Freedom of opinion, expression and information are essential to journalism. But as Jean-Marie Etter, a journalist for 30 years and co-founder of Fondation Hirondelle, reminds us, duties form the basis of rights. Each journalist must adhere to a code of ethics and deontology.
Jean-Marie Etter was one of the three co-founders of Fondation Hirondelle in 1995 with his colleagues François Gross and Philippe Dahinden. In 1994, Philippe Dahinden returned from Rwanda, which had been devastated by the genocide, and the joint idea was born to create an information radio station for people who were desperately in need of it: Radio Agatashya (“Radio Hirondelle”). This was also a response to the infamous Radio Mille Collines. Fondation Hirondelle was created in 1995 in the wake of this first project.
A journalist at Radio Suisse Romande (RSR) for some thirty years, working on international affairs and newspaper presentations, Jean-Marie Etter subsequently headed Fondation Hirondelle until his retirement at the end of 2016.