Edition 3-4/2025, Focus

Freedom of the press and right-wing extremism A dilemma? Theses on how journalists should deal with the AfD

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By Horst Pöttker | The freedom of the press is regarded as a necessary but insufficient framework for social communication and democratic problem-solving. It is the task of journalists to fill this framework with appropriate content. Right-wing extremism is understood as the disregard of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, favoring instead ethnic unity and nationalist aggression. Journalists cannot effectively counter the threatening rise of right-wing extremism by ignoring it or expressing outrage. And treating the AfD like any other party leads to a problematic normalization of right-wing extremist statements and intentions. In contrast, a strategy of objective, fearless, concrete, and, at the same time, sober reporting on intentions and plans that violate fundamental rights, as well as their foreseeable consequences in the event that organizations such as the AfD come to power, can contribute to curbing right-wing extremism. In order to implement such a strategy, the repression of the Nazi past, populist tendencies in journalism, and the journalistic focus on political institutions must be overcome.

Edition 3-4/2025, Focus

Media freedom in the shadow of right-wing extremism Challenges for Romanian journalists

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By Iulia Bârză and Veronica Câmpian | This study examines the relationship between the far right and the media in Romania and highlights the associated tensions that influence journalistic work. The Romanian media system, which historically has been characterized by authoritarian control followed by rapid commercialization, is now facing considerable political pressure, fragile editorial independence, and limited economic stability. The article is based on comparative media system research, e.g. the typology of Hallin and Mancini (2004). To illustrate the current situation, two experienced journalists were interviewed. The journalists emphasize that far-right actors undermine press freedom not through open censorship, but rather through delegitimization, manipulation, and disinformation. The interviewees report hostile relationships characterized by intimidation, verbal aggression, and the exclusion of critical media. At the same time, social networks, the main channels for spreading extremist narratives, are weakening traditional journalism. Nevertheless, there are also signs of resilience: journalists are responding with mutual solidarity, thorough fact-checking, and a renewed commitment to fundamental democratic values. The study concludes that, while the far right creates a climate of intimidation, it also triggers collective resistance from journalists. In order to preserve the press as a democratic safeguard, stricter digital regulations, greater transparency, and the promotion of independent media are essential.

Edition 3-4/2025, Focus

Journalism in the U.S. in times of crisis Interview with Jelani Cobb, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School

By Stine Eckert | On January 20, 2025 Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as U.S. president, accelerating his aggressive attacks on journalists and universities, including those with journalism degrees, such as Columbia University. On March 10, Jelani Cobb, the Dean of the Columbia Journalism School and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism, gave the 2025 Reuters Memorial Lecture, entitled »Trust issues. Credibility, credulity and journalism in a time of crisis« discussing that journalism has not yet found its footing to report on the Trump administration. In an interview with Wayne State University’s journalism scholar Stine Eckert on September 15, Jelani Cobb expounded on the thoughts he shared in the lecture and spoke about how U.S. news media handled the reporting on the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and how to cover government in repressive times.

Edition 3-4/2025, Paper

The flâneur and his ›cannibal interviews‹ On the death of Georg Stefan Troller

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By Siegfried Weischenberg | He discovered that he was ›born‹ to be a journalist only late in life, after an adventurous youth which had been forced upon the Viennese Jew by the vicissitudes of time. He became a ›media legend‹ primarily through his portraits of people he discovered on the streets of Paris. Georg Stefan Troller, who developed his own style of radio and later television interviewing, died there at the age of 103.

Edition 3-4/2025

Must read: Books by journalists

Von Martina Thiele and Boris Romahn | The idea of presenting books by journalists to an interested specialist audience originated at the Vienna Institute for Journalism and Communication Studies. In 2002, Hannes Haas and Wolfgang R. Langenbucher put the idea into practice and published short reviews in the journal message, and later in the magazine Der österreichische Journalist. After Hannes Haas’ death in 2014, Fritz Hausjell took over. Since 2020, Journalism Research has been the place where books by journalists that are worth reading are discussed. Now, five years later, it is time for another change.

Edition 2/2025, Paper

Cooperation despite competition Working processes and potentials for conflict in an investigative research network

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By Jessica Kunert, Luka Simon and Volker Lilienthal | The journalistic cooperation in the investigative research network of the German public broadcasters NDR and WDR and the national daily Süddeutsche Zeitung has not yet been scientifically examined with regard to internal working processes (workflows and standards) and possible problems and conflicts (journalistic research, objectives and financing). In this article, we analyze the form of cooperation of the research network on the basis of its structures and degree of organization. We interviewed nine journalists in the network, using qualitative, guided interviews. The results of the internal working processes show that research teams within the network come together to work on specific topics and benefit from each other’s qualifications and approaches. In-depth discussions and firm agreements are essential. Problems and conflicts arise mainly from the different levels of human and financial resources required by the newsrooms, as well as from the high organizational effort involved. It is clear that the journalists value the network above all for the variety of topics and the high quality and quantity of the research results. As a form of cooperation, the investigative research network we examined is a success that is supported by a large number of implicit rules. In addition to the internal structures, the accusation of distortion of competition – raised due to the cooperation between two public and one private media – needs to be discussed.