living and breathing ambassadors. We should give them feel-good stories, shouldn’t we? Or should the magazine also address darker issues – like it did when covering Switzerland’s urban drug crisis in the mid-1980s (e.g. 'Needle Park' in Zurich), or the Sandoz chemical disaster at Schweizerhalle in 1986, which killed the fish in the Rhine? Wyder remembers the angry response from readers and the Council of the Swiss Abroad to these speTake a trip back in time To mark our 50th anniversary, all the editions of the “Swiss Review” from 1974 to the end of 2023 are now available to view online. At the end of the year, our editions in 2024 will be added to this collection, which has been made possible by the Swiss National Library in cooperation with E-Periodica, the ETH Library’s platform for digitised Swiss journals (e-periodica.ch). All editions of the “Swiss Review” were converted into digital format in all the relevant publication languages: www.revue.link/review50 (MUL) Edition 6/2015: ❯ Wolves in Switzerland are always a controversial issue Swiss Review / July 2024 / No.4 23
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