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Telling It Like It Is 6 The German Times – Politics March 2019 In the name PICTURE ALLIANCE / WINFRIED ROTHERMEL of freedom Truth and enlightenment beyond the Der Spiegel case: Doing more to protect the work of journalists worldwide matter not so dire: “No shying away from BY DETLEF PRINZ consequences,” “No hesitating when ques- tioned,” “No wavering in the face of change,” he year 2018 has marked a turning “No self-censorship,” and so on. We wait point in several respects. We Ger- with bated breath to see how the magazine Tmans in particular must be quick might extract itself from this scandal. The to bid farewell to cherished certainties and expeditious shredding and recycling of all the thorough dependability of our multilat- their shopping bags may be the smallest eral system of order. This much we know: problem facing the boss at Der Spiegel. achieving new safeguards and reinforced A free, democratically minded and inde- stability on the domestic and international pendent media’s constitutive role in the lib- front demands we restore our resolve to eral, democratic and open societies of the assert our model of a liberal, democratic West has been anchored in Germany’s con- and open society and thereby bolster West- stitution – or Basic Law – for nearly 70 years. ern democracies. A better world will not It is thus all the more worrying that across come on its own. We must be determined the globe, tens of thousands of women and to advocate for such a world – together. men – whether salaried or freelance journal- In this era of upheaval and disruption, ists, citizen journalists or bloggers – are at our field, the media industry, is breeding its constant risk of persecution, imprisonment, own brand of distress, as evidenced by two abduction, abuse and murder. Germany’s things that may seem at first glance to have Basic Law guarantees the absence of such little to do with one another – the Relotius perils, providing for a state of affairs that we Der Spiegel affair and the 2018 results of have the luxury of taking for granted. Yet the Press Freedom Index – but in which the fact that journalists in member states truth and enlightenment clearly play a role. of the European Union must live in fear The first tells the story of a young, highly for their lives is intolerable. The murders decorated journalist who strays from the of the Maltese journalist Daphne Galizia in principled world of investigative reporting 2017 and the Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak in How he got away with it: Der Spiegel uncovers its own scandal. and into the realm of sensationalism. The 2018 are evidence of how high the price has full impact this will have on the reputation become for seeking the truth, even in parts of Germany’s most authoritative news outlet of Europe. – Der Spiegel – and on the credibility of our In today’s world of global “fake news,” quality journalism more broadly has yet to internet-aided disinformation campaigns, be felt. The second bears the tragic news hate-mail mobbing and cyber trolls, the call that in the past year, more than 80 journal- by Reporters Without Borders for a UN Telling it like it is – sort of ists were killed, 60 were abducted and 348 special representative for the safety of jour- have been imprisoned, while three remain nalists, a demand echoed by the German The fabrications of a promising young reporter have left the German unaccounted for. All of these individuals Bundestag in June 2017, marks a first step in are colleagues whose search for the truth crystallizing the importance of the interna- weekly Der Spiegel in dire straits, with its much-lauded fact-checking led them to countries without a democratic tional community’s protection of free and department being called to account constitution comparable to the one we independent journalism. enjoy. Yet this alone will not suffice. The EU The Relotius affair has become a Der and its institutions must also take decisive, Spiegel affair – and not only because it has visible steps to protect private and public- ing force in German journalism since US Ambassador Richard Grenell exposed the failure of perhaps all of the service media and the work of journalists BY THOMAS SCHULER 1947. The magazine held a position expressed that “we are concerned Hamburg weekly’s quality controls. The while guaranteeing their independence in Europe comparable to that of The these narratives are pushed by Spie- affair has also shown how the self-declared and, indeed, their social and physical secu- ournalist Juan Moreno never New York Times in the US. Today, at a gel’s senior leadership and that report- “assault gun of democracy” is becoming a rity in all EU member states. For our many actually met Claas Relotius. They time when established media outlets ers are responding to what the leader- reporting factory of aesthetic-driven stories imprisoned colleagues across the globe, our Jspoke on the phone only once, fear for their credibility, Relotius’ lies ship wants.” In other words, he sees no longer anchored in the publishing house’s hashtag of past years continues for 2019: and Moreno believes this is one of provide critics with a welcome oppor- the forgeries as not the unpleasant promotional pledge. For me personally, this #FreeThemAll! We will not relent until this the reasons he was able to eventu- tunity to question the leading role of act of one individual, but “fake news” case is simply mind-boggling. Just the other hashtag ceases to apply. ally expose Relotius’ many journalistic mainstream media. ordered from above. The ambassador day, I saw a customer in a magazine shop fabrications. Everyone else at the Der Two years ago, Der Spiegel celebrated insisted that “a thorough investiga- with a slender shopping bag covered in rep- Spiegel seems to have fallen for the itself as a pillar of democracy, remind- tion be conducted by an outside, inde- etitions of the slogan “DER SPIEGEL – No charms of the award-winning Relo- ing the public that it had emerged pendent organization to determine fear of the truth.” A number of potential Detlef Prinz is publisher of tius, a four-time recipient of the pres- stronger from its greatest crisis back exactly how Spiegel violated journal- aphorisms sprang to my mind that we might The German Times. tigious German Reporter Prize. Relo- in 1962, when founder Rudolf Aug- istic standards and how it can reform mockingly suggest as replacements, were the tius had been awarded several other stein was imprisoned on treason internal processes.” prominent prizes, even though the charges and many Germans took to This demand for external clarifica- 33-year-old had worked as an intern the streets to protest for his release. At tion is justified, but it would be taken and freelancer until only a few years that time, the magazine’s circulation more seriously if it weren’t coming ago. skyrocketed, and Augstein’s “Telling from a diplomat looking to prevent THOSE WE MOURN FROM 2018 The whole thing started a couple of it like it is” became its famous mission critical reporting of his president. In years ago when Moreno read a Relo- statement. A plaque with that phrase response to Grenell, Der Spiegel noted tius’ story on what was supposedly still hangs in the lobby of the maga- that criticism of the president did AFGHANISTAN: April 25 Abdul Manan Arghand, Journalist | April 30 Yar Mohammad Tokhi, Cameraman | April 30 Ghazi Rasooli, Cameraman | April 30 Abadullah the first tax consultant in Cuba, a man zine’s Hamburg offices. But does the not constitute anti-Americanism, but Hananzai, Journalist | April 30 Sabawoon Kakar, Journalist | April 30 Maharram who advised shoe shiners. Could that aphorism still ring true? rather criticism of his policies. Durrani | April 30 Nowroz Ali Rajabi, Journalist | April 30 Shah Marai, Journalist be? Moreno kept his doubts to himself. Why didn’t Relotius’ lies attract Steffen Klusmann, who took over April 30 Saleem Talash, Journalist | April 30 Ali Saleemi, Journalist | April 30 Shah Soon thereafter, Der Spiegel asked him attention before? How is it possible as editor-in-chief of the magazine in Ahmad, Journalist | July 22 Akthar Mohammad, Media Assistant | Sept. 5 Samim to co-author an article with Relotius that the jury of the Reporter Prize January, said the scandal “has shaken Faramarz, Journalist | Sept. 5 Ramiz Ahmadi, Journalist | Oct. 18 Mohammad about groups of Central American ref- actually praised his transparent us all to the core. We have high stan- Salim Anghar, Journalist | Dec. 4 Kandehar, Media Assistant | BANGLADESH: June 11 Shahzahan Bachchu, Local Journalist | BRAZIL: Jan. 16 Ueliton Bayer Brizon, ugees approaching the United States. approach to the job? Those same jury dards when it comes to the credibility Journalist | Jan. 17 Jefferson Pureza Lopes, Journalist | June 21 Jairo Sousa, Journalist He ended up researching the piece members now own up to a profound of the Der Spiegel brand. We have to Aug. 16 Marlon de Carvalho Araújo, Journalist | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: from the perspective of the refugees, sense of shame yet point out that it get our credibility back.” Klusmann July 30 Orkhan Dzhemal, Journalist | July 30 Kirill Radchenko, Camerman | July 30 while Relotius took the position of an was Der Spiegel’s job to check the facts. added that he and his colleagues are Aleksandr Rastorgujev, Documentary Filmmaker | COLOMBIA: April 12 Juan Javier Arizona-based vigilante border militia A Relotius report from Fergus going to have “work through this in Ortega Reyes, Journalist | April 12 Paúl Rivas Bravo, Photographer | April 12 Efraín seeking to keep out the intruders. Falls, Minnesota, elucidating Donald such a way that leaves as little room Segarra, Media Assistant | INDIA: March 25 Vijay Singh, Journalist | March 25 Navin When Moreno expressed doubts Trump’s election victory makes the for skepticism as possible.” Der Spiegel Nischal, Journalist | March 26 Sandeep Sharma, Journalist | June 15 Shujaat Bukhari, Journalist | Oct.
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