The media actively flooded the whole world. Every day we succumb to their influence, analyze, tell friends and acquaintances, draw certain conclusions and change our minds. The system of imposition through the media has become quite powerful since ancient times and to this day does not lose its position. This article is about the German media. Let's see how this system works there and how the Russian media in Germany work with information.
History of journalism in Germany
The first journalistic publications appeared in Germany in 1609. Then very few editions were issued, about 30, but in 1618 the number increased to 200 editions. These were mainly weeklies, such as Aviso and Relational.
At that time, the postal departments had a wide range of information, so they were the publishers of various issues. The first newspaper was published only in 1661, and weekly editions were issued in circulations of 200 to 1, 500 copies. In newspapers most often published various information, economic news and other news, which were carefully checked by the emperor.
Soon, scientific, artistic, poetic publications began to take shape, saying that culture was not the last in the German media.
Government
It was very important for the German authorities to collaborate with the media. Especially during the Third Reich and World War II, when it was necessary to conduct propaganda work. This was done by a specially created propaganda agency. Naturally, everything has its own resistance. So in this case, too, a resistance group appeared, which tried to resist the emerging orders and propaganda. But they did not succeed, because at that time in Germany there was a very powerful government. Only the defeat of fascist Germany by the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the following political changes allowed the country and the media to be launched on the path to democracy. The rules became much softer, and German media gained freedom of speech.
Modern media
German media today do not lose their high positions. They are represented by the example of the West European press. Following official statistics published in the Federal Government Report on the State of the Media, today in Germany there are as many as 384 publishers. They produce 423 daily newspapers, the total circulation of which is 25.3 million copies, of which 19.2 million are subscription newspapers. The main feature of the German media is a huge number of local and regional newspapers, due to the centuries-old fragmentation of Germany.
Broadcasting and Television
The German media operate public law and private broadcasting.
Public service broadcasting was created on a national basis, which is controlled by the councils of society, where reputable political and public companies are represented. The list of Russian-language media in Germany remains limited.
The public law position for radio and television was chosen in order to ensure their independence from the country's authorities and to enable the public to participate in the life of working bodies. There are three bodies that carry out this review and control.
Organs
- Council for resolving issues of radio and television broadcasting. Members of this council are called upon to represent the interests of the people. They are either elected by land parliaments, or directly appointed by certain political parties, religious organizations, business unions, or cultural communities.
- Management Board. Members of this Council oversee the implementation of program directives, draw up budget allocations and work as “overseers” in the process. The Council also elects the Director General (in another way, the Quartermaster), whose candidacy must be approved by the entire Council.
- The CEO in question (the same quartermaster). He is obliged to exercise leadership over the company, respectively, with the decisions of all the boards and be responsible for the content of the program plans.
The main income of television and radio companies is, of course, the subscriber's fee. That is why they conduct a very modest, not flashy policy. Indeed, the propaganda media receive much more funding, because they are subject to people of high status, who benefit from it.
Journalism of Karl Marx
The local nature of the press remained very strange, and this was the main feature of German journalism. This was due to the fact that almost until the end of the 19th century Germany was considered the “most backwater of Europe”, “the country of rags”, “semi-feudal weak power”. Naturally, this greatly affected the local press, and this was noted by many.
Given the fragmentation of Germany into principalities, only the German language united the inhabitants of the state into something single. Soon, regional journalism appeared, which exists today.
The consequences of censorship rules
Printing was very slow, much slower than, for example, in France, which made Germany even more lagging behind. Nobody wanted to read German newspapers and magazines, preferring more French. And in 1823, the German publisher Friedrich Brockhaus allowed himself to put it this way: "Our German journalism is a complete insignificance."
The public complained that the press became mean, uninteresting and based only on facts. No entertaining speakers and at least some embellished texts. The German media in Germany used only the facts, because of which the articles turned out to be dry and boring.
All this was the result of numerous censorship restrictions. The main components of newspapers and magazines were the stories of authors who talked about their life paths. Most often it was not interesting to anyone. Another proof of this is a quote from one journalistic publication: “The common feature of newspapers and magazines of this era is the scarcity of content. The censorship did not allow discussion of events, moods and requirements of the era - it was precisely those issues that worried the hearts that were forbidden to touch in the press. ”
Russian media
Political scientist Suzanne Spam decided to figure out exactly how the Russian media in Germany work. She says that the Russian media want to influence the consciousness and mood of their compatriots and not only - Germans are also becoming subject to news flows. This is primarily due to the fact that about three million Russian speakers currently live in Germany.
Moreover, according to a political scientist, the influence of the Russian media on the Germans goes not only through news channels, radio programs and television programs. A very wide range of information passes through social networks, as there are a huge number of users.
Will Germany respond to such actions by the Russian Federation? According to the political scientist, no. Germany will not take any action, because freedom of speech reigns in Germany. As long as the Russian media does not commit anything illegal or contrary to German traditions and laws, Germany will not make any decisions.
In general, Suzanne Shpam believes that the goal of the Russian media is very simple and predictable - to show that the Moscow authorities have a wide range of information dissemination and give it out to people who easily trust the domestic press. However, do not forget about the German media in Russian.
Modern media of Germany
According to numerous characteristics, the first place is occupied by magazines of a certain specialization, the second - socio-political magazines. In third place - departments, in fourth - advertising.
At the moment, the system of German radio and television stations is called the “dual” system. This means that in Germany there are only two forms of ownership of television media:
a) public law form of ownership;
b) private ownership.
The largest and richest owners are the tycoons of the three concerns, which are among the 500 richest businessmen in Germany. These are the concerns of Bertelsman, Springer and Burda. In total, 15 private television companies operate in Germany. In Germany there are more than 500 information agencies that collect and process socio-political information. They clearly process it and only then put it on the air or in the press.
This is how the German media in the 21st century - freedom of speech, is arranged in this way, while information filtering is still present.
