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Before and After ETHICS AND THE MEDIA: A STUDY OF JOURNALISTS IN EASTERN GERMANY BEFORE AND AFTER REUNIFICATION Jonathan Paul McHaffie PhD Degree Department of Germanic Studies July 1997 Year of Acceptance: 1997 Acknowledgements It is not surprising that the number of people who have contributed to the completion of this project is too large to mention. The following have had a particularly important part to play. The Department of Germanic Studies in Sheffield provided a place to work and all the needed facilities. My thanks to my supervisor, Peter Thompson, for his belief in my abilities and for allowing me to direct the project as I saw fit. His distanced supervision allowed me to learn much more than is reflected in this thesis. Special thanks are due to several other individuals. My mother, Hazel McHaffie, was a constant source of advice and very helpful criticism, particularly in devising the interview schedule and in giving detailed suggestions based on the draft thesis. My father, David McHaffie, also made it through to the end and noticed almost every extra space and incorrect preposition, for which I am very grateful. All my family has been very encouraging from the beginning, and my sister Rosalyn has kept me laughing through the less enjoyable parts. My wife Camille has always encouraged me in my research, and her interest has often challenged me to improve my approach and raise my horizons. Henk de Berg was very thorough in his reading of the thesis, despite going abroad to work just after receiving the thesis. I am particularly grateful to the many journalists in Eastern Germany who allowed me to interview them, and who made this research possible. Their willingness to talk to me and to give of their time and experiences made my job much easier, and certainly very enjoyable. The Student Awards Agency for Scotland provided the funding for my studies both in Sheffield and in Germany. 11 Summary Ethics and the Media: A Study of Journalists in Eastern Germany Before and After Reunification Jonathan Paul McHaffie This thesis examines the working conditions and practices of Eastern Gennan journalists before and after the reunification of the two post-war Gennan states. It explores the development of the press in both the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Gennany and the strengths and weaknesses of both systems. Building on this work, the thesis then examines the experiences ofthe journalists after 1989. It looks at the problems which have arisen in particular for the journalists, and the way in which these problems have been dealt with. The approach of the journalists to these problems demonstrates the way in which they view their profession and the responsibility associated with their work. The reasons the journalists had for complying with the political instructions they received in the GDR are very complex and diverse. Some are the result of their upbringing and experiences, while others are very practical and relate to the conditions in which citizens of the GDR found themselves. The reasons eachjoumalist had are never exactly the same. The fact that the journalists did generally comply does not, however, mean that they were unaffected by the compromises they had to make with their own principles. They were often troubled by their consciences, but in time, they learned to live with this as the price which had to be paid for their decision to stay in a career which did afford them some pleasures, and their consciences became desensitised towards the expectations which were placed upon them. When, in 1989, they suddenly found themselves in a situation in which they had tremendous professional freedom, their consciences were reawakened, and they realised that they had the opportunity to remain true to some oftheir personal values in a way which had not been the case in the GDR. However, they soon learned that this freedom was being compromised by III the economic demands of the free market. Initially, they reacted strongly against the new pressures which they experienced, but in time, they grew accustomed to the new situation, and, as in the GDR, their consciences became a less significant factor in the decisions they had to make in their professional lives. The way in which the journalists view the new challenges they face in their work is examined using interview material. This provides insights into the way in which the journalists regard the new experiences they have had since 1989, and the way in which they would like to deal with the new way of working. At the same time, the practical limitations which they face in their new working conditions are seen, and the similarities and differences between their work in the GDR and in the new Federal Republic become clear. Despite all the less positive developments since 1989, none ofthem wishes to return to the old system. IV Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................... 1 Summary""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ,11 Table of Contents , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , " IV CHAPTER ONE Introduction """""""""""""""',"""""""""""" 1 CHAPTER Two The Press in the two Germanies: 1945-1989 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , " , , , 5 History of the press after 1945 , , , , , , , , , , . , , , , , , , , , , . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Western zones of occupation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 The Soviet zone of occupation, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 The influence of the occupying powers , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 The Soviet Union , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 9 The nature of the GDR state """""""""""""" 16 Soviet influence on the press , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , " 18 The Western Allies """""""""""""""""""'" 19 Comparison of the two press systems ,",',"', ................ ,.,' .. ' 21 v Press freedom . 21 The concept of press freedom ........................... 21 Objectivity in the GDR ................................ 25 Parteilichkeit and truthfulness ..................... 26 Propaganda and agitation ......................... 27 Objectivity and objectivism ............................. 30 Objectivity in the West ................................ 32 Influence of the readership ........................ 36 Advertising . 37 Government intervention ......................... 38 Freedom of information ...................................... 39 Concentration . 40 A definition of concentration ............................ 40 The facts . 40 The reasons for concentration ........................... 43 Concerns about concentration ........................... 44 CHAPTER THREE Journalistic practice in the GDR - "Konnen, aber nicht dUrfen" ..... 49 B ecomlng. a Journa. I'1St ............................................ 49 Requirements for entering the official institutions ................. 52 The Volontariat ...................................... 52 VI Courses at the Sektion ....................................... 53 Journalism as a career ............................................. 55 Medienlenkung - "Was wahr ist und was der Leser wissen darf, das entscheiden wir!" ..................................... 55 Taboo subjects ....................................... 57 Donnerstag-Argus .................................... 60 Wirklichkeit and Medienwirklicheit ....................... 62 The Schere im Kopfand personal responsibility ............. 64 Journalistic competence ................................ 67 Distinctions between departments .............................. 69 Freedom in the workplace .............................. 70 Freedom outside the workplace .......................... 72 Other factors affecting professional freedom ................ 73 CHAPTER FOUR The Press at the time of the JVende and reunification ............. 76 Market changes .................................................. 77 The press and the Wende ..................................... 77 . Towards reunification ....................................... 84 The SED newspapers .................................. 84 Press concentration in the East .................... 87 The role of the Treuhandanstalt ................... 88 VB The SED national papers ......................... 95 Newspapers of the GDR block parties ..................... 97 The papers ofthe Biirgerbewegung ....................... 99 The tabloid press .................................... 100 Reasons for the decline of the press . 104 Financial considerations. 104 Technical factors .................................... 106 Relationship with the readership ........................ 107 Legal changes made . 109 Main changes in media law and practice . 111 I Erich Honecker .................................... 111 II Egon Krenz ....................................... 113 III Hans Modrow .... 113 IV Lothar de Maiziere ................................ 113 Moves towards a media law . 114 The Mediengesetzgebungskommission ................... 118 The MedienbeschlufJ ........................ " ........ 120 The Medienkontrollrat ................................ 121 CHAPTER FIVE Censorship, ethics and the media ................................. 125 Censorship ..................................................... 125 Vlll A brief history of press freedom .................................... 126 Censorship in the GDR ........................................... 132
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