In 2022 Patricia Schlesinger, director of the public broadcaster rbb, was accused of nepotism, Vetternwirtschaft. Among the allegations was an adviser paid at a daily rate of 1,000 euros to connect her with important figures in the capital. She resigned in August 2022, and the rbb board then dismissed her without notice.
journalism
Disproved in Two Weeks
On April 25, 1983, the magazine Stern presented what it said were Hitler’s diaries. Its editor-in-chief Peter Koch declared: Ab sofort muß die Geschichte des Dritten Reiches in weiten Teilen neu geschrieben werden. From now on, the history of the Third Reich must be rewritten in large parts. The publisher Gruner + Jahr had paid 9.3 million marks in cash. The Federal Institute for Materials Research, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Archives examined the volumes. On May 6, 1983, the Archives announced that they were forged. The paper could not date from the Nazi period. In 1985 the forger Konrad Kujau and the reporter Gerd Heidemann were sentenced to prison. The affair is remembered as the biggest media flop in the history of the Federal Republic. In 1992 Helmut Dietl turned it into the film Schtonk!
The Right to a Counterstatement
A person or authority directly affected by a newspaper report in Germany can demand a Gegendarstellung, a counterstatement. The press laws of the German states contain this right. In Bavaria the paper must print it in the same part of the paper and in the same typeface, without additions or cuts, and free of charge. The counterstatement may contain only statements of fact, not opinions. For the right to apply, it does not matter whether the original report was true or false. The editors may add a short note that they stand by their report. Princess Caroline of Monaco was the first person to obtain a counterstatement on a front page.
Reprimands the Paper Prints Itself
The strongest sanction of the German Press Council, the Deutscher Presserat, is the public reprimand, the öffentliche Rüge. The press code says it is part of fair reporting to publish the reprimand, above all in the publication concerned. Readers must learn what the reprimanded article was about and which principle it broke. Publishers commit themselves to the code voluntarily. In 2025 the council issued 102 public reprimands, the first time it went above 100. It had issued 73 in 2023 and 86 in 2024.
The Press Code
German journalism has a written code of good practice, the Pressekodex of the German Press Council. It was handed to Federal President Gustav Heinemann on 12 December 1973. By tradition, every later change is also handed to the sitting Federal President. One of its most debated rules concerns whether to mention the ethnic or national group of a suspect. In 2016 several editors called for this guideline to be deleted. The Council did not delete it. On 22 March 2017 it rewrote guideline 12.1. It now says that membership of a group soll in der Regel nicht erwähnt werden, es sei denn, es besteht ein begründetes öffentliches Interesse, should as a rule not be mentioned unless there is a justified public interest.
The Special Report
When something unforeseen and of special urgency happens, and the ARD’s editors-in-chief see a need for fuller coverage, the ARD broadcasts a Brennpunkt, a focal point, after the main evening edition of the Tagesschau. The first Brennpunkt aired on 6 January 1971. From 1989, the title was also used for reports on crises and disasters that were arranged at short notice and without long advance announcement.
Haggling in a Department Store
In July 2014 the Berlin newspaper taz sent Kamal M. into a Karstadt department store to haggle. He was 44 and a well-known trader at Berlin flea markets. The paper explained why the experiment was worth reporting. Bargaining in a store is allowed, auch wenn es kaum einer weiß, even if hardly anyone knows it. Kamal M. failed with a suitcase that was already reduced from 189 to 99 euros. With shoes he got 10 percent, the most the salesman was allowed to give. With a set of Fissler pots he brought the price down from 299 to 224 euros, and a knife came with it. His advice was never to haggle in front of other customers. He also avoided the word Rabatt, discount, and spoke of a price reduction.
The Diaries Bought in Secret
In 1983 the magazine Stern presented what it said were the diaries of Adolf Hitler. The publisher’s management had bought 62 volumes for 9.34 million marks. Only a few members of the management and of the contemporary history desk knew about the purchase. On 25 April 1983, Stern held an international press conference. On 6 May 1983, news agencies reported that the diaries were forgeries. Experts of the Federal Criminal Police Office and of a federal materials testing institute had shown it beyond doubt. The German Wikipedia article names the editors’ greatest failure. The diaries vorschnell veröffentlicht wurden und man das BKA-Gutachten nicht abwartete. They were published too hastily, and the editors did not wait for the police report. In 1992 Helmut Dietl turned the affair into the satirical film Schtonk!.
The Summer Press Conference
Once a year, in summer, the chancellor answers journalists’ questions at the Bundespressekonferenz. In 2018 the Tagesspiegel wrote of Angela Merkel: Jedes Jahr ein Mal stellt sie sich den Fragen der Bundespressekonferenz. Once every year she faces the questions of the Bundespressekonferenz. It was at this summer press conference, on 31 August 2015, that Merkel said: Wir haben so vieles geschafft – wir schaffen das! We have managed so much. We will manage this. On 24 July 2024, Olaf Scholz answered questions for almost two hours. On 15 July 2026, Friedrich Merz held his second summer press conference.
Sunday at Noon
Every Sunday around noon, six journalists from different countries discussed politics with Werner Höfer in the Internationaler Frühschoppen, the international morning drink. The program began on radio in 1952 and moved to television in 1953. Until 1970 it started at 11:30. When it was moved to 12:00, viewers protested, above all women. The series reached 1,874 broadcasts. It ended suddenly in 1987. It had emerged that in 1943 Höfer had written approvingly of the execution of the pianist Karlrobert Kreiten, and he was forced out. Just one week later, an almost identical program, the Presseclub, started in the same slot.