It has become common for platforms like Telex, Hvg, and 444 in Hungary to refer to themselves as independent media. However, in several detailed articles, we have demonstrated that this is not the case. Now we have looked into the situation in the German media market, which is often cited as a reference for liberal media. We were curious to see if there really are separate, independent editorial offices where there are no personal connections between politicians and media owners. The answer is surprising: the media situation in Germany is much more corrupt than we might think.
Who Controls the Western Media?
Anyone who reads the international press will have noticed that the interpretation and presentation of news are often very similar. The major international newspapers essentially write about the same topics. This is obviously due not only to ideological commitment but also to the media owners.
If we look at the structure of media ownership in Germany, it becomes immediately clear that the European public is fundamentally controlled by American or German ownership. Behind all major German media products are two large media companies, which control 60 percent of the public. The owners of these companies are members of the global liberal elite and maintain very close, almost friendly, relationships with the respective German leadership.
Germany is Dominated by Two Major Media Groups: Bertelsmann and Axel Springer.
Bertelsmann/RTL Group
One of Europe’s largest media conglomerates, which also owns the Hungarian RTL, is the Bertelsmann Group. According to the European Media Ownership Monitor, the company has interests from France to the Baltic States and Hungary. They have a vast media portfolio, ranging from Spiegel to RTL in Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Hungary, and they also control half of the Spanish media market. The following graphic is telling:
Additionally, Bertelsmann controls the world’s largest book publisher, whose authors range from Michelle Obama to Dan Brown and Jamie Oliver. The company has an annual revenue of around 18 billion euros and a profit of more than 1 billion euros. Naturally, their revenues are organized into a foundation, so they hardly have to pay taxes.
The company’s leaders have established personal relationships with practically every German chancellor in the post-war period, including Merkel. At the helm of the company and the closely cooperating foundation is a matriarch named Liz Mohn, who co-authored a book with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who recently called Mohn a “brilliant light and role model.”
The former Secretary-General of the European Commission, Martin Selmayr, was a Bertelsmann lobbyist in Brussels until 2004. The company spends millions on lobbying in Brussels. The following table clearly shows how much they spent in which year to influence decision-making in Brussels.
Data published by the European Commission also reveal that the media group’s executives, for example, met frequently with Vera Jurová in 2023 to discuss media freedom. This means that one of the world’s largest media conglomerates is discussing media freedom with an EU Commissioner. Previously, Bertelsmann was also active in Hungary, organizing events where the CEO of the Bertelsmann Foundation gave lectures to Gordon Bajnai.
It can be stated that one of Europe’s most influential media leaders is a personal friend of German chancellors and also publishes books with the current President of the European Commission while lobbying in Brussels in the name of media and press freedom, and sometimes even providing the EU’s Secretary-General. The Bertelsmann Group naturally declares that they are politically impartial and independent, but the above facts speak for themselves. The owners of one of the most important media companies, RTL, are friends with German chancellors and the head of the EU Commission.
Axel Springer
Besides Bertelsmann, the other major media company is Axel Springer. They are also strong in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe. One can say without exaggeration that they control half of the Polish, Slovak, Czech, and to a lesser extent, Croatian and Hungarian media markets.
This is what the Axel Springer empire looks like:
They have mainly established themselves in the print and online newspaper markets.
In Germany, they are so strong that if we compare it to Hungarian conditions, it looks like they own Telex, Blikk, 24.hu, Hvg, and 444. This company publishes Europe’s largest and most widely read newspaper, Bild, as well as Politico. Politico is the newspaper read by the Brussels elite and has a significant influence on decisions in Brussels. Through this newspaper, EU policy is most easily influenced. Interestingly, however, this newspaper was never entirely European-owned. Initially purely American, it is now only partly, but still partially, American-owned.
The CEO and one of the owners of Axel Springer is a media entrepreneur named Mathias Döpfner. He is a full-fledged member of the global liberal elite and was on the guest list of the 2023 Bilderberg Conference. Axel Springer has headquarters in both Berlin and New York, and the ownership structure is relatively simple. The majority owner is an American global investment firm, KKR & Co. The minority owner is the Springer family, particularly Friede Springer.
She is one of the richest people in Germany and the eighth richest woman in the country. Not surprisingly, she is also a friend and one of Merkel’s most loyal supporters.
The media elite and the political elite in Germany are so closely intertwined that it is almost unimaginable from Hungary’s perspective. For example, at the 80th birthday party of the media owner, half of the European elite and the top of German politics were present.
The newspapers owned by Friede Springer reported on the event and wrote that she was congratulated by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, former Presidents Horst Köhler and Joachim Gauck, and Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave a speech, praising Friede Springer as “a woman of clear conviction and great heart.” Scholz added, “Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for the free press!”
So, when Hungary is accused of lacking media freedom, it is definitely worth looking at Germany. In Europe’s strongest state, there is practically total cooperation between politics and the media. The alignment between political messages and media reports is so great because the elite are completely intertwined. Politicians and media owners have corrupted each other over the years. They collaborate and close ranks.
Of course, it is also not negligible and raises certain national security questions that American influence in the German and EU media sphere is increasing. The European elite seem to make no attempt to counter this.
Edited by Ivan Hajda
