One in four people in Germany has a history of immigration – and this proportion will continue to rise significantly in the next few years. But although German society has been diverse for decades, this is often only reflected in public discourse when it comes to difficulties with immigration and some immigrants. Media shapes our image of each other – and could be a bridge towards a common and diverse “we” in Germany. However, this doesn’t happen nearly as often as it could and should. Newspapers, broadcasters and online media are often driven by political debates about migration and integration and thus reinforce – albeit unintentionally – the impression that the country’s biggest problems lie in these areas. It is still far too rare for a number of media outlets to completely calmly depict the fact that almost 25 percent of people in this country have an international biography. Why is that? What should reporting look like that calmly depicts the naturalness of Germany as an immigration country? And why is this still a question in 2024, even though the majority of journalists are open to the topic of diversity?
SZ journalist Nils Minkmar talks about media and the self-image of the diverse society with the journalist and author Stephan Anpalagan, who in his current book “Struggle and Longing in the Middle of Society” deals with how this middle encounters those who view it as foreign – and what that means for those who are affected by it.
“quoted. der medienpodcast” is a format from CIVIS Medienstiftung and Süddeutscher Zeitung, funded by Stiftung Mercator.
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