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Europod • News

Is Germany joining the trend of politics shaping media freedom?

Season 1, Ep. 170
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In Germany, a dispute over public broadcasting has reached the political spotlight. Julia Ruhs, a journalist and presenter of Klar, a programme that often covered right-wing themes such as immigration and COVID-19 policy, has been dropped by northern Germany’s public broadcaster NDR. 

The decision triggered a strong reaction from the Christian Democrats. Their general secretary, Carsten Linnemann, described it as “a new low for debate culture in Germany” and suggested freezing the licence fee that funds public broadcasters until further notice. With press freedom under political pressure worldwide, is Germany joining the trend?

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Production: By Europod, in co production with Sphera Network.

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