Why do the main media not fulfill their public mandate?
Meyen presented the working reality and working conditions of journalists in mainstream media, which no longer correspond to the code of ethics of objective reporting. By becoming the official voice of governments, they contributed to war-mongering. Journalism is currently squeezed between government propaganda and platform censorship, so Meyen explained.
At the beginning of the lecture, the media researcher explained his thesis, according to which the so-called main media – as an example, the Süddeutsche Zeitung – although they convey a false impression of reality to their readers, the consumers still refer to this unrealistic reality. The Munich professor explained this with:
“The main media create a reality that has nothing to do with reality.”
The consumers are mostly aware of the unrealistic representations in the media they consume. However, this virtual reality still determines the attitude of people in Germany. Because these media have such a defining power that the readers let themselves be influenced by this power just to not feel isolated. Meyen explained:
“Whoever consumes the main media does not want to know what reality is, but wants to know what others know. The person wants to know what is trendy in their environment in order not to feel isolated.”
The power of the main media is based on the human need for belongingness.
Why do journalists not fulfill their mandate of objective reporting?
The official journalist ideology included the official principles:
the journalist is independent and reports objectively and neutrally; journalism is the fourth and independent power in the state; the broadcasting belongs to the people (“Broadcasting belongs to us”).
This code is upheld in public, but it does not correspond to the professional reality. If you look at the ownership structures in German journalism, you can see that the German media conglomerates are owned by a few wealthy families. The owners influence the content and reporting in their media products.
In public broadcasting, the influences are not less decisive. There is such a close connection between public broadcasting and politics that there can no longer be talk of independent reporting or the fourth power. After all, the political authorities decide on the selection of the broadcasting council, who should have the final say in the editorial staff.
The working conditions of journalists also contribute to the fact that they can hardly afford an independent portrayal of events: Two-thirds of all German journalists work without a permanent employment contract, thus constantly under economic pressure. Furthermore, a significant part of journalists in the main media comes from a certain bourgeois milieu. As an aspiring reporter, one earns so little in the first years that young journalists are mostly dependent on financial support from their family. Thus, reporters from more affluent backgrounds are already part of a certain opinion bubble.
Propaganda and censorship
As propaganda, one refers to any attempt to influence the opinion climate in a society, explained Meyen in the next part of his lecture. Regarding the means and people, the state propaganda power in Germany has been massively upgraded in the last 25 years. Alone the Press and Information Office of the federal government is currently staffed with 500 employees and has a budget of 100 million euros per year to ensure the dissemination of government-conforming narratives.
For this purpose, resources have been massively shifted: Employees with professional expertise have been downsized in favor of more generally informed public experts, who have meanwhile been increased. Basically, more and more journalist positions and resources are being cut in the editorial staffs, while resources for propaganda are being increased. Thus, original journalism, in which reporters observe events firsthand with their own eyes and ears, is becoming increasingly rare.
In order to strengthen the willingness to go to war in the population and to strengthen the motivation for military service, the propaganda apparatus of the Bundeswehr has also been massively expanded. For this purpose, the Ministry of Defense employs 95 editors. But the military themselves are also increasingly trained in media. Officer training now includes a focus on media.
In order to make the Bundeswehr and military service more attractive for young people, high-profile media campaigns have been commissioned. For the elaborate Bundeswehr advertising, particularly attractive young people were cast. In the campaign, they apparently convey the image of a wonderful atmosphere with wonderful people in a great working field at the Bundeswehr.
Censorship and algorithms in social media
After the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union, illegal internet content should be reported, deleted, or punished. The media expert asked whether the recently introduced EU directive would remain a paper tiger or whether this censorship law would be implemented by the member states. It is now known that the new federal government, according to the planned coalition agreement, will provide resources to pursue “hate and incitement” in accordance with the Digital-Services-Act regulations.
Michael Meyen also spoke about the specific manipulation function in social media. The knowledge about our manipulability has been built into the platforms. Accordingly, the messages that should be disseminated will be promoted. Here, psychological characteristics of humans are also used:
People are basically more influenced by emotions than by factual statements – we are also more influenced by people we know than by unknown persons. In this sense, it can be explained why messages with emotional assessments such as “I love” or “I hate” would achieve such a reach on social media platforms.
The research into manipulation methods is not new. The British have been researching methods for psychological and mental manipulation of people since the First World War. The field of research also includes how to spread divisions, emotionalization, or even speechlessness in a population.
Outlook and possibilities for action
In order to resist the power of the main media and the manipulation methods, enlightenment and the strengthening of a counterpublic are needed, so the media expert. In every editorial office, there is at least one journalist who would provide honest reporting. By sending letters and positive feedback to editorial offices, one can support such journalists. Just as important is the promotion of new, non-conglomerate media. At the end, Meyen also suggested producing and disseminating more analog media. Printed news can hardly be censored.
Professor Michael Meyen has been teaching Communications and Media Science at the Institute for Communication Studies and Media Research at Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich since 2002. On the topic of media criticism, he published the book ‘The Propaganda Matrix’ in the Rubikon Verlag in 2021. His most recent publications are ‘Cancel Culture’ and ‘The Dressaged Youth’ in the Hintergrund Verlag in 2024.