5.16.13

On our last full day in Berlin we visited a very interesting company. A company comprised of floors of journalists, several newspapers, and many departments and of course a bar with one of the best views in Berlin. On this day we visited Axel Springer. We started the morning by meeting with Rudolph Porsche. He informed us with an overview of the company and described their Academy. I thought the academy structure and program was very interesting. 40 deserving journalists receive the opportunity to work and learn at Axel Springer. Here they learn more about the field they are perusing and have a great platform to achieve their goals. These students work together to build a masterpiece of journalistic work and produce it online with the hopes of having it printed. This year’s masterpiece revolves around the election because here in Germany this is a major election year.

Along with Mr. Porsche we met with the head of broadcasting at Axel Springer. This man informed us of the content and process of compiling video media for Bilt online and for television programs to pick up. I thought this part was very interesting because it had to deal with video but also because it showed how many different jobs there are for someone with a broadcasting or television background to explore. He had worked for many years in the television industry and is now working in the newspaper industry, though still producing videos. This experience also made me think of Wolf at ZDF and how he went from the print industry to the broadcasting industry. It seems that here in Germany the opportunity to switch between media platforms is not an uncommon thing.

After another confusing lunch in a canteen we met with Leeor Englaender. This was yet another very interesting lecture from a well-educated and passionate journalist. Mr. Englaender informed us of how Die Welt works from the broadsheet version, to the compact version and to the online version. What was cool to me is that though each of these platforms has the same information they are set up in different formats to appeal to different demographics. To me this is genius and is one reason the newspaper is so successful. Another thing that struck me about Die Welt is that they sell more online subscriptions than paper subscriptions which is kind of backwards for most German Newspapers.

Though he had many interesting things to say about Die Welt. What struck home the most for me was that he was a part of the “Jew in the Box” project. He informed us that before the World War II there was less that 500,000 Jews in Germany and today there are less than 200,000. He said that most Germans have never met a Jew because they are such a minority in this country.

To commence our last night in Berlin we ate a group dinner. Now we are packing and off to bed before another day of traveling and media visit.

Guten Nacht!

Wow what a day! This day was so jam packed with informational and interesting media visits. First we got an amazing opportunity to visit ZDF. Zweites Duestches Fersehn translates into second German television. I was especially excited to visit this television network because earlier in the semester I researched the company and wrote a media report on it. I wish I could have written the report after visiting German media outlets because now the research makes so much more sense.

The financing that German media companies like ZDF, Duestche Wella and DPA recieive is different from how media companies make their money in the United States. While researching this at home I was very confused and had difficulty understanding the concept. But now it makes sense and to me it makes the media industry more stable than our media system.

While at ZDF we were able to be a part of the live studio audience for Moma Café’. This is the last segment of their morning show which airs from 5:30 am to 9am. Moma Café’ seemed to be the most entertainment driven segment of the morning show and was very fun to be a part of, even though we couldn’t understand what was being said.

After this media visit we had some free time that we took extreme advantage of by getting delicious chocolates and a traditional Bavarian style lunch. We finally had gorgeous weather and were able to sit outside and enjoy such a cultural meal.

For our second media visit of the day we visited Deutsche Presse or DPA which can be most directly compared to the Associated Press in America. This was a very interesting visit though out of my relm of concentration. This visit along with the previous one have given us media students hope that we will have jobs when we graduate. Though it is a different system here in Germany it is working quite well and could always be adopted by other places around the world.

Halo, Guten Tag!

I will star off by saying what an incredible day. I had the opportunity to cross something off my bucket list today! During our free time this morning we took a trip to East Berlin and went to the East Side Gallery. This is the east side of the Berlin Wall where there is artwork painted onto the one mile remaining section of the wall.

We took this time to take pictures and observe these paintings. All were beautiful in there own way. Some were deep with expression while others more comedic. I believe my two favorites include the very famous painting of a car going through the wall! The other an intricate painting by Peter Russell featuring rich blues, golds and oranges.

After our excursion to the Berlin Wall we went for a media visit to Duestches Welle. This was very exciting for me because it directly relates to the broadcasting world and gave our group and inside look at how this profession works in Germany. I was intrigued by their vast amount of programming in four languages across six channels. Deustches Welle prides them on being the voice of the German people not the voice of the government they walk the fine line of not being a public relations representative for any one person or ideal but to show all opinions involved in a situation. This is something that I feel is hard to find to do in today’s media and also very hard to do.

During this media trip I thought it was interesting to se the similarities and differenced that American and German television stations face. I really enjoyed seeing how everyone is effected by changing times and changing technology.

Orangensaft!

My favorite word in German happens to mean orange juice! For the first two days everything I saw plainly read “orange juice” in English I was very disappointed because I wanted the chance to order orange juice using the German term or at least see it written in juice bottles. Then all of a sudden in the midst of a lecture I look at the center of the table, where there were refreshments for us and there it was Orangensaft! As soon as there was a break in the lecture I stopped pured myself a glass, took pictures of the glass bottle of and drank the orange juice!

Speaking of glass bottles they seemed to be used for the majority of drinks here in Germany. Glass bottles, silverware, trees, bikes and mass public transportation all make up the green city of Berlin. I have noticed that this city is very environmentally friendly with recycling cans all over the place along with reusable containers and utensils more widely used than the disposable plastic ones used commonly in the United States.

Also on our journey today I have realized that when it is said “Americans are much louder than Germans” they are not exaggerating as I sit on the U-Bahn and we are all chatting and laughing most people are sitting quietly or conversing softly. In both our actions and in our countries I am noticing many differences, that I am sure to write about everyday in these blogs.

Today we experienced many learning opportunities, from the planned lecture to the U-Bahn explorations. We learned about media in Germany and how the locals get around Berlin. From broadcasting regulation to book sales we learned that Germans are more traditional in their media than Americans are. They have a much higher newspaper subscription rate than us but a much lower Internet usage rate. These numbers and information is all very interesting and somewhat hard to understand. It is hard to imagine Americans reading newspapers and books rather than being attached to the smart phones and laptops. During out trip to Free University where we listened to this lecture you could see that the students in their cafeteria do not have their cell phones out while chatting with their friends and eating their lunches. Our group was more likely to have their phones in their hands and we aren’t even able to use the internet while here unless connected to the Wifi.

On a less scholarly but still educational note we spent a large portion of time learning how to use the bauhn or what we would call a subway system. Though somewhat confusing this is a very efficient way to get around. Many people seem to use this form of transportation during their everyday life. Compared to Pittsburgh Berlin’s public transportation is more timely and accessible.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Lassen Sie uns!

As we sit in the airport I am writing this pre trip blog post… of course it’s last minute everything I do is last minute! Though we are still in Pittsburgh this journey has already begun. We have got our boarding passes, checked our bags, went through security and now are awaiting departure. It is so exciting and difficult to sit here when Germany awaits us!

I am excited for this trip on so many levels. As a Junior Broadcasting Major at Point Park University I dream of traveling the world making documentaries and interviewing all kinds of interesting people. This is my first trip to Europe and will open my eyes to a different culture and way of media production.

On a more personal level I am excited to go to on this trip because my fathers side of the family is from Germany. I will greatly enjoy seeing where my family came from and the culture that they grew up in.

Now that the challenge of packing, getting to the airport and the security check have all successfully been completed we are ready for the fun part of the adventure to begin and off to Germany we go!