What is the media system in Germany?

In Germany, the media system is divided into two. On the one hand, there are private media, such as CBNC, BBC, Fox News, etc. in the US. On the other hand, there are so-called public broadcasters. It is important to note that these are nevertheless independent of the state and should not be seen as an instrument of government.

The press is free, protected by the constitution, and has a control function vis-à-vis the state, and society – but also itself.

The importance of journalists and editorial offices is so great that many refer to them as the “fourth estate” in a democratic society alongside the government, parliament, and the judiciary.^[1]

The high status of the media is based on normative concepts that give the media the task of forming opinions and creating a democratic public sphere. It is therefore about the public mandate that the media have to offer every citizen of the country the opportunity to form their own opinion on public and political events, i.e. to always report on them neutrally. This can only be done by independent media that are neither dependent on the state nor on companies, but rather in line with the idea of “by the people for the people”.

There are historical reasons for this, which will be explained in more detail later in the chapter.^[2]

Private vs. public press

There are numerous media offerings in Germany as well as in the US: Newspapers, radio, television, apps, social media, streaming services, podcasts, etc. The difference, as described above, is that these are offered by two types of media organizations: private and public.

These differ not only in the way they are financed but are also subject to different regulations.

Below is a brief outline of the main differences between the two:

1. Private media

These finance their programs exclusively through advertising. TV stations are allowed to broadcast twelve minutes of advertising per hour, while radio stations are not subject to any restrictions. Almost all of them have their own apps, podcasts and social media accounts in addition to their traditional radio and TV offerings, where they broadcast their content in order to reach the largest possible target group. Here, too, the main source of funding is advertising.

However, there are also other sources of funding such as subscriptions. This is mainly offered by newspapers. There are usually different subscription models for the newspaper and also for the online offerings, as many articles are behind a paywall. In this case, consumers also pay the newspapers directly, although this share is not sufficient, which is why advertising remains the main source of income for private media. Even if there are certain legal regulations, a private broadcaster or newspaper is therefore mainly dependent on companies that buy advertising placements in these media. There is often a strict demarcation between editorial and advertising content, but this boundary is blurred time and again.

For example, it may be that a newspaper also writes a small editorial section within the advertising space, but this is precisely tailored to the topic of the customer’s advertisement, so that when leafing through it, it is not obvious at first glance what exactly is editorial and what is advertising. Of course, this is a gray area, but some media find ways to get around it. It is all in the interests of customer acquisition, as advertising customers are the source of funding.

It is therefore clear that there is always a certain dependency on companies.

2. Public Media

They are essentially financed by a contribution that all households in Germany have to pay. There is also a small amount of advertising revenue, but this is subject to strict restrictions. TV stations are only allowed to broadcast advertising for 20 minutes a day. After 8 p.m. and on Sundays and public holidays, they are not allowed to broadcast any advertising at all. In return, the broadcasters provide a basic service – in addition to news programs and documentaries, this also includes sports broadcasts, quiz shows, films and series.

As with private media, there is also a wide range of offerings here, as the stations not only offer television, but also radio, apps, podcasts and numerous social media accounts. On Instagram, YouTube and Tiktok in particular, there are many information offerings that are tailored exclusively to the young generation in order to bring them closer to serious journalism, well-researched topics and daily news.^[3]

The requirement to remain independent of the state rules out financing via tax revenue. Therefore, public broadcasting is financed by a contribution payment per household in Germany – regardless of the number of devices (note: even if you do not own a device that receives public broadcasting in any form (including cell phones), every household is obliged to make this payment). This contribution currently amounts to €18.36 per month for each household, which is equivalent to around $19.64.

There are various payment models (quarterly, half-yearly, and year-round), and students who receive “BaföG” (financial support from the government for their studies, which around 500,000 people currently claim) can be exempt from this.^[4]

In summary, it can be said that the aim of the German media system is to establish a basic public information supply that is both non-state and non-market, which was created with public service broadcasting.^[5]

History of the media in Germany – Development of today’s media system

In Germany, this is primarily due to the country’s problematic history. Between 1933 and 1945, the media were instrumentalized by the Nazis and used as a means of propaganda. For this reason, great importance was attached to ensuring that this could never happen again in the Federal Republic.^[6]

After a model with exclusively public media was initially introduced in 1945 by the Western Allies where the British concept of fee-financed broadcasting was a role model. It was to be independent of the state but not privately organized. Through free and independent reporting, the media was for the development of a democratic public in Germany. Over time and after the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949, this system developed into a dual media system with private and public broadcasters.^{[7] [8] [9]}

This coexistence of the two media and thus the foundation stone for today’s dual broadcasting system in Germany was laid down in 1987 by the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty. This was also intended to guarantee the independence of the media from the state, a goal that had already been set after 1945. However, at the beginning of the Federal Republic of Germany, public broadcasting was still frequently criticized and instrumentalized by politicians – albeit not in such a radical form of propaganda as under the Nazis. Nevertheless, in 1987, the importance of independent and public broadcasting was finally to be ensured, which was the case with the State Treaty.^[10]

Independence from the state leads to the concept of media governance, which is applied in many democracies. This reduces the role of the state as a regulatory function and hands it over to the media, which, in line with the capitalist market order (even if Germany has a social market economy, which is not the same as a capitalist market economy), has a position of control and supervision through the distribution mechanism itself.^[11]

German history up to 1945 has once again shown why independent and neutral media are so important for a democracy, which is why this was enshrined in the constitution. The fact that there are so many different news media in Germany is also due to the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of opinion and freedom of the press in the Federal Republic. Article 5 of the “Grundgesetz” (Basic law), the German constitution and the fundamental law, states: “Everyone has the right to freely express and disseminate his opinion in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself unhindered from generally accessible sources. (…) There shall be no censorship.” ^{[12] [13]}

Controlling mechanisms

Despite the dual system, there needs to be a body that checks whether the reporting of German media – whether private or public – is truly independent and not influenced by the state or the market. This is what the German Press Code and the Press and Broadcasting Council are for.^[14]

1. Press code

The Press Code are rules that journalists have set themselves for their work. Among other things, they undertake

• • not to accept any benefits that jeopardize their independence
  • to balance privacy and the protection of a person’s honor against the public’s right to information when reporting
  • not to be guided by sensationalism and not to discriminate against or offend anyone
  • to carefully check the source and content of a news item before publishing it
  • if they cannot prove something or are only reporting rumors, to clearly indicate this in the article
  • not to mix reporting with advertising. Advertising content must always be clearly identified and separated from journalistic content
  • if they have misrepresented a person or a fact, to publish a counterstatement in the same position
  • that they can be held legally responsible for their publications if they make false factual claims through gross negligence or even malicious intent^[15]

2. Press and Broadcasting Council

The Press Council and the Broadcasting Council monitor compliance with these principles.The Broadcasting Council monitors the public service media and checks whether they are fulfilling their statutory broadcasting mandate – i.e. whether their programming contributes to information, education, advice, culture and entertainment and to ensuring diversity of opinion in Germany. The Broadcasting Council should represent a cross-section of the population: Social organizations such as trade unions, churches and political parties provide members.The Press Council, in turn, is responsible for all media in Germany – including private media. All citizens can lodge a complaint here if they believe a publication has violated the press code. The committee then examines the complaint. In the event of violations, it sends the editorial staff concerned a notice or a letter of disapproval or issues a public reprimand, which the reprimanded editorial staff should publish.

Criticism and why public media are still important.

Of course, there is also a lot of criticism of this model. The model is particularly under discussion in times of crisis. This comes from both politicians and the general public. Frequent accusations refer to the public broadcasters as a “lying press” or a “state press,” and various sides accuse the media of alleged party-political influence. Another point is the device-independent contribution and the amount of the contribution. People who don’t have a TV or radio argue that they are paying for something they don’t even use.^[16]

In order to consider these accusations, we need to look at the general attitude of the population towards the media. The last decade has been characterized by global crises: the Covid pandemic, wars, and economic crises have dominated the last few years. Many studies have shown that trust in the media generally declines in such situations. This can also be observed in Germany and relates to both private and public media. This opens up a whole new topic, which will not be discussed further here, but it is important to be aware of this aspect in this context.

So as to refute the criticism, however, one must first and foremost remember the media’s mandate in the constitution. The goal is not the production of media products as an end in itself, but the actual social goal is the public opinion-forming of citizens for participation in the democratic community.^[17]

The purpose is therefore to contribute to the formation of public opinion, which in turn is crucial for a free and functioning democracy.

There is no doubt that private media also provide information and entertainment at a high level. They undoubtedly contribute to the diversity of opinion. However, they are primarily beholden to their shareholders, not to society. If there are fewer customers, the private media will have to deliver what the market demands – and not what would be conducive to democracy and opinion-forming.^[18]

What must also be taken into account is that individual interests are often the focus of criticism. Here are a few examples:

• Parties want to be elected – where critical reporting on their election program is counterproductive, for example, which is why people then like to use this media product and portray it as a “lying press” or that it would be used by another party for their own purposes.
• Private individuals think of their own money (understandably) and only see the high amount they have to pay each month and may as well use private channels instead of public ones, yet still pay the fee.
• Private media may see the public broadcasters as competition and want to generate the highest possible viewing figures for themselves and win over consumers.^[19]

Nowhere is an argument made from an overall social perspective. There are certainly some points that need to be improved. For example, the type and amount of contributions should be urgently reconsidered. The control function regarding neutrality and independence could also be tightened, for example, through stricter rules and penalties (whereby it would always have to be ensured that the relevant control body assesses from a completely neutral perspective), and certainly, other points of criticism also need to be addressed.

The general existence of public service media is enshrined in the constitution for good reason, namely to safeguard and strengthen democracy and a political and informed public that has the opportunity to obtain information from the diverse range of media on offer at all times. An informed society that can form its own opinion on all relevant topics prevents populism and propaganda, which clashes with the ideas of a free democracy.^{[20] [21]}