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.
journalism
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.
Respectless Reporting
On 19 October 2018, the leaders of Bayern Munich held a press conference against the media’s criticism of their team. The chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, cited the first article of the Basic Law, that human dignity is inviolable. Wir werden uns diese herabwürdigende, hämische Berichterstattung nicht mehr bieten lassen. We will no longer put up with this degrading, gloating reporting. The president, Uli Hoeneß, said: Wir werden keine respektlose Berichterstattung weiterhin akzeptieren. We will not accept respectless reporting any longer. The public answered with mockery. The trade magazine Horizont headlined Mia san Mimimi, a play on the club motto Mia san mia.
Under One, Under Two, Under Three
Journalists in Berlin know three numbers. The statute of the Bundespressekonferenz, the association of the journalists who report on federal politics, sets three levels for anything said to its members. Unter eins, under one, means the information may be used freely and the speaker may be named. Unter zwei, under two, means the information may be used, but the source may not be named. Unter drei, under three, means the information is confidential and may not be reported publicly. The speaker chooses the level. If the speaker says nothing, the information is free to use. A member who breaks the rule can be expelled from the association. In 2019 the Federal Administrative Court held that confidential background talks are lawful in principle.
Background Circles
In Berlin, journalists form closed groups called Hintergrundkreise, background circles. A circle invites a politician to talk, and the rule is confidentiality. In 2025 the Stuttgarter Zeitung described them as exclusive clubs that arrange meetings with politicians, which may be reported only in exceptional cases. One of its correspondents could join the circle called Gelbe Karte only after an examining interview with senior members of the profession. In the Kohl years, fifteen correspondents met every Monday for lunch in the rooms of a rowing club on the Rhine with Eduard Ackermann, one of Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s closest confidants. Membership in that circle came only by recommendation.