Content:
Precht and Welzer have written a bestseller in which they accuse the German leading media of (1) not reflecting the diversity of political positions in their reporting, (2) constantly losing quality and therefore (3) losing trust among the population. Empirical research in no way supports this gloomy picture. In the past crises, for example, the media were by no means united behind the government, as content analyses show. And the studies on trust in the media also paint a very differentiated picture and do not support the thesis of a growing general mistrust. Precht and Welzer explain the supposed decline of the leading media primarily by journalists’ efforts to exert political influence – from journalism to activism. There is no evidence for this either from empirical journalism research. The proposed measures to save journalism, such as a “European public service broadcasting”, are also unconvincing.
“What to make of the media bashing by Richard David Precht and Harald Welzer?”
On 28 September 2022, a new newspaper article appeared in the Tagesspiegel by Gerhard Vowe on the topic of journalism research.