Thirty years since the peaceful revolution in Germany: A history that should unite, not divide us

The revolution and press and media freedom

The fall of the Berlin Wall thirty years ago was an important event, not only for the German political landscape but also for the development of press and media freedom in the country. And one might even say, across Europe.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is headquartered in Leipzig, the place where everything began thirty years ago. Hence, we participated on 9. October, in the Festival of Lights (Lichtfest), and the Festakt celebrations to commemorate the peaceful revolution.

Lichtfest Leipzig, 9 October 2019. Photo: ECPMF / Tim Wagner.

In 1989, Leipzig’s citizens played a major role in re-uniting Germany. Tens of thousands of people went onto the streets, demanding “press freedom”, “no violence” and “a free country with free people”. A free country and free people can only exist if its press is free.

This is what ECPMF stands for
From Leipzig we advocate for press and media freedom in Germany and Europe. The rise of political extremism continues to threaten the free press. An ECPMF study on the “Concept of the Enemy,” (FeindBild), showed that almost all attacks against journalists in Germany in 2018 took place during right-wing demonstrations. It is a crime to attack journalists, efforts must be made to ensure that these assaults are punished and we stand in solidarity with those who face them. This was recognised by the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig when it awarded this year’s Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media to the German investigative journalist Arndt Ginzel, his photographer Gerald Gerber and Austrian TV presenter, Armin Wolf. All the prizewinners have faced threats and intimidation from right-wing protesters or politicians in the past year.

Awardees for the Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media: Gerald Gerber, Arndt Ginzel, and Armin Wolf. Photo: Media Foundation / Volkmar Heinz.

Threats to a free press
Threats to the free press also come from Germany’s new draft laws against terrorism. The governing coalition is about to pass a law that would enable authorities to search journalists’ and newsrooms’ online files. This would be a severe breach of the editorial confidentiality which protects journalists and their sources in Germany. To make matters worse, the governing CDU party has rejected a draft law proposed by its coalition partner SPD, which would have allowed journalists a better insight into government documents and therefore strengthened transparency.

In addition to that, the financial situation of newspapers in the German market is precarious. Each year, there are fewer local and regional newspapers. This has an impact on the general concept of democracy, as it means people in mostly rural areas cannot receive information from diverse sources. This phenomenon can be observed all over Europe.

Lichtfest Leipzig, 9 October 2019. Photo: ECPMF / Tim Wagner

Innovative initiatives
ECPMF is playing its part with a new Helpdesk which offers and co-ordinates support for journalists exiled in Germany. It does so by providing legal advice, referrals to mental health specialists, professional training, and security precautions for media workers. It also offers scholarships for internships in media houses in Germany.

An innovative initiative has also been invented in Leipzig. A start-up called The Buzzard aims to provide a platform for opinion sharing. Using an app, The Buzzard will bring together the different political perspectives on current developments. Readers should be motivated to critically re-think current developments and break out of their bubbles. To jumpstart it, there’s a crowdfunding campaign, to get the Buzzard up and running. Let’s give them a push on 5 November 2019, when the crowdfunding opens.

Cheers,

Renata

DEUTSCHE VERSION

NEWS FROM OUR NETWORK

Italy: Police protection for two Sicilian reporters after threats from Libyan coastguard. Read more...
Netherlands: Court detains Dutch journalist for refusing to reveal source. Read more...
Italy / Croatia: Journalists in Croatia and Italy feel the chilling effect of unjust lawsuits. Read more...
Worldwide: UNESCO is calling for candidates for next year's World Press Freedom Award. Read more...

SAVE the Dates:
FoME Symposium - Rethinking Media Development. Bonn, 7.-8- November 2019. Register here.
Expert Talk on Anti-SLAPP solutions. Brussels, 12. November 2019. Register here.
NEWSOCRACY - Protect public service media against political interference. Budapest, 12. December 2019. Register here.

If you spot a press freedom violation, please sound the alarm!

Subscribe to our Newsletter

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is a non-profit European Co-operative Society, based in Leipzig, Germany. The ECPMF was founded in 2015 to promote the European Charter on Freedom of the Press throughout Europe. The ECPMF helps to shape a common European media space. It preserves, defends, protects and expands press and media freedom by monitoring violations of free media in Europe, advocating on media freedom issues, initiating a diverse range of activities and providing practical support to journalists at risk.

The ECPMF is supported by: European Commission, Media Foundation of Sparkasse Leipzig, Free State of Saxony, the City of Leipzig and diverse project funding.

Imprint
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom SCE ltd

Menckestraße 27
04155 Leipzig, Germany

Phone: +49 341 200 403 13
E-Mail: info@ecpmf.eu

Cooperative register of the District Court Leipzig: GnR 534

Executive Board:
Henrik Kaufholz (Chair),
Stephan Seeger,
Ljiljana Smajlović,
Mogens Blicher Bjerregårds,
Galina Arapova

Chair of Supervisory Board:
Lucie Sýkorová

Managing Director:
Dr Lutz Kinkel

www.ecpmf.eu