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Is Anti-Americanism in German Media Just Unprofessional?


German media tend to forget themselves, when they report from the U.S. - This seems to indicate that, in foreign reporting, journalistic criteria are often more relaxed in comparison with reporting on domestic issues. German newspaper DIE WELT spoke with anti-Americanism researcher Lutz Erbring.

Public protests during major political events in today's world are nothing unusual anymore, but almost a regular occurrence. U.S.-President George W. Bush has acknowledged that fact many times. He has even welcomed protests and emphasized that they demonstrate the presence of freedom and the rights to publicly disagree in the countries where they happen. The situation in the United States is not much different. But the degree of opposition against the policies of the present administration in Washington seems to be remarkable, considering the fact that Americans have played a major role in the liberation of Germans from dictatorship and oppression. Now they seem to oppose any U.S. attempt to bring the same freedom and self-determination to other countries, and President Bush is presently facing a difficult task, convincing German listeners, that his policies were justified: According to a poll by the German Marshall Fund, 59% of Germans, and 62% of the population of France do not agree with today's U. S. foreign policy.

Lutz Erbring, journalism professor and Anti-Americanism researcher in Berlin, believes that German journalists are largely to blame. When they report on domestic issues, they are much more careful, he said in an interview with Franz Solms-Laubach, published in the newspaper DIE WELT. However, when it comes to the United States, standards are relaxed: The published material typically reflects the official German government position. This is not intended, but still unprofessional: The presentation of news and opinion is not properly separated.

One can speculate over the psychological mechanism, says Erbring. Domestic topics are part of our daily lives to a higher degree. When it comes to reporting on foreign issues, there are simply fewer restraints, and more stereotypes can be observed: Arrogance, lack of culture, double moral, prudery, even superficiality. Television, radio, newspapers, and magazines in Germany are used to emphasize these stereotypes. And correctness in the reporting of facts often takes major hits. Erbring uses an example from a report by, "probably", Anne Will, who said in an ARD (German Public Radio/TV Network) broadcast during the beginning stages of the Iraq war: "The American Air Force has again bombed paths through Baghdad". This might have reminded older Germans of the heavy Allied bombardments during World War II. But it was incorrect, because the American military have done everything in their power to save lives of civilians during the attacks. High tech equipment and "intelligent bombs" were used to hit military destinations only. That fact, although repeatedly emphasized by the Bush administration and reported extensively in the United States, was completely ignored in the German report.

A motivation for such reporting in Germany, says Erbring, exists independently of the political spectrum. The conservative media tends to put down everything American as hollow, superficial, worthless, false, cheap and flashy - a horror for people with high cultural values. And out of the left corner comes the anti-capitalistic devaluation of everything American, connected with the threat of "McDonaldization" and "anti-Coca-Cola" calls.

This Anti-Americanism, according the journalism professor in Germany, is cultural in nature and has its roots in the European arrogance, to see itself in contrast to a cultureless America. After World War II, because of the positive effects of the Marshall plan and other measures of assistance, this criticism was held back. Only in the late 60ies, during the student riots and worldwide protests against the Vietnam War, the picture of the United States became significantly darker. During that time, "Anti-Americanism" became a virulent swearword. George W. Bush, who seems to irritate the German and the European public to a higher degree, is responsible for a new wave of that Anti-Americanism, according to Dr. Erbring. At the end of 2003, shortly after the invasion of Iraq, only 9% of the Germans felt close to the United States. 45% said: "I see America at a great distance". 5 years before that, it was the other way around. The feeling has changed within a short time. The media tend to interpret complex phenomena in a political and cultural way for everyday use. On the other hand, the stereotypical tendencies must be present in the thoughts of the reader and listener, in order to find him open for the described reporting style in the media. There must be a common denominator. Otherwise, the "user" of the media would not understand the reporter.

Erbring believes, that, although President Bush is to blame for a large part of the present Anti-American tendencies, a latent Anti-Americanism is going to stay present underneath the surface, even after he is gone. In 5 years, there will be a different U.S. president, and Iraq will possibly be stabile. But the Anti-Americanism has a long tradition and will not go away anytime soon.








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