BOOKS
Mükke, Lutz (2014)
CORRESPONDENTS IN THE COLD WAR. BETWEEN JOURNALISTIC SELF-ASSERTION AND PROPAGANDA.
Original: KORRESPONDENTEN IM KALTEN KRIEG. ZWISCHEN JOURNALISTISCHER SELBSTBEHAUPTUNG UND PROPAGANDA.
442 S., Köln: von Halem
REVIEWS
Deutschlandfunk
“The ideological antagonisms of the Cold War were also reflected in a completely different coverage of world events. At that time correspondents from the GDR (German Democratic Republic, LM) and from the Federal Republic (of Germany, LM) very strongly embodied these opposing perspectives. (…) Media scientist Mükke, who was born in the GDR, argues that foreign correspondents in the two German states were very much defenders of the respective political system in which they were socialized. As foreign correspondents, they were among the privileged information and representation elites of their countries. At the same time they were very idiosyncratic types, amongst them were willing day laborers or political ideologues as well as journalistic enlighteners. (…) The fascinating part of the reading is not only the historical review of important events and conflict hotspots of the Cold War. ”
Portal for Political Science
“An enlightening book on the role of the media in times of conflict, a topic of relevance to Russia and Ukraine too.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
“… enlightening and informative, worth reading anyway.”
Scientific Debate
“The book worth reading about “Correspondents in the Cold War” shows in many journalistic life stories the ideological struggle between good and evil.
But have the values of the West really won? The 19 interviews with political correspondents from the FRG and GDR from the Cold War era, including well-known names such as Kienzle, Loewe, Bednarz are exciting. (…) The ideological struggle of the systems for power and a dignified existence flares up again in the texts. ”
rkm
“Partially very exciting to read (…) and partly also investigative character (…), especially when correspondents like Ralf Bachmann report on their intelligence activities and contacts or espionage activities (…) or Lothar Loewe’s expulsion from the GDR in 1976 is thematized. In addition to explanations of historical contexts (…) and possibility of objectivity and veracity in connection with journalistic reporting from crisis and war zones reflected. In this respect, the book is recommended for anyone who is fascinated by the profession of foreign correspondents or wants to be fascinated.”
Lutz Mükke (2009)
‘Journalists of Darkness” Actors, Structures and Potentials of German Africa-Coverage”
Original: ‘JOURNALISTEN DER FINSTERNIS’ AKTEURE, STRUKTUREN UND POTENTIALE DEUTSCHER AFRIKA-BERICHTERSTATTUNG
556 S., Köln: von Halem
Reviews
Publizistik
“It is thanks to Lutz Mükke that, with his outstanding study, he presents a comprehensive and theoretically founded work on actors and structures of reporting on Africa (…) beyond the ritualized lament of the lack of representation of Africa (…) as clever as original analyzed. ”
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“ARD and ZDF should take the chapter ‘gray areas, deficit areas and undesirable developments’ serious enough to send the text to all correspondents.”
Deutschlandradio
“He has provided an important basis for discussion.”
Afrikapost
“Highly recommended for those who are interested in the processes behind the journalism scenes!”
Funkkorrespondenz
“There is much enlightening to find in the book”
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Haller, Michael/ Mükke, Lutz (Editors) (2010)
HOW THE MEDIA GAINED FREEDOM. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE East German MEDIA LANDSCAPE SINCE THE DOWNFALL OF THE GDR
263 S., Köln: von Halem
REVIEWS
rkm
“The longtime director of the institute for practical journalism research and Professor Emeritus chair of journalism at the university of Leipzig, professor Michael Haller, and his younger colleague Dr. Lutz Mükke a kind of review (…) to the radical changes in the east German media landscape (…)
The whole is divided into four main areas, which are 1. the change of system, 2. the change of the journalistic role models, 3. the image of East Germany in the west German media, and 4. adaptation and resistance in today’s journalism. (…) At the same time, “mistakes and inadequacies” should be consciously made visible (…), why the elite-oriented supra-regional West German newspapers have failed to gain a foothold among the people in Eastern Germany and state that there are missing “translation and communication services” (… ) also names the failure of politics in the reorganization of the east German media landscape, which today is characterized mainly by monopoly structures in which the ever-decreasing journalists on the ground hardly can fulfill the role of a fourth force. (…) multi-faceted overview of the transformation of the east German media landscape after the demise of the GDR. ”
Portal for Political Science
“Since 1990, the East Germans (Journalists Anm. LM) have come to terms with their self-image to their West German counterparts, assessing themselves as “the better human beings and journalists”. Subsequently, in the last two parts of the book, the perspective is changed and examined how the west German media see the new five members of the federal republic. With regard to the east German image of Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, the “impression of a (…) still divided country” arises, which is why “the danger of solidification of a stereotypical view is pointed from a west German perspective”. The case of Sebnitz comes to the fore as a prime example of the partially prejudice-based reporting which “still stands today as one of the most serious dysfunctions of the journalistic system in post-reunification Germany”.
H-Soz-Kult, Platform for Historians
“The genesis of the volume by Michael Haller and Lutz Mükke lies in the time of the first half of the 1990s (…) Primarily, it is about the structure of the East German media landscape. Secondly, it is about the journalists as central actors. Thirdly, it is about the image of the new federal states in the west German leading media. And finally it is asked how the specific experiences and impressions of the East Germans reflects in “their” regional daily newspapers. (…). The privatization results, however, are clearly visible. The media companies can act highly efficient, economically secured and with great power of opinion. The diversity of opinion, however, remains ignored in east Germany. By August 1992, the number of local editions published on the east German market after the reunification had already halved to 33. What remained are the former SED district newspapers, all of which – with the exception of the “Nordkurier” and the “Märkische Oderzeitung” – belonged to west German large publishers. (…).The construction of the east Germans in the supra-regional leading media of the west forms the third thematic complex. (…) It turns out that relevant facts have been omitted or incorrect statements have been presented as facts, so that “the authors sometimes accept gross violations of journalistic due diligence in order to give the product a certain, already a priori intended direction”.
