Former head of ZDF Bonn Dr. Wolfgang Herles make the remarks during a radio event (from minute 27) in Berlin where journalists discussed the media landscape. Moving on to the freedom of the press, the panel chair asked Dr. Herles whether things in Germany had got “seriously out of whack”. With an honesty perhaps unusual in Germany, Dr. Herles replied that ordinary Germans were totally losing faith in the media, something he called a “scandal”. He said:
“…the topics about which are reported are laid down by the government.
“There are many topics that would be more important than what the government wants. But they, of course, want to deflect attention away from what doesn’t happen. Yet what doesn’t happen is often more important than what does happen – more important than gesture politics”.
While these orders are sent to media companies from unspecified places in the government, they are communicated to individual journalists by news executives using a new-speak jargon. Dr. Herles explains that while “there are, in fact, instructions from above”, when the editor in chief of ZDF communicated these instructions to his juniors he would merely say reporting should be framed in a way that “serves Europe and the public good”.
There would be no need to add in brackets that this actually means it should be reported “to Ms. Merkel’s liking”, as they would be understood as the true meaning.
And that’s different from the American press because……
Jounalists doing the gov’ts bididng blaming the gov’t for not being good journalists.
They both have freedom of the press-Free as long as the government approves!
Dr. Joseph Goebbels approves …
In America you have to have a “permit” to exercise a right but in Germany, apparently, “rights” are distributed by the Feds.
Sanders and Clinton and Bush want to emulate Europe.
Not just “NO” but “HELL NO!”
Propaganda by omission or suppression of information is just as common in this country. The press has taken it to the extreme under BHO.
If they reported honestly, instead of covering everything up, BHO and half of congress would be in prison.
Time for Merkel to retreat to the bunker and do the right thing.
Thanks to the EU, Germany took over Europe without firing a shot.
Now it exacting punishment for what was done to them in WW1 and WW2.
Merkel won’t be considered a fool if she manages to pull this off, and if she can keep everyone in line, she will.
In Germany the government controls the journalists.
In America the journalist by freewill volunteer to suppress news stories the government doesn’t want the public at large to know is a growing problem.
From the wonderful people who gave you the Third Reich.