2. German-Russian Media Dialog

The German media’s view of Russia and the Russian media’s view of Germany are not at their best. Despite common interests and ever closer levels of cooperation, both countries’ reporting places a strong emphasis on conflicts and crises. This was especially noticeable during the conflict in the Caucasus in the summer of 2008, when the media repeatedly employed stereotypical pictures and confirmed one-sided opinions. To counter this trend, the Robert Bosch Stiftung together with the Deutsches Digital Institut has invited leading German and Russian journalists on a regular basis to share their views about current political and economic events. The talks aim to interest journalists in the other country and to give them the opportunity to discuss in an open and critical manner the role the media plays in German-Russian as well as European-Russian relations.

The first talk took place in 2008 in Moscow. For the second talk, from 15 to 27 January 2009, twenty Russian and German journalists were invited to share their thoughts in Berlin under the auspices of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Deutsches Digital Institut. This time around, representatives from print, TV, radio and the web – working for Spiegel, FAZ, RTL, n-tv, RTR-TV, Kommersant Daily and Novaya Gazeta – debated the current economic crisis, its geopolitical significance and how it is impacting the role of the media. If last time the talk concentrated on the journalists’ often partial perception of the other’s media, this time they looked for commonalities in their reporting but also identified the differences within Germany and Russia and also between the two countries.

The conference opened and closed with speeches by Professor Horst Teltschik, who chaired the Munich Security Conference until 2008, and by Ruprecht Polenz, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag.  The Russian journalists also had the opportunity to visit the online section of Axel Springer Verlag.