Evening star., 1922-04-30
PRESS IN GERMANY
RULEDBY POLITICS
Lacks Prestige Held in Other
Countries-Has Little Room
for News.
BY GEORGE wIrrE.

reason Is that 30 per cent of the Ger
man newspapers are not dissemina-
tors Of news. but the mouthpieces of
political parties or are subsidized by
Industrial groups. Party politics SO
dominates the columns Of the press
that little space is left for the publi-
cation of legitimate news.
Berlin newspapers are provincial
and are outranked by the dailies in
the Industrial centers. There are half
dozen publications outside of Berlin
that are newsier and better than the
capitals three leading dailies. There
are. for instance. the Fra rkfort Ga
zette and the Cologne Gazette. both
FAR more up to date and better in
formed than the Berlin, newspapers.
They are controlled by big financial
interests. and have wide national
circulation. chiefly on account of their
close relationship to the powers be-
hind the scenes. =
Hugo SHINES attempt to make a
big new spaper out of the Berlin
North Ger'n;. Gazet . las tailed M.
far. as its old reputation as an in
spired government organ still clings
to it. Although it has often been
suggested to Herr SHINES that he
change it's name, he has refused to do
SO. because, some say. he likes the
se}nl-OIHc1al nalO.
Style Bewilders Americans.
The average German newspaper is
oewtldering to the American when he
takes 1t up for the first time. In-'
stead of finding explanatory head
lines over the news items or articles.
ne sees columns of matter under a
one line heading that means nothing
to him, and perhaps is adorned with
question mark or two or three ex-
items of local interest run under the
headline. "Today's Local News" Tele-
graph and cable news Is printed un-
der separate headlines. and. when
important, is served with a long edi-
torial. so that by the time the reader
has gone through both the news and
the editors comments he has the facts
and the comments all mixed up. The
result is that it is almost impossible
to discuss important international af-
fairs with the average German, who
swears by everything he has read in
the newspaper representing his par
ttcular party.
The majority of the German news
papers also have the failing of TAX
ing themselves and life in general
too seriously. They cannot see the
humorous side of things. and the av-
that they are written by professors
for professors, while the man in the
street apparently Is not considered
at all.
Since the war many new papers
have been started as the organs of
the newly formed parties and two or
three, principally nationalist dailies,
have passed out.
List Of New Journals.
Among the new publications the
communist Rote Fahne Cred Flag),
the independent socialist Freiheit
liberty, and the moderate Zeit
(Times) are noteworthy. The Rote
Fahne is remarkably well-informed
on matters pertaining to political and
economic conditions not only in Ger
many and Russia. but in America and
other parts of the world not generally
covered by German news services. 1t
Is said that this journal has the
soviet Russian intelligence and prop
aganda services at its disposal.
The Freiheit IS extremely fronco-
phiIe and Its enemies accuse 1t of be-
ing subsidized by the French govern
ment. The Zeit Is controlled by the
ambitious Herr Stresemanq. the leader
of the peoples party. who for a long
time has had his eye on the chan
cellor's post. The managing editor,
Heinrich Rippler, for almost thirty
years edited the nationalist Taeg-
signed In 1921 when It became too re-
dictionary.
Strange to say, two Of the three
leading newspapers In Berlin, the
Tageblatt and the Vossische Zeitung,
are controlled by the politically weak
pa1sa papers and pihi their cd editors. % Theodor
Wolr and George Bernhard. control
the democratic party, with the Frank
fort Gazette in the background.
Wolff and Bernhard are considered
the most brilliant NEWSPAPER men IN
a~lf TInNy hov a n
and considerable influence in govern
ment circles. Bernhard has ma
tional reputation as an expert on
financial questions.
The other big. Berlin daily. the
Lokal Anzeiger. before the war was
perhaps Is still, but 1t is extremely
reactionary and unfriendly toward
the government and bitter against
America and the allies.
Largest Circulation In Germany.
The Vorwaerts, which once repre-
sented labor in general as well as
the social democratic party. has lost
turns now to the Morgenpost, which
has no backbone. no political con-
yiction and no news. Still it has
circulation of 425,ooo copies. the
largest in Germany.
The Berliner Zeitung am Mittag
tween the highly respectable. we'll
informed Vossiche Zeitung and the
yellow Morgenpost. which are pub
lished by the same (Ullstetn) con-
Germ. 1t prints many sensational ru-
mors, and is bought chiefly on ac-
count of it's stock exchange reports
and its want ads"
The leading nationaHstic paper is
the Deutsche Tages-Zeitung, a really
big and well edited paper. with a
large volumne of advertising matter
and a wide circulation among the re-
dictionaries in Berlin, as well as the
junkers in the country. This paper
is the principal advertising medium
it Is extremely prosperous. Three
other monarchistic papers, the
Deutsche zeitung, the Kreuzzeituns
and the Taeglische Rundschau, are
very chauvinistic and print vicious
and sometimes vile attacks upon the
English. French, Americans and
others who were at war with Ger
many. The Kreuxzeitung still prints
as its symbol the iron cross with the
motto, with God for King and Faith
erland," while the other papers still
think, or try to make their readers
think, that the war is still on and
they must pray to God to "strafe"
England and France.
A fifth reactionary organ is Der
Tag, whose readers are waiting for
the day when Germany shall have her
revenge. Der Tag Is just another edi-
difference that the latter prints a lot
of news, while the editors of Der Tag
throw out legitimate news to make
rnom f0r their daily attacks on. the