As of: February 21, 2024, 3:05 p.m
By: Moritz Maier
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The Munich Merkur (Merkur.de) reports the most balanced.
This is the result of the scientific study by the University of Mainz.
© Max Litzka / IPPEN.MEDIA/DALL·E (machine generated*)
A study highlights Merkur as the most balanced media in the country and the Frankfurter Rundschau as the left-liberal voice of the nation.
Both belong to Ippen.Media – a special network
Two IPPEN.MEDIA
brands
stand out in a current media study.
In the extensive study by the renowned Institute for Journalism at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz entitled “Is something missing?”, a team of researchers analyzed over 11,000 articles and contributions with a view to the diversity of perspectives in the German media.
Of the 47 media examined, the
Munich Merkur
is at the top for balanced reporting.
In addition, the
Frankfurter Rundschau
lives up to its own standards and therefore belongs
According to the study on Germany's "most progressive and welfare state-oriented media."
Munich Merkur at the forefront of balanced reporting
Against the background of Germans' declining trust in the media, the Mainz research team led by the study leader and professor of political communication, Marcus Maurer, examined the most important German newspapers, news broadcasts and online articles over a period of three months.
These include public broadcasting media (ÖRR) such as the
Tagesschau
,
ZDF aktuell
and
Deutschlandfunk
.
But private media across the entire political spectrum were also monitored and analyzed in detail.
Maurer and his colleagues from Mainz examined the content of reports, classifications of current events and how often politicians from different parties were mentioned.
This is how the media portrays parties © IPPEN.MEDIA data team, source: Maurer, Kruschinski and Jost.
“Is there something missing?
Diversity of perspectives in public news formats”.
University of Mainz (2024).
Examples of titled media: The ones with the highest reach in each of the three categories (e.g. public service) and channels (e.g. TV, web) as well as Merkur and FR.
The study addressed two central questions.
On the one hand, it was examined where and how the respective media can be classified socio-politically.
The Frankfurter Rundschau
stands out
as a clearly left-liberal medium.
“The
Frankfurter Rundschau
is one of the most progressive and social state-oriented media we have in Germany,” says study director Maurer to our editorial team.
The Frankfurter Rundschau is one of the most progressive media in Germany
Overall, the German media landscape, including public broadcasting, tends to have a more left-wing orientation.
“Most media reporting is rather progressive,” says Maurer.
However, he emphasizes that the ÖRR does not stand out as “too left-wing” and that the diversity of opinions and perspectives in German media remains great.
Nevertheless, with regard to the study results, the professor would like the media system as a whole to move a little more towards the center.
“One expects internal pluralism from public broadcasting.
This means that all stations position themselves around the political center and therefore each station is inherently diverse.”
Mercury is equally critical of parties and politicians on the left and right of center
The Munich Merkur
is already moving very close to the center
.
The second central question of the study was about the balance of reporting.
The scientific study showed that the
Münchner Merkur,
alongside the
Welt
and the
Augsburger Allgemeine,
“reported the most balanced overall”, i.e. it was equally critical of parties and politicians on the left and right of center.
For Professor Maurer, this is nothing new: “The
Munich Mercury
is always close to the middle in all studies and findings.”
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With the results of the Mainz study on diversity of perspectives, the
IPPEN.MEDIA
editorial network sees its social mission confirmed.
The aim of
IPPEN.MEDIA
is to promote diversity of opinion.
With the
Münchner Merkur
as one of the most balanced media in the country and the
Frankfurter Rundschau
as the nation's strong left-liberal voice, it is precisely this diversity that is promoted.
The reporting by the editorial network with more than 50 media brands across the entire democratic opinion spectrum is intended to offer readers the best opportunity to obtain independent information and thus form their own opinions.