Advertising and the presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Printing Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Printing presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

by Alexa Blanchard

In the world of advertising, he who generates the most profit is king. But for Süddeutsche Zeitung, a quality national newspaper located in southern Germany, innovation is the key to success.

Generating revenue through ad space is extremely important for a print newspaper, as the only other source for money-making relies on subscriptions. But with the universal decline in print, how do papers like Süddeutsche Zeitung keep their advertisers buying space? How do they keep their readers coming back for more?

Michael  Stengl, the product manager of advertisements, was eager to showcase Süddeutsche Zeitung’s unique advertising methods to Point Park University’s International Media class. The group of Pittsburgh students was comprised of communications majors of all varieties, including advertising and journalism majors. For most, this exclusive inside look at the functionality of a newspaper and their advertisements is especially relevant.

BMW, or Bavarian Motor Works, purchases a lot of ad space from Süddeutsche Zeitung. Stengl demonstrated some of the work that has put together to show of BMW’s luxury vehicles.

“We wondered, ‘how can we reach our audience with bigger, poster-sized images?’” Stengl inquired, citing the effectiveness of large billboard images that are exposed to the public.

He ended his rhetorical question by turning a page in his demonstration newspaper and revealing a true poster-sized image of a new BMW model, an ad that spanned across two newspaper pages. It was truly larger than life, compared to the commonplace ads that typically take up one quarter of a page to one half to a full page at most. Two entire pages for one ad are brilliant and unheard of in most U.S. newspapers except for the largest, such as The New York Times.

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung. (Helen Fallon photograph)

Alexa Blanchard and Johnie Freiwald check out a special advertisement in the pages of Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
(photo by Helen Fallon)

Stengl passed around several other innovative advertising techniques that Süddeutsche Zeitung has employed, including a scented ad and a multi-sensory ad.

“We published this [multi-sensory] ad for BMW and our competitors called us and said ‘What have you done? This is brililiant,’” Stengl added.

The multi-sensory ad in question details driving a BMW from a chauffer’s perspective. The open road ahead is glossed with UV detailing, and the dashboard of the car actually feels like how a real dashboard would. Readers can touch the steering wheel and feel the texture of leather underneath their fingers, and the sleeves of the chauffer are outlined with cloth. This ad is multi-sensory because readers use not only their eyes, but also their sense of touch. Perhaps they even have a smell.

It encourages the reader to stop and take a moment to interact with an advertisement, something that had never been done before. More than anything, it makes the reader remember. Many will never forget that this two-page spread with a tangible leather steering wheel was an ad for BMW, and that they saw it – felt it – in Süddeutsche Zeitung. This is the kind of interactivity, innovation and notoriety that the paper is going for, Stengl said.

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung

Presses at Süddeutsche Zeitung
(photo by Alexa Blanchard)

Still reeling from the never-before-seen advertising, the Point Park students were then treated to yet another inside look across the street at Süddeutsche Zeitung’s printing presses. The printing process, which begins at 6 o’clock each evening, is a mammoth undertaking with an innumerable amount of moving parts, employees and equipment working around the clock to get the job right and ready for delivery.

The presses, spanning multiples floors and reaching far and wide, print the broadsheet newspaper at breakneck speed and push their respective paper sections onto conveyor belts where they are mechanically assembled and frequently checked for color. If the color, layout, or printing angle is incorrect then those batches of papers will be trashed and the process corrected. Advertising inserts – a huge source of revenue for the paper – are automatically inserted. The presses are so automated that mailers and inserters are no longer employed, and a small staff of printers is needed, which saves the company money.

All of this must be done in a matter of hours to satisfy the demand of the paper, which has one of the highest circulations in Germany with over 1.1 million daily readers, not including its international demand. The presses generate about 36,000 papers per hour, according to Stengl, and run all night until pickup in the morning.

All of this combined for what Stengl sees as a bright future for Süddeutsche Zeitung, which experienced extreme financial difficulty in the economic fallout in 2007-2008 and placed it on the brink of bankruptcy. Printing a quality newspaper and publishing books and other projects have set the paper on a sound financial course, as well as reaching out with new technological ventures.

And the paper remembers its near collapse as it moves forward. “Print has a future,” Stengl said. “But it must be interesting [to current and future readers].”

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Rehabilitating the Reichstag

June 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
The Reichstag building boasts historical architecture and a powerful message: Dem Deustchen Volke

The Reichstag building boasts historical architecture and a powerful message: Dem Deustchen Volke

by Alexa Blanchard

The International Media class from Point Park University continued its tour of Berlin, Germany, with an evening visit to a government building known as the Reichstag.

The Reichstag building, which has undergone decades of change and reform, initially began as the headquarters of the German empire’s parliament (also called diet or Reichstag) in 1894. According to berlin.de, The Parliament was controlled by several different entities, beginning first with the German empire, followed by the Weimar Republic, and finally in the 1930s fell under Nazi control.

The Nazi Reichstag abandoned the building in 1933 after a devastating fire that destroyed most the building and was never repaired until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since architect Norman Foster led the reconstruction effort that was completed in 1999, the Reichstag building is used once again as a government entity by the Bundestag, the modern-day term for German parliament.

From the front, the Reichstag building is huge and intimidating with its historical architecture. The pillars and statues keeping watch over the city are reminiscent of the Parthenon of Greece. The building exudes an image of grace and authority over its subjects, powerful to behold. Above the pillars on the architrave is carved a short yet meaningful phrase: Dem Deutschen Volke, or, to the German people.

The dome at the Reichstag

The dome at the Reichstag

Attached to the back of the Reichstag building is a massive dome that attracts hundreds of tourists every day. Audio guides are available for use while visitors stroll along the terrace outside of the dome and take in the breathtaking Berlin skyline.

Once inside the dome, the audio guide will begin explaining the history of the building as visitors walk along a ramp that spirals along the edge of the wall to the top of the dome, culminating in a sky view that rests the weary traveler.

The audio guide not only explains the history of the Reichstag building and the dome but also stops the visitor on the ramp to point out several key points of Berlin, such as the television tower. Many of these buildings are historical elements that are related to the Reichstag building, but most are new buildings that had to be built or rebuilt following the devastation of World War II.

The bottom floor of the dome boasts a central element that holds the entire building together. A collection of black and white photographs with detailed captions in several languages are showcased around the middle point of the dome.

These photos outline the integral points of the Reichstag’s history, including the days when it was burned and unusable. Some of the most powerful images were taken during the final days of the Berlin Wall as students sat on top of the Wall in front of the Reichstag while the police force watched them from the ground.

The interior of the dome is perfect for audio walking tours.

The interior of the dome is perfect for audio walking tours.

Some of the images are also a bit startling and strange to think about from the perspective now. A photo from 1930 reads: “The NSDPA parliamentary group leaves the auditorium; only Joseph Goebbels remains as an observer.”

So, by this time the Nazi party had taken control. How eerie to still have NSDPA artifacts still on display in a government building. As with many painful things in Germany, the reason for the rebuilt Reichstag and the dome is most likely to serve as reminders to never forget, to never let things get as bad as they once were.

The roof terrace and dome of the Reichstag Building are open from 8 a.m. to midnight daily (last admission: at 10 p.m.)  Admission is free, but advance registration is

required. The online registration form can be found at http://visite.bundestag.de. It is closed from Dec. 24-31 and other dates for cleaning. It also closes at times for security reasons when the government is in session.

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 12 – Farewell

May 23, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Today is our final day, travel day. Our flight to Paris went smoothly and even arrived a little early. Now, we are in the Chaux-de-Gaulle Airport waiting for our 2:00 pm flight back home to good old Pittsburgh. I’m sad to leave Europe but at the same time I’m ready to be home and dig in to summer. This weekend is going to be a blur; I’m taking a Megabus to State College early on Friday morning, where one of my parents or my brothers will pick me up and make the hour-long journey back to Watsontown, PA. Then, on Saturday relatives will be in town, on Sunday I have my final shift at work, Monday is Labor Day festivities, and on Tuesday I start my internship. Whew.

This trip has far exceeded my expectations and opened my eyes to a new way to look at media and culture. There were a lot of odd things I didn’t expect from Germany, like the fact that you have to pay to use a lot of the bathrooms, the lack of trashcans and ice, and the abundance of sparkling water. It’s a funny thing.

I’m so happy I had the opportunity to travel and hopefully I’ll have similar chances in the future. I’ll always remember our crazy Point Park adventures in Deutschland. Auf Wiedersehen!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 11

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/22/13.

Sadly, today is our last day in Munich. We depart bright and early tomorrow morning for the airport to go back to Pittsburgh.

But, just because it was our last day doesn’t mean it wasn’t busy. We started off by heading to Ketchum Pleon, an ad agency, for the morning and listening to an overview on Ketchum and their work. I had never been to an advertising agency before so I wasn’t really sure how one would operate, though I had an idea of what it was like. It must be so empowering to have a huge number of talented, created minds housed together under one company like that. They had some very funny content that I could appreciate as well as a lot of work that was extremely compelling.

After visiting Ketchum, we came back to the hotel for a bit to grab lunch and a quick nap before boarding the train yet again to visit Suddeutsche Zeitung, a southern German newspaper. I feel like we spend most of our time on public transportation!

Suddeutsche Zeitung already had expectations to live up to after we heard how much they compete with Axel Springer for awards and honors. They talked to us about their history as well as the transition from print to online. The showed us some of their ads, which were so interesting and creative. There was one tactic they used called multi-sensory ads in which some elements of the ad are UV coated or have a certain texture that feels like something else. For instance, the multi-sensory ad they showed us was form BMW and showed the front of the car and the road ahead from the driver’s perspective. The dashboard of the car and the driver’s coat all had textures reminiscent of the real deal.

The ads they showed us we so engaging and expensive, but that’s how they make their money, other than subscriptions. After showing some other examples of creative advertising, we walked across the street (it was freezing today!) and took a tour of their printing presses. I had never seen anything like that before! Everything is so intricate and complex. How do things not crash and burn here? The process is so streamlined and monitored. I was impressed and mind-boggled by the process that it takes to produce all of these papers for one day. They said that these presses produce 35,000 papers per hour, but they have to keep up with the ridiculous circulation. I couldn’t believe how massive and amazing this place was.

We arrived ravenous for dinner at the Ratskeller in Marienplatz after our very packed day. We devoured our food, sang happy birthday to Johnie, and presented cards to Helen and Arnoud for all of their hard work for us. Now, it is time to pack and get ready for our long journey home tomorrow. Auf Weidersehen, Muchen!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 10

May 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/21/13.

The day was exciting before it truly began. I went to breakfast early so I could get a quicker start to my day, as I finally had the chance to change my US dollars to euros. We were going to BMW that day and I knew that the only time I could shop for souvenirs would be in the afternoon after we got back. I was very frustrated with the exchange rate, which I knew would be tough. But, I was sickened to learn that my $300 only came out to 200 euros. I will never come to Europe with American cash again.

On our way to BMW, I pushed Carson to the train station in her wheelchair. I gave her my purse to hold because I did not want someone to steal it off of me while I was distracted and using both of my hands to push her. This seemed like a smart idea at the time.

Then it happened. As the train arrived at the station, Arnoud took the reins and pushed Carson’s wheelchair into the train car. But, her wheel got stuck in the gap between the train and the platform and my bag flew out of her lap and down into the abyss. We all looked down in horror to see my poor bag, out of my own hands for safety reasons, nestled on the grown next to the tracks. The door began to close but we managed to pry them open and I jumped inside.

I forced myself to be calm. No need to freak out yet. We took the train up one stop and the rest of the group stayed put while Arnoud and I went back to the previous stop to see if we could save my bag. On the train, we agreed that I would locate where my bag had fallen and he would go look for an attendant to see if we could get an apparatus to retrieve it.

However, as soon as I found my unharmed bag, Arnoud had a different idea. He checked both ways for oncoming trains and dove down onto the tracks, snatched the bag up, and climbed back onto the platform. The other train stationers and I stared in amazement. Arnoud seems to have a particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for accidents like this.

We got on the next train to head to the next stop where the rest of our group was patiently waiting. Arnoud signaled for them to join us and I relayed the story of how our guide had just gone rogue and nearly sacrificed himself. He explained that it would have taken too long to find an attendant. Despite this adventure, we still managed to make it to BMW on time.

After we arrived at Bavarian Motor Works, we listened to a lecture on their innovative tactics with social media, apps, and their new electric car models. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. I thought that it would boring and irrelevant to me since I’m a girl. I don’t know a thing about cars, but I was happily surprised to find everything we talked about to be quite interesting. I loved the variety of apps that they had for finding parking in various cities, finding transportation, booking parking places, etc. It’s so different and effective. It makes me wonder if any American car companies are on their way to be as groundbreaking as BMW.

After enjoying a great (free) lunch we moved on to take a tour of BMW and admire all of the beautiful cars and the rich history starting with manufacturing airplane parts, and eventually motorcycles and automobiles. They even had a model of the electric car concept that they were working on. Unfortunately, it was one of those days where it would rain at the most inconvenient times, i.e. every time we went outside.

We arrived back at our hotel in the afternoon. The train ride back from BMW was much less adrenalized than the morning commute.

I took advantage of my free time and walked down to Marienplatz to do some shopping for my family, and then a group of us took a trip to the Hofbrauhaus in honor of Johnie’s birthday. We drank liters of beer and had a jolly time eating pretzels and staring at strangers. At the Hofbrauhaus, I ended up running into a friend of mine from Pitt who is studying in Munich for a few weeks. Small world!

We came back to the hotel and planned to up to go out somewhere, but I sat on my bed in the room and just crashed. There was no way I was moving. I’m a little annoyed at myself for not going out during our last truly free night in Munich, but I knew my fresh body and mind would thank me in the morning.

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 9

May 20, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/20/13.

The adventure to Neuschwanstein Castle has arrived. We took a two-hour train, much like the one we took yesterday to Salzburg. The train ride was highlighted by the stunning view of the snow-capped Alps, an image that eclipsed yesterday’s limited view on the Salzburg train. Unfortunately I was unable to fix my camera so I missed out on the entire day! Luckily that’s what social media is for.

There were actually two castles in the area that we were in, with one being the real deal and the other being a remake. Neuschwanstein is the remake of the Mad King Ludwig’s palace. It’s gorgeous, extravagant, and accessible by a long walk up the mountain. It rained very much today – of course the day that we were outside forever!

Luckily, the hike up to the castle wasn’t too bad and the view of the town below is stunning. The castle itself is monstrous up close. The inside is so intricate and detailed, from the walls and ceiling to the furniture and accessories. King Ludwig certainly seems like he was a particular man. I had to laugh when I learned that he loved sweets and was quite obese. Arnoud told us that he drowned when he 40, but evidence suggests that he was murdered. Now knowing that he was obese I could definitely see him drowning. But then again, I’d prefer to think he was murdered – it seems much more kingly.

After touring the interior of the castle, we went exploring for a rickety bridge we had seen in the distance full of tourists. It had the most amazing view of the castle with the town in the background. On the opposite side of the bridge there was a waterfall. It’s something out of a fairy tale – huge and white nestled in the mountains. This is exactly what I expected a castle to be like.

After we had seen what we came for, we made the trek back down the mountain and waited in the rain for our bus to take us to the train station. After we got back to the Munich, Arnoud pointed out a place to exchange US dollars. Finally, with 2 full days of Germany left, I can get to work on spending my money. It shouldn’t be that difficult.

We had our group meeting on the Z floor where I usually pick up wifi. By the end of our discussion I was starving and craving American food.

Carson, Marina, Zack, Connor and I decided to take a break from German food and took a trip to Marienplatz to go eat at Hard Rock Café. I feel like every time I go to a new place I need to go to the Hard Rock Café there. It’s sort of like a compulsion.

Zack pushed Carson in her wheelchair and it’s possibly the most entertaining transportation I’ve ever witnessed.

All in all, it was a very rainy but fulfilling day. Tomorrow we start back with our media visits and are on the go until we leave on Thursday morning. I’m not sure what to think – I’m going to miss Germany very much!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 8

May 20, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/19/13.

We were up early to catch a train to Salzburg, Austria for a day trip. The train ride took around two hours. Compared to all the travelling I have been doing recently, between planes and buses, two hours on a train seems like cake. I had my iPod with me and was able to jam during the ride and enjoy the lovely Austrian scenery. The Alps are so beautiful! It’s so weird to realize that there is actually snow at the tops of these mountains.

After we arrived in Salzburg we had lunch in the train station and departed to meet our new tour guide for the afternoon. Salzburg is iconic because it is the location of the Sound of Music film as well as the true events that inspired the musical and movie. Our tour guide had plenty to tell us about the film and the Trapp family as we frolicked about the grounds and gardens. Everything about the garden is stunning, from the architecture to the flowers to the landscaping. There is a huge fortress in the mountains beyond the garden that is so noticeable that it’s almost distracting.

After we were done in the gardens and had exhausted ourselves singing Sound of Music songs we crossed the bridge into the main part of Salzburg. On the bridge there are thousands of locks fastened to the chain links. Couples purchase and initial these locks, attach them to the bridge fence, and toss the key into the river to symbolize their never ending love. Which is great for them, I guess.

The new tour guide gave us a walking tour of Salzburg with Arnoud following at a distance. Salzburg is officially now my favorite place that I have been to so far. It’s the perfect little city, complete with cobblestone streets, fountains, gargoyles, a huge, gorgeous cathedral, horse-drawn carriages, beer gardens, river cruises, street vendors, cheese shops, gelato and ice cream, expensive chocolates, souvenir stores, an incline, the fortress, and above all, an amazing view of the Alps! I wish that I could just move everything from my life in Pennsylvania and bring it to Salzburg.

After the walking tour was over, our group split up and Carson and I decided to explore. We saw quite a lot, which is great considering she is still on crutches. We got a little too zealous and started climbing a steep road that actually turned out to be the path leading up the fortress. We turned around as soon as we figured that out.

The day started out sunny and warm, but it quickly turned chilly and rainy. We didn’t let that deter our spirits as we stopped at street vendors, got ice cream for a euro per scoop, and took in the Austrian atmosphere. It felt like we had just set out to roam the city when we realized it was time to meet back up with the group for dinner. We could have probably used at least another hour. Even though I have limited money I was able to get my mom a souvenir. She is into old-timey home decorating and cooking so I bought an oven mitt that can be used as a decorative item or for real cooking. It has a recipe for apple strudel written on it in German. The woman I bought it from thought that it was silly for me to be buying something not in English, but my family has German background and my mom may or may not have taken German in high school, so it’s close enough.

We had dinner on the third floor of a quant little café near the birth house of Mozart. Here, we experienced chicken for the first time since leaving the United States. It was magical.

After dinner we departed for Munich on the train and made it back to the hotel exhausted but fulfilled. I’m ready to look at the photos I took today and see what edits I can do – the fortress is all but washed out in a few of them. My camera is having some kind of lens issue and won’t work so it looks like I’ll be up taking care of that tonight. Hopefully all will be better by tomorrow because we’ve got the biggest photo op of the trip – Nueschwanstein Castle!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 7

May 20, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/18/13.

Today we took the train to Dachau to visit the concentration camp. I knew that it was going to be an emotionally exhausting trip but I didn’t truly know what to expect. We were able to observe two remade barracks complete with bunkers, lockers, and bathrooms, the empty barrack markers, the crematorium and unused gas chamber, the Jewish and Christian memorial sites, and an extensive museum collection. All of it was very unnerving, but the worst part was the crematorium. It made me queasy just looking at it. I couldn’t help but imagine thousands of prisoners working, slaving, and dying on the grounds that we were walking on. In essence it was one terrible, massive graveyard.

Arnoud gave us a tour of most of the camp but let us roam on our own after we had finished looking at the crematorium. Behind the crematorium there was a path in the woods that had plaques representing a headstone, marking the memory of thousands of unknown Dachau prisoners. There were also sections that marked the location of a blood ditch and a wall that prisoners stood against before they were shot. It was all very hard to take in.

But it doesn’t stop there. After we were done outside, we went into the museum and watched a short film with real photos and clips from the Dachau camp. That was too much at times because it the camera got very close to the dead. And they were everywhere: stacked on wagons, suffocated in train cars, loading into ditches, remains in the crematorium, hanging on electrical fences…it was impossible to get away, and it was horrible.

After the film was over I went through the rest of the museum and found snippets of new things I hadn’t known about Dachau, all of which were very interesting but none the less horrific. There was one room that showcased the portraits of camp survivors called Recording Survival by Elija Bosler. Her work was exquisitely done and seemed very personal, but it was also very sad. I read the bios of each of the people she photographed and they all lost a huge part of their lives. Yes, the may have survived, but many members of their family did not. Some of them were completely alone once they were liberated. Just thinking of it is upsetting.

After we returned from Dachau, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Almost all of us decided on retail therapy to try to burn the image of what we had seen at the camp out of our eyes. I eventually broke off from my group because I’m one of those people who shops better by themselves. I ended up getting a few small things and moving on to explore. There’s a tiny shop around the corner from the Glockenspiel that sells sheet music and I was in there forever just looking at their collections. It was nice just to wander for a bit and have nowhere that I actually needed to be. Eventually, I walked back over to the Glockenspiel just in time for it to chime, and then headed back to the hotel to relax for a few hours before a late dinner. I ended the night with a quick trip to the bar with rest of the group before returning to the hotel to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s big adventure lies in Saltzburg!

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 6

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/17/13.

The day started bright and early. I’ve never been as tired as I was today. We were up at 4:30 am this morning for a very early flight to Munich. As soon as we got to Munich we were had met our new tour guide, Arnoud, and took a bus tour of the city before arriving at our hotel. We followed Arnoud to Marienplatz and lunch nearby. My first impression of Munich is that it is stunning. The architecture and atmosphere is exactly what I thought a European city would look like. In other words, what I thought was missing in Berlin. Not that I didn’t like Berlin, I just find Munich to be what I was expecting.

After lunch, we met back up in front of the Glockenspiel with the rest of our group and went to the Munich Tourism Office for our first Munich media visit. I liked hearing about the variety of attractions that the city has to offer. It’s all up my alley – sports, theatre, museums, music – it’s perfect. I would have loved to be here for Oktoberfest or the Long Night of Music. I think that everything here is so compelling to me. I was intrigued that the X-Games are going to take place in Munich for the next three years. Isabella had a lot of interesting things to say about working with tourism and public relations. I was impressed that she is doing such an important job a young age.

I had been pushing Carson in her wheel chair for most of the day and was getting pretty confident in my abilities. But a blow to my ego came when I tried to cross traffic and get her onto the next street: I didn’t hit the curb in the right place and she flew out of the wheelchair with all of her papers and belongings! Luckily she was able to react and stay standing but I felt so bad! Imagine if we hadn’t been that lucky. That was when I knew that I was 100% done with the day.

Our free time consisted of catching up on missed sleep. I left the hotel an hour before we were supposed to meet up for dinner to look around for a bank to exchange my American money. I wanted to put everything on my debit card but my parents recommended cash. I wish I had just done things my own way, because it has been a pain trying to find such a place. I got some money from the ATM to hold me over until Tuesday but I will have to be quite thrifty this weekend. It’s a holiday weekend and all of the banks will be closed until Tuesday morning. Arnoud has tried explaining where to go to exchange money but I have no idea what he’s talking about. I basically need someone to physically take me to get this done.

We went to a café in Marienplatz for dinner and had an assortment of very strange meats. I could handle most of it but there was a strange substance resembling spam that I couldn’t quite bring myself to eat. And naturally there was beer.

The one thing I have noticed about Munich is that it is very difficult to navigate if you want to go to specific places. Getting to Morienplatz on my own was easy but when I tried to find a certain shop or street I was completely lost! What are you doing to me, Munich?! I don’t like this feeling! It’s my one and only complaint about the city so far, but I’m sure I’ll get over it in a few days.

Also, the wifi in the hotel is sketchy. Just throwing that out there.

Reporting from the Z floor,

-AB

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 5

May 16, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/16/13.

Today’s media visit at Axel Springer was my favorite visit yet. We talked to Rudolf Porsche of Axel Springer and the Akademie students, which was very enlightening. Their work on their ‘masterpiece’ about the low voting turn out is such a great opportunity for them and hugely relevant since Germany has elections coming up. I was impressed by all of the students and that they are taking their education seriously. All of them are so multi-talented and charismatic that it’s hard to remember that some of them are even younger than we are. I loved getting the chance to talk to them. Katie, who is 18, was particularly amazing to all of us because she has already published four books! We had a great time talking to her about the differences between America and Germany after lunch. She found it funny that smoking cigarettes has a negative stigma in America, where in Germany it’s a bit of a romantic thing to be a smoking a cigarette and working on your hard-hitting news story. I loved hearing about the background of the other Akademie students as well – there was even a girl who had spent time in America, and her American accent was flawless. At the end of our visit, a few of the students took a small group of us to the 19th floor where there is a lavish bar and restaurant that overlooks the city of Berlin. It was probably the best view I had seen of the city so far.

While we were at Axel Springer we also talked with the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Die Welt, Leeor Englander. I was responsible for having a surplus of questions ready for him to keep the conversation going, but as it turns out I hardly needed them – he was so interesting and passionate about Die Welt that the words just kept coming. He talked a lot about the extensive innovations that Die Welt was doing to stay ahead of the journalism world and stand out. He showed us their news room, which was small and orderly but stocked with the latest in technology – Mac computers, full Adobe suites, several different models of iPads, smart phones – they seemed like they had everything they could ever need. Leeor also touched on a project he was a part of called Jew in the Box which was about stereotypes of the Jewish people. It was fascinating to hear about his culture and the prejudices he faces every day, and an interesting deviation from the news world that we had been talking about all day.

We had dinner in a small restaurant in Mitte, the center of Berlin. We enjoyed beer and schnitzel and paid Zack to eat an anchovy. The night ended with frantic packing and a short trip to get spaghetti ice cream. I got some for poor Carson, who is still stuck up in the hotel during down time, but it all but melted on by the time I booked it back to the hotel. I wish we could push her around in a wheelchair or a shopping cart.

Overall, this was my absolute favorite day. Everyone at Axel Springer was so engaging and relatable. I am sad to leave Berlin and our wonderful tour guide, Lorena, but I’m so happy that we ended on such a great note. Here’s to adventures in Munich!

-AB

 

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