The Global Village

Germany definitely is a major player in the Global Village. You might have heard somewhat recently about At&t buying out Duetsche Telecom for $39 billion. As of 2006, DT had over 10 million customers, and now At&t has gained a good share of their telecommunication spectrum and changed the information landscape of the nation. That was a HUGE and will likely affect Germany while they settle their communication systems heading into the future.

When speaking about the global village It's my opinion that the Internet was no doubt the defining factor in connecting Germany with the world. However, I also think that it this happened indirectly, as most Germans use the Internet as an extension to the media they already consume.

The top viewed websites in Germany are almost exactly the Americas. Google, YouTube and eBay are all present. But numbers eight and ten are Spiegel and Bild respectively.

Spiegel and Bild are both German newspapers and have accompanying websites that you now see are among the most popular in the country. It's interesting to note that Germans don't get behind a website that has a "gimmick" some cool new technology. You know, YouTube has billions of videos you can watch and eBay lets you bid on things you can own -- All germans seem to want is better access to news. And thats where I believe German citizens separate themselves from other countries. I know people in Germany, and I know that the people there, especially young adults, are extremely news savvy. They might not be on the cutting edge of each and every technology that emerges, but they are politically and economically skilled and in and Democracy things like this are imperative -- in order for a democracy to work citizens need to be intelligent and educated in order to make decisions. Thats where Germans excel, there is a reason there is an extremely high standard of living there.

Unfortunately, we cannot all living within a golden mean like Germany. To live in equilibrium is something that I personally thoroughly respect and wish that the rest of the world could take note and be more forthcoming and adopting. the sad truth is, we're becoming lazier. Even recently, if there was a topic I knew very little about I would simply "wikipedia" that topic ( Look see it even has its own label). That, in essence, has got to be one of the worst consequence of the Internet. As information becomes easier and faster to obtain, I can imagine this trend taking its toll on the citizens of the world. Of course access of information is a great thing, but at what cost?

Neo Nazis are among immigrant protesters

NPD, a neo-nazi sect, were among other Germans protesting the new law that would allow Europeans to work in Germany without a permit this past weekend in cities all over Germany.

Taking to the streets, the NPD promulgated their slogan: "Stop the foreign worker invasion,"  marching in demonstrations that pailed in comparison when you look at all the counter-demonstrations by the peace-loving people of Germany.

A reported 4,000 people marched against the neo-nazis in Breman. It's also interesting to note that a police present was needed to ensure the freedoms the NPD are apparently entitled.

Over 100,000 people a year are projected to come to Germany in years to come. Saturating the German job market are immigrants from (as i said before); Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

As of May 1, these people are allowed to work in Germany -- previously anyone coming to Germany to work needed a worker's permit.

A few officers were hurt in one of the many scuffles that happened throughout the weekend. At one point the NPD's march was temporarily put on hold when they were blocked, they simply sat down until they were moved by police.

The main group of anti neo-nazi protestors called "No Metre", has tried to stop the NPD from marching altogether for years. In 2006, 10,000 members demonstrated and they were able to prevent them from rallying.

Mixed results follow as Germany grants working rights to European neighbors

People from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia will have the same rights as others in the European Union to work in Germany. Up until now, they've needed work permits.

As of May 1, Permits will not longer be needed but officials have warned that the move will affect the German labour market as immigrants will be willing to work for less wages.

Proponents of the law, say that the law could bolster Polish-German integration.

"The German government economy needed well-educated and well-trained workers and these could be found in Poland. The German-Polish border regions in particular would benefit from liberalized labour laws," Gunter Pleuger, president of the Viadrina Europe University said.

Joachim Moller, director of the Institute for Labour Market and Careers Research said he also saw the development positively.

"The fear that opening up the labour markets for citizens of the new EU member state could lead to low wages in a broad fashion  is something I do not share," he said.

It was widely agreed upon by experts that the new move will help German economic development.

Another example of media changing German history

Thinking back, I remember quite a lot about Anne Frank, the Nazis and WW2 in general from my days back in grade school. As an added bonus, I recently visited her home in Amsterdam so I like to think I know a little more about history from that era than the average student. But something that that everyone can love about history is that as new information is unearthed, history itself is constantly being revised. Among some of my favorite historical myths that are quite interesting was learning the unfortunate truth that Christopher Columbus didn't in fact discover america. This information, although not as revealing, illustrates that whether you have reminiscent moments such as mine or not, we can all admire news coming out of Germany this week in the form of a new book that makes new claims about Anne Frank and the SS officer that arrested her more than six decades ago.

Karl Josef Silberbauer, A member of the Gestapo in the Netherlands in1944, got a tip that jews were hiding in an attic at an Amsterdam home. The man was responsible for extracting of the jews and sending them to the nearest concentration camp. That much we know, but what has been revealed in Peter-Ferdinand Koch's new book "Enttarnt", is that after the war, Frank's pursuant became a spy for Germany's version of the CIA; Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND).

I know what your thinking. This isn't breaking news who cares! Well, the information revealed might not be Earth shattering, but it demonstrates two different reasons why this information is relevant. First, this is yet another textbook example of how media changes the status quo. Authors are taking it upon themselves to go "digging" and often stumble upon interesting information that history might have forgotten, they then proceed to publish the information in a book or what have you, and everyone benefits. A second reason why this information is important is because it demonstrates a situation where a member of a terrorist organization -- yes, I view the Nazis as a terrorist organization -- becomes a member of Germany's post-nazi era foreign intelligence agency. Shouldn't these people be punished for their role in the Holocaust? Or at least, we could make it harder for them to find more work after all is said and done.



Either way, This is revealing information that is important. I love how media can add different perspectives to things such as history. No matter how big or small the information is, as long as it's shared, we should all be not only grateful but thankful information like this can be revealed.

Negative German sentiment towards Google causes the company to back down

This week, Google has been busy with its usual business of mapping the country from top to bottom via its street view. Although nearly 20 cities within Germany have been thoroughly mapped by the company, Google will cease collective further data in Germany. There appears to be no information released (press releases, statements, etc.) about why they have stopped, but the article makes it clear that there has been at least 250,000 requests made by German cities to blur their streets and homes which could be the reason why.

Google has been playing nice lately since they've been caught stealing information from local Wi-Fi signals. They do give people the option of being excluded from Google's street view. They also have a policy now, like I said before,  where they will blur your home upon request.

If you thought this was the first time Google has been in trouble with a country, you couldn't be more wrong. Last March, they were fined $ 142,000 in France for violating privacy laws there. That is a fairly reasonable punishment for the corporation who has been completely from countries such as China.


But I'm sure China is just acting in the interests of their citizens. I mean, after all, Google has always boasted positive reasons for their systematic mapping of basically every inch on the planet (give or take a few inches).

"Our business priority is to use our Google cars to collect data such as street names and road signs to improve our basic maps for our basic maps for our users in a similar way that other mapping companies do," a spokesperson said.

I hope they're not referring to companies such as OnStar and TomTom, because I'm pretty sure none of those business are driving cars all over the world mapping the world. I'm not insinuating that Google is up to no good and has evil intent, but they certainly have the means for diabolic operations.

This is just a postulation, but there are people out there who really do think that Google is poised to take over the world. Just because it's actually quite interesting to hear their argument, I've posted one of the many videos you can find via Google ironically enough, that ponder this strange scenario:

AT&T agrees to buy T-Mobile USA from German-based Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion

The move, approved by the boards of both companies today, will make AT&T a major player in the wireless telecom sector pending regulatory review.

The move will affect over 130 million people if it is approved. The two companies have stated that it will take them in excess of 12 months to get through all the bureaucracy if the deal is indeed agreed upon.

Of course there couldn't be news this big without controversy. As reported by Endgaget.com, the move will install a de facto GSM monopoly in the United States as there will only be major carriers. Horrible.

But don't worry! At&t paints the situation as a "rosy garden of straight-forward synergies". Yea, right.

The company touts many advantages of its customers thanks to its newly annexed spectrum. T mobile's sprectrum will not compliment At&t's 700MHz licenses as it moves to 4G.

If none of this happens however, and the agreement doesn't pass with regulatory approval, At&t will owe T Mobile $3 billion in breakup fees. Interesting.

Heres a quick video with all the details and the deals affect on Germany and the stock markets:

Germans REstart photo booth craze in Europe

"Photoautomat" as its said, was popular among teens and children in the '70s but with photography as a hobby being  rediscovered by Germans -- Berliners in particularly -- the booths have made a resurgence in bars  and art galleries all over Europe. There's no doubt in my mind this trend will likely hop the pond very soon.

Booths are popping up in various places all around Europe. Bars and clubs and even interior galleries of museums in Paris are often inundated with socialites and jet-setters who often use the booths.

There are 11 booths in Germnay and they are maintained by the same two guys that accidentally kick-started the trend in 2005: Asger Doenst and Ole Kretschmann.

Getting the idea after they restored one for fun in 2003, it took two years and a lot of trial and error before they could start their business venture and bring them to the streets of Germany.

For two euros, anyone can step inside the booth, envision it's 1970 again, take some zany photographs, and receive their retro black and white photos within seconds.

Now, these men and their volunteers maintain these booths -- and they are in need of daily repair -- for free; that is, they don't make money from them. That's love, especially when you consider that Doenst personally thinks that Berlin is "disgusting"; which is the reason they require so much cleaning.

Whereas photo booths in the rest of Europe are becoming poplar in clubs and bars, these booths in Germany are in the public along sidewalks and shopping centers. Perhaps they could find a way to profit from their idea is by better researching their local logistics and potentially exporting it to America

For example, I've been to Germany, and just like these booths they also have public toilets that are literally just giant rooms you walk into -- once you pay of course -- where you can freshen up. They could contact the city and perhaps integrate photo booth technology in those bathrooms as opposed to having actual photo booths from the '70s that require constant work.

Here are some things I found doing a simple search for technology available regarding photo booths:

As well as the article referenced:

http://www.thelocal.de/lifestyle/20110310-33591.html

Germany asserts itself, Spearheads economic reform of EU

This week, German business, as well as their strongest lobbying groups have pushed for stronger financial responsibility within the European Unions. For months, Germany has been arguing the importance of a bailout fund and for every nation trading the Euro to be involved.

In January, Germany's finance minster agreed with Chancellor Merkel's plans to pursue a plan to establish a Bailout Fund for the European Union. Now, It seems those plans have materialized into a collective agreement including a provision asking nations to openly face sanctions if they violate the economic plan's budgetary rules.

Through a press release sent out on Friday, Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's finance minister, hoped the right signals would be sent to neighboring countries to show financial markets that Europe is resolved to defend its currency.

"The incentive for solid fiscal policy must be strengthened through debt breaks in national constitutions. If a country breaks the stability and growth pact, sanctions must come automatically," it read.

Another interesting side to this story is that Germany also advocates the end of financial help to countries in need. At this stage in development they said, the European Central Bank should stop buying their debt.

Nations undergoing conflicts or central bank problems, the article has said, opposed Germany, and the overall idea advocating reform.

The economic world gets a little smaller...

The New York Stock Exchange Euronext and Germany's Deutsche Borse reach a deal to merge this month creating "the world's largest market for stocks, equities and derivatives."





This consolidation has staggering implications if it actually happens. The NYSE is an American institution and if this merger went through that would literally change overnight. "Deutsche Borse is larger than the NYSE so its shareholders would have 60 percent of the new company," the article said. That might not seem like such a bad thing, but this move would almost surely mean thousands of jobs would be on the chopping block; that, as history has shown, is almost a  guarantee with mergers. 


A merger of stock exchanges has happened before. The London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange merged. It is unknown to me how the move affected the local areas but Proponents of such mergers say this will improve relations between the two countries and open up more relationships between Germany and the U.S.  

Conglomeration and Germany

"I contend that if a single conglomerate controls a substantial portion of the media market, it carries huge control over people's perception and values as a whole." 



As media ownership becomes more and more consolidated, it is important to realize the changes taking place. In many civilized countries including the U.S. and Germany, merging conglomerates are  inhibiting competition,  sharing ideas among each other and are decreasing the scope of creativity within a given media. As time goes by, more and more companies are swallowed up by larger companies and consumers are ultimately harmed by a product of diminished quality. Such can be seen when companies exercise synergy -- or two entities cooperating to achieve something that they would not have been able to achieve separately. Synergy between conglomerates promotes multiple uses of the same information, slightly altered to appeal to as many people as possible. In addition to being cost effective, conglomerates also offer less and less points of view to their consumers.

For example, Bertelsmann, the only German conglomerate in the "big six", has its roots in publishing. Opening its doors in 1835,  Bertelsmann published christian songs as well as novels. In the 1940s, they published nazi propaganda. Now, by purchasing hundreds of publishing houses such as Random House and record giants such as BMG, Bertelsmann has become the world's biggest publisher. Bertelsmann has undergone joint ventures with Time Warner and helped create Sony BMG; which combined many competing American record labels. This move saved both the companies $350 million annually by cutting jobs within the business.

Corporate influence in America is arguably apparent. With power consolidated into the hands of a few companies and with those companies working together effectively narrowing the scope of media even further it's easy to see the potential for a negative impact. In Germany however I don't think it's that cut and dry. As a son of a Polish mother, I have many family members and friends living in Europe many of which have emigrated to Germany. In about a week or two I will interview a friend of mine in Germany and post a Q and A section with him. But until then, he has told me, Germany's media comes off as very transparent and independent. He said that it was because they had a strong political culture. It was interesting for him to see teenagers get involved politically.

The 61st Berlin film festival celebrates movie medium

One of the biggest movie festivals in the world is under way...



This years Festival accepts English, American, Iranian, Hungarian, French and obviously German pieces all of which are vying for the coveted Golden Bear presented to this years' winner.

Of the the American movies that have impacted the Germans as well as the entire world is the Coen Brothers' True Grit featuring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. Also on the bill, is Margin Call by J.C Chandor. The piece stars Demi Moore and Kevin Spacey and is based on the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown.

The rest of the movies are relatively unknown to Americans. These movies however, are seen as the frontrunners: "The Turin Horse" by Bulgarian master movie maker Bella Tarr, features a story about the early life of Friedrich Nietzsche; "Coriolanus" by Fiennes, an English actor turned directors with his own  take of a classic Shakespeare play; "Yelling to the Sky" by American director Victoria Mahoney, featuring Lenny Kravtiz' daughter Zoe as a 17-year-old girl living a rough yet exciting life in New York; and Iranian born director Asghar Farhadi's "Nader and Simin, A Separation" a tale about a serendipitous couple.

America's biggest contribution to the film festival however, can be seen in one of Germany's first forays into special moviemaking called "Pina". Directed by Wim Wenders, it  features a new medium of film that has swept Germany as of late; 3D films.

3D capabilities wont be revolutionizing the way Germans look and use media anytime soon. But the way that this innovation has trickled from the top-down, represents a kind of free flow of ideas from developed countries to less developed countries. This is also an example, on a micro scale, of the neocolonial hegemony that exists between the U.S and the rest of the world.

Here is the trailer to one of germany's first 3D endeavors:

Einleitung (Introduction)

The "Heart of Europe" as some may say, is located West of Poland and East of Belgium and the Netherlands. The German speaking nation, as far as media goes, extends beyond the borders of Germany into Austria and parts of Switzerland connecting approximately 100 million people to the largest space within the European Union.

The Nation of Germany has a long, long history of political and socioeconomic dominance that has immensely affected the culture and ownership of the media. Nearly 400 years ago Germany saw the beginnings of the printing press era and in the '40s, saw the evils of media as it became a tool of Third Reich. As the German people came out of that period, they did so head strongly as they revamped their entire system of communications completely and literally anew drafting a new constitution in 1949 that was firmly rooted in the principles of freedom of the press. As time marched on however, Germany became a system divided. After the the end of the German Democratic Republic and into the '90s, the country's system of media remained a dichotomy of old and new in that old ideas still dominated some sectors of German media.

Before I get more into detail about German media, I want to offer a few quick insightful miscellaneous facts about the country with the fifth largest economy:

• Germany is one of the few countries of the world where Holocaust Denial has been declared a crime.
• After the Irish, Germans are the largest consumers of beer.
• Germany boasts among its greatest imports (In no particular order), Einstein, Kant, Heisenberg, iron, coal, cement, the motorcycle, the clarinet and the pocket watch.

OK, now back to business:

• In Germany, there are approximately 82 million people with approximately 32 million of them      possessing at least one TV.
• In May 1945, after being devastated by WWII, Germany began anew economically and militarily. This era defined by its re-education and denazification plans, Germans became democratically primed in what history calls "hour zero".
• German media is heavily influenced by Western society. Many newspapers are even controlled by Western companies.

Newspapers, although on the decline, make up the most popular form of media next to television and  Internet. There are over 1,500 newspapers in Germany; 95% of which report local news. There are only a hand full of national papers: Suddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Welt, Frankfurter Rundschau, Tageszeitung and BILD. BILD Zeitung, with a circulation of over 3.3 million, is the top selling tabloid in Germany as well as as in Europe.

Also extremely popular in Deutschland are magazines. Currently, there are over 900 general magazines on the market. Der Spiegel, is an investigative reporting style of magazine modeled after the America's Time Magazine and is the most popular and influential publication in Germany.

Print media, much like in America, is dominated more or less by a dominant few. Together they own 45 percent of the marketplace, they are as follows:

• the Axel Springer Group owns 22.1 percent of the market including BILD.
• Verlagsgruppe Stuttfarter Zeitung owns 8.5 percent.
• the WAZ Group owns 6 percent.
• DuMont Schauberg owns 4.2 percent; and
• Ippen Gruppe owns 4 percent.

Magazine ownership also is in the hands of a chosen few. With around 60 percent market majority they are:

• Bauer
• Springer
• Burda; and
• Bertelsmann

Next week I'll go into TV, news agencies, digital media, etc. In the meantime, I'll leave you with some cool links including a great profile page of Germany done by BBC news.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1047864.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany