Silvia Binggeli
Silvia Binggeli
About the speaker
Silvia Binggeli is editor-in-chief of *Schweizer Illustrierte*. She began her career at the Ringier School of Journalism. During her eighteen-month training programme, she worked for the first time at *Schweizer Illustrierte* and undertook internships at the daily newspaper *Bund* and the women’s magazine *annabelle* – where she was taken on as a permanent employee in 1999. At annabelle, she rose through the ranks to become a reporter, section editor, deputy editor-in-chief – and finally, in 2013, editor-in-chief. As a reporter, Silvia Binggeli has interviewed personalities ranging from Naomi Campbell and Diane von Fürstenberg to Lindsey Vonn, Nick Hayek and Ursula Andress. As editor-in-chief, she launched the ‘Schweizermacherinnen’ initiative in 2018 to mark annabelle’s 80th anniversary, providing a platform for extraordinary women. In 2019, she left annabelle and fulfilled a long-cherished dream by taking a sabbatical for further training in New York. She furthered her education in digital storytelling, attending courses at Columbia University, the Google Academy and the City University of New York, among others.
In 2022, she took over as editor-in-chief of Schweizer Illustrierte. Schweizer Illustrierte is Switzerland’s leading people’s magazine and looks back on 111 years of history.
Before becoming a journalist, Silvia Binggeli obtained a translation diploma in German, English and French from the Zurich School of Interpreting (DOZ) and, as part of this course, studied at the University of San Francisco.
People and their stories never go out of fashion.
Lecture on 9 February 2024
How do you persuade Switzerland’s leading figures from the worlds of entertainment, culture, sport, business and politics to invite a team of journalists and photographers into their personal lives, into their homes, and to reveal private details? That, together with leading a dynamic team, is my role as editor-in-chief of the Swiss People magazine. Having grown up with a somewhat unusual background – in a village, as the daughter of a Swiss mother and an African father – I have developed my own approach: journalistic curiosity and incorruptibility – but at the same time a genuine curiosity about others and a passion for their diverse life stories. I’ll illustrate the hurdles we in the editorial team still have to overcome every day when dealing with celebrities, and why listening is so badly underestimated in our society, through anecdotes from my daily working life and encounters with national and international stars.
Recording of the lecture on February 9, 2024
Review of the evening lecture with Silvia Binggeli
In this captivating lecture, Silvia Binggeli, editor-in-chief of “Schweizer Illustrierte,” gives an exclusive insight into her career and her experiences in people journalism. She shares her fascinating encounters with celebrities and shows how her curiosity and empathy lead to in-depth and often surprising interviews. She also discusses the challenges and opportunities in journalism and the changing media landscape and highlights the importance of authentic and respectful listening in a society increasingly shaped by social media.