Dear Readers,
The theme of this double issue could not be more urgent: elections. In 2024, a good half of the world’s population was called upon to vote. The European elections in the summer of 2024 led to a significant shift to the right. In the fall, the elections in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg and the National Council election in Austria resulted in similar political shifts. More recently, the presidential election in the United States brought up again heated discussions on issues of political populism and extremism, the elections and their conditions and consequences for (democratic) societies and journalism. Three articles in this double issue address these problems:
Looking at Austria, our co-editor Martina Thiele begins the election theme with an interview with Austrian journalist Nina Horaczek. She is the chief reporter of the Vienna-based news magazine Falter and talks about the role of news media in the Austrian election campaign discussing the possible consequences of the election result for media freedom in the country. Independent journalism, as she concludes in the interview, does not have it easy in a country that, as a small European state, struggles with a highly concentrated media market and its consequences.
Following this interview, and looking at the recent election campaigns in the United States and Germany, our co-editor Tanjev Schultz questions the sense (and nonsense) of televised (presidential) debates. On the basis of five propositions, he discusses the potential impact of this format, its role in personalized politics and the communication of truth and lies. The article emphasizes the importance of critical monitoring of such debates by well-informed journalism and academic institutions. It also encourages reflections on new televised formats for election campaigns.
Last but not least, German legal expert Jochen Zenthöfer addresses the issue of plagiarism in election campaigns. Zenthöfer not only builds on the last issue of our journal, in which Klaus Meier discussed plagiarism in journalism. Rather, he broadens the topic and asks about the role of plagiarism allegations in election campaigns. According to the author, such allegations have now become part of the political debate. His article therefore offers practical tips for day-to-day journalism on how to deal with the political tool of plagiarism allegations.
Subsequently, Sophie Wannenmacher and Timo Rieg examine the quality of German-language journalism from different perspectives: Sophie Wannenmacher asks how comprehensible German television news is; Timo Rieg discusses quality deficits in medical and health journalism using the example of German-language reporting on Covid-19 and the coronavirus pandemic. Both articles are interesting and well worth reading. Sophie Wannenmacher shows that the news program tagesschau is the least comprehensible television newscast in Germany on average and within the period she analyzed. Timo Rieg discusses the practical significance of various journalistic quality criteria, such as correctness, accuracy or completeness. He concludes that the deficits he identifies in reporting could be remedied without significant additional efforts. Both authors thus provide us with impulses for (self-)reflection on best journalistic practices and tips for better journalistic communication.
Further, do not miss out on our Book Journalism section containing recommendations of books written by journalists, as well as our book reviews. The latter include Peter Pistorius’ book Rudolf Breitscheid 1874-1944. Kampf um Wahrheit und Macht [Rudolf Breitscheid 1874-1944. The fight for truth and power] (2024), the edited volume Game-Journalismus. Grundlagen – Themen – Spannungsfelder [Game journalism. Basics – topics – areas of tension] (2024), edited by Benjamin Bigl and Sebastian Stoppe, and Das Moderationshandbuch. Alles, was Radio-Profis wissen müssen [The presenting manual. Everything radio professionals need to know] (2022), written by the radio presenter and radio expert Yvonne Malak.
As always, we welcome feedback on our articles, topic ideas and manuscripts. Please send them to: redaktion@journalistik.online.
Despite these politically challenging times, we hope you enjoy reading this issue.
Mandy Tröger