Visit at "Die Welt" Newspaper
May 22, 2007
by Kristin Jarovsky
Today we went to "Die Welt," one of Germany's top newspapers published by the Axel Springer Group. The difference from our Journal-Star was evident when, while taking pictures outside of the Axel Springer building, we were stopped by a security guard and told we were not allowed to take pictures of exteriors or interiors of the building. Security reasons.
Just getting into the building was time consuming. First, we all had to show our passports and wait for the woman at the front desk to type in our complete information before issuing us visitors' passes. Then we had to have our purses and bags scanned while we walked through metal detectors.
Once inside, we were greeted by Marcus Heithecker, managing editor, who told us why the security was so high. Heithecker said "Die Welt" considers itself to be a "liberal conservative" newspaper that is known for its support of the United States and openly voices its support of the war in Iraq. Because of this and other reasons, Heithecker said many people from the "left" are outraged. This very morning, Heithecker said one of the editors'cars was set on fire in Hamburg.
We were then given a tour of the Axel Springer building, which was built in former West Berlin right in front of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of freedom. Mr. Heithecker gave us a little background on the paper and we were able to ask as many questions as we wanted/needed to. The newsroom at "Die Welt" was set up to keep everyone together and work on assignments for three of the papers published by Axel Springer Verlag, as well as two Web sites and one mobile publication. This German version of convergence also includes a small television "studio" where news can be reported directly from the newsroom.
"Die Welt" is a broadsheet with a circulation of 300,000 and an audience of 55 years and older. In order to appeal to younger readers, a different version of the newspaper is now available. "Die Welt Kompakt" has a much more compact format, shorter stories and is generally more user-friendly.
After our tour, we tried an Italian restaurant, 12 Apostel, where we all were able to sample some food from the area. It is obvious so far that none of us are afraid to try just about anything. Later that evening we had dinner at a restaurant located in former East Berlin. We ordered form a menu that was only written in German. This brought on some interesting combinations, including Kristin's, which was cold, raw meat, called "Tartar." It turned out to be delicious! Our German speaking is coming along nicely, also.
