One of the most important news magazines in Germany is produced and based in Hamburg: Der Spiegel. (meaning "The Mirror"). Just around downtown, sandwiched between Mönckenbergstrasse and the Speicherstadt.
A friend of my wife came to visit, and we went for a long walk around the Speicherstadt (more photos tomorrow) and finally I managed to take a good photo of the buildings that house Der Spiegel and other magazines that are produced by the same editorial house. In past days the sky was gray and/or it was raining, and finally the days now are sunnier and longer in Germany. Around 21:00 you can still see some light. In winter, around 17:00 is already dark.
Der Spiegel is published weekly and, according to wikipedia, is not only one of the most influential magazines in Germany but in Europe. It has a circulation of more than 1 million per week, and almost 6.5 million readers on average per week as well. As my German is very far from been good enough to read Der Spiegel, I cannot give you a first account whether the magazine is left-leaning or right-leaning.
However, according to wikipedia again, Der Spiegel has been considered sometimes right leaning or/and a harsh critic of any sort of Chancellor or government or party (SPD, CDU, Grün Partei, etc) in Germany. The magazine has a very good website which I believe is a good source of information for many Germans living abroad. My wife for example, used to read Der Spiegel a lot when we were in Spain. It also has videos that are produced 3 times a day, with the most recent news of Germany and the World.
Luckily, the Website also hosts an English version that opened recently, with news of Germany and the world as well. It can be a good source of information for the first-time comers to Germany, but once you are here, it is better to try to read the German version. From time to time, Der Spiegel produces special issues on specific topics, and sometimes this issues are in English as well. Which gives you a very good insight into German journalism.
There is also on TV a Der Spiegel channel, but I am not sure how it works.
Hamburg also hosts more big printed media German companies, such as Gruener und Jahr. They are behind magazines such as Stern, View, and they just recently bought the Financial Times Deutschland from the British original owner Pearson and producers of the London based newspaper.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
German Magazines: Der Spiegel
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2 comments:
Hi, I read your note in the FT. I admire your willingness to move so frequently and wish you well in Hamburg. I pass through it on my way to Liepaja as my flight from London requires a change of airports in Hamburg. Your photos have now inspired me to check out the city. It looks very interesting. Good luck with everything and like the other person who left a comment, I too am interested in where you are from. I guess it is Eastern Europe. Hang in there and remember the bigger picture when things are not going so well. Good luck!
Dear "Jude In London"
Thank you very much for your comments. It is nice to read that someone is interested on what I write and, thanks to the blog, is interested in visiting Hamburg.
As to where I am from, let's just say I am not European.
Best of luck in London, who knows, perhaps you will start a blog about your life as well.
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