Well, today was our last day in Berlin. Our media visit today was jam packed with interesting and stimulating material. We visited Axel Springer, a large publishing company based in Berlin with a very rich history. We had the chance to visit the journalism academy, the video department and also got to hear from the assistant editor-in-chief of a major brand of the company Die Welt, a well-known German newspaper with an unbelievably genius marketing strategy.
The way that people become journalists in this country, I learned, is a much different process than in the states. Here, it isn’t technically necessary that you have a college education to get into journalism school, although most do. Typically, aspiring journalists complete their undergrad, work for a few years and then apply to journalism programs. Axel Springer has one of the best and most competitive programs in the country and is partnered with Columbia University in New York. We had the opportunity to meet a few of the students currently studying at the academy, which was inspirational to say the least. These people are extremely bright and I hope I can have the same effect they had on me on another up and coming professional in the future.
The most memorable part of the day for me was hearing from Leeor Englander, assistant to the editor-in-chief of Die Welt. He is a bright young businessman who is visibly passionate about what he does and who he works for. From the marketing standpoint that I generally try to look at things from, Die Welt was somewhat of a powerhouse in my eyes. First of all, the content is created for the Internet/ digital and then adapted and put into a physical paper, somewhat opposite from most other newspapers. There is the regular, classical version of the newspaper as well as a condensed version targeted at a younger audience. Along with those, there is a Sunday paper with the same condensed counterpart and two regional newspapers as well (one for Berlin and one for Hamburg). What was amazing to me was how well this business model was thought out. Leeor was adamant about adapting to the most current media landscape and, more importantly, what people will buy and how to most effectively and efficiently market to those people.
Most of the visits so far have been more journalism focused, being that I am interested in marketing and PR this was a breath of fresh air to me. Leeor had many insights as to the future of newspapers and mentioned that one day print will be obsolete, however, that day is not today. Ever the opportunist, he mentioned that timing is essential and giving up on print too soon and scrapping that part of the operation would be a tremendous failing in terms of business because there is still enough interest in it to make it profitable. It was great to hear about such a well thought out marketing model and I was impressed with his knowledge of the company and business in general.
It’s time to say goodbye to Berlin now. I have learned so much from this city about media, history and even a little about myself. Now it’s off to Munich for some more and I can’t wait to keep exploring.
Until next time,
Michelle
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