Maybe it was because of his youthful appearance, Alexander Spöri suspects, that the CSU didn’t really want to believe that he was a journalist – despite his press card and an official registration. The 22-year-old works in Munich for the online medium t-online and wanted to report on Monday about the appearance of CSU leader Markus Söder at the Gillamoos folk festival in Lower Bavaria, as did dozens of journalists from all over Germany. But for Spöri and his colleague Jannik Läkamp, the day’s work turned out to be unusually difficult.
As the two journalists reported on Monday evening, they are said to have been prevented from reporting by security forces and a press spokesman for the CSU. First, they are said to have been asked several times for their press credentials, as there were doubts as to whether the two were actually journalists.
When a climate activist from the “Last Generation” wanted to disrupt Söder’s speech from the audience with an unrolled banner, Läkamp was arrested by a bodyguard from Söder. He filmed the protest with his cell phone. The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, which is responsible for Söder’s personal protection, confirms that an officer was involved in an “unclear situation”. A spokesman did not give details of the process.
After the protest, the CSU spokesman is said to have sat down next to the two journalists and asked them not to publish the video. “Because that would allegedly violate the personal rights of the tent visitors,” says Alexander Spöri in a phone call to the SZ. “The CSU tent was the most public place in Bavaria on Monday morning.” Because of the leaflet affair about Söder’s deputy Hubert Aiwanger and the upcoming state elections, public interest in Gillamoos was particularly great this year.
In addition, according to Spöri, the Söder spokesman “stared into our laptop for minutes” and, despite repeated requests to refrain from doing so, did not stop. Inappropriate behavior, says Spöri. The video was released anyway.
An activist from the “last generation” tried to disrupt Markus Söder’s speech at the Gillamoos folk festival in Lower Bavaria.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
The Bavarian Association of Journalists (BJV) reprimanded the behavior of the CSU in a written statement on Tuesday. “The press department of the CSU does not have to tell journalists what to publish,” said BJV chairman Harald Stocker. He criticized the action as an attempt to interfere with the freedom of reporting in order to prevent unpleasant images of a protest action. The BJV demanded that the CSU clarify the incident.
When asked by SZ, the party speaks of a confusing situation in connection with the disruption of the “last generation”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/.”According to eyewitnesses, there were close agreements between the reporters and the activists. That’s why it was – unlike all other journalists at the event – unclear whether these reporters were part of the group.” According to a party spokesman, there was no hindrance to reporting. “In general, it should be clear: the boundaries and different roles of journalism and activism should not be blurred.”
Journalist Spöri had already indicated in his report on Monday that the incident could be based on a mistake and that the two journalists were probably mistaken for activists of the protest group. He rejects the accusation that he behaved like an activist.
In order to clear up this misunderstanding, a look at the press card should have been enough, he thinks. Or a quick Google search. Incidentally, there you can also find out that journalist Spöri ran for the Taufkirchen municipal council as an 18-year-old. On the list of the CSU.