By Burak Sayin
Photos by Alison Klein and Thana Faroq
“We want freedom of speech to be a universal right.”
This is the core message of Peter Limbourg, Director General of Deutsche Welle at this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. The central topics the forum wants to get across are digitalisation, global reporting, international crises and the way media cover them.
“Since 2013, the global indicator of media freedom has fallen by 14%, and this global trend doesn’t stop within European borders,” says Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe. An example is political satirist Jan Böhmermann, sued in Germany by Turkish President Erdogan for reading an allegedly insulting poem about the president on his show.
However, Turkey is not the only example of media freedom violations. “Even here in Germany, the enemies of press freedom are at work,” says Limbourg. Among them, there are right-wing populists, who promote intolerance and racism through the media.
“In the heart of the EU, press freedom cannot be taken for granted,” Limbourg continues. “The end of the freedom of expression is also the beginning of the end of democracy. There are simply no more excuses when this point is reached.”
Among the biggest problems media face today is the increasing pressure on journalists, and the continuing struggle for liberty and freedom. With journalists facing new challenges each day, they have to adapt to the expectations of the digital age while remaining independent and balanced in their coverage. The other issue the journalists face is the new wave of fake news and propaganda, which surfaces the media today.
“There is a growing distrust in the public toward the established standards of the traditional media.The question is how can media reestablish trust with the public?” says Vice-President of European Parliament, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. He says media propaganda is a big issue and it cannot be addressed with counter-propaganda.
“Media diversity is also declining due to economic constraints, and all of us are called upon to confront this problem,” says Franz-Josef Lersch-Mense, Minister for Federal Affairs, Europe and the Media in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
