Neues Deutschland
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| Neues Deutschland | |
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 The August 13, 1961 front page of Neues Deutschland |
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| Type | Daily newspaper (Sunday-Friday) |
| Format | Between broadsheet and Berliner |
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| Owner | Neues Deutschland Druckerei und Verlags GmbHand Left Party |
| Publisher | Olaf Koppe |
| Editor | Jürgen Reents |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Political allegiance | Socialist, Communism |
| Language | German |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
| Circulation | 48,811 |
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| Website: neues-deutschland.de | |
Neues Deutschland (English: New Germany) is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), which governed East Germany, and as such served as one of the party's most important organs. More than the other newspapers in East Germany, it not only endorsed all policy decisions of the government, frequently changing its editorial position to support the new party line, but it also sought to elevate the prestige of each member of the leadership, perhaps most importantly Erich Honecker. It currently has its headquarters in Berlin and retains a socialist outlook. The newspaper is both politically and economically close to the Left Party, a direct heir to the SED, which owns the publishing house and printing presses.
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[edit] East Germany
In 1946 the Neue Deutschland was formed from the Lizenzeitung after the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) unified as the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the Soviet occupied zone. The first edition of this central organ of the SED was issued on April 23, 1946 in conjunction with the grounding of the SED. The newspaper replaced the SPD’s Das Volk and the KPD’s Deutsche Volkszeitung. Before the reunification of Germany the Neues Deutschland had a circulation of a million and was second only to the state youth newspaper junge Welt in readership.
The newspaper was one of the most important propaganda tools for the SED and the SED’s key piece of media used to maintain their control of the government. The newspaper had a very heavy focus on the party and government leaders. For example, on March 16, 1987 in the edition produced for the opening of the Leipzig Exposition there were over 41 photographs of Erich Honecker, the then current General Secretary of the SED. In contrast to other GDR newspapers, the Neues Deutschland used high quality paper and printing material and was not affected by the traditional item deficiencies, which plagued the GDR.
[edit] After Reunification
After the reunification the readership diminished greatly. In 2006, it had a circulation of on 45,247. Like most large newspapers in Germany currently, the Neue Deutschland has the problem that the majority of its readers are over 60 years old. Still, it is the most popular newspaper in the Eastern portion of Germany. The newspaper produces both national edition and a regional edition for Berlin and Brandenburg. Jürgen Reents, who has political roots in both the PDS and the Green Party, has been the editor in chief of the newspaper since 1999. One of his major goals has been to transform the newspapers image from a propaganda leaflet to a more respected newspaper. In October 2005 the editors moved from Elsenbrücke to Franz-Mehring Platz in Berlin. Three months later, Olaf Koppe took over management of the newspaper.
[edit] Profile
The Neue Deutschland is still oriented towards the socialist viewpoint and is owned partially by the political party Left Party. The two goals of the newspaper are to give those in eastern Germany a voice and to represent the democratic-socialist viewpoint without being the organ of the Left or any other political party. While east German themes dominate the features and the community pages, the political section looks at leftist politics throughout Germany. Authors and politicians from diverse political backgrounds have also been represented on the pages of the newspaper. For example, Freidrich Schorlemmer, a famous critic of the Left party and the political left in general has been a guest writer.
Other traditional sections of a newspaper are also included such as an advice page, a television guide, notifications and classifieds, opinion columns, and theme sections dealing with health, environment, and the like. The letters to the editor are often cited as examples of viewpoints of the Left party from other media sources. In November 2006, the newspaper also started a youth insert called Sacco and Vanzetti. Additionally in March 2007, the newspaper has successfully started publishing online.
