German press enviously free

MUNICH, Germany (JP): Liberal and independent are the two words in the German constitution guiding the country's press.

The press faces few regulations because press laws introduced in all 16 German states reaffirm its constitutional position, and list a handful of don'ts.

With the constitution firmly behind them, German journalists almost take their freedom for granted.

"Freedom of the press was the main conflict area in journalism in the 1950s and 1960s," said Frauke Anker, chairperson of the Association of Bavarian Journalists.

The issue was effectively settled in 1964 by the constitutional court ruling in the celebrated Spiegel Affair, which determined that the government cannot interfere.

Since then, the federal government and the state governments have respected the liberal position of the press.

Bavarian politicians once tried to extend the statutory limit for press libel from six months since the date of publication. "We made such a big noise that the politicians gave it up completely," Anker said.

The statutory limit for other criminal offenses is 25 years.

"Now the conflict is between the press and industry," commented Anker, a lawyer by profession, in her Munich office.

She is currently representing a young female journalist who was denied access to Nurnberg industries after her report about the economically depressed town famed for its Grundig electronics firm.

"They (Nurnberg businesspeople) are questioning her judgment," she said. "These industrial bosses think of themselves as big tough guys."

Another common area of conflict is breaches of privacy. Here, the press cannot count on the sympathy of the courts.

"The courts are getting tougher, meting out stiffer penalties, for infringements on people's right to privacy," Anker said. "This is becoming more frequent in Germany."

Most disputes with the press in Bavaria were settled out of court, she added.

With very few rules to guide them, the German press industry is primarily self-regulated, with the Press Council -- comprising representatives from publishers and editors -- as its watchdog.

"We go by the adage that self-control is better than state control," said Lutz Tillmanns, the council's managing director.

The number of complaints received by the council has increased in recent years. In 1986, there were 121 written complaints, in 1991 333 complaints and last year 460. By the end of August this year, it had received more than 500.

Tillmans said the amount of complaints was still small considering the many publications in Germany.

The council has issued a professional code of ethics.

For a watchdog, the council is virtually toothless as its power is limited to merely reprimanding publications. Only a few complaints have led to this action.

In 1996, the council found reason to issue reprimands in 11 cases, four of them against the Hamburg-based tabloid Bilt Zeitung, according to Tillmanns.

"The council is not the only institution to ensure press compliance with the code of ethics," he said when asked about the council's limited power.

The Association of German Journalists and the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers are both actively training journalists and editors to maintain the professional standards of their members.

During the Nazi era, journalism was a regulated profession, and the press was a propaganda tool.

Now, the Basic Law (constitution) says everyone can write, and therefore can call himself/herself a journalist, said Anja Pasquay, spokesperson of the publishers' association.

"After the war, everybody could write what they like. But the market decides whose writings get published."

Federal government officials say generally the German press have behaved themselves and that there have not been many cases of them abusing their freedoms.

"We don't have any problem," said Monika Schmidt-Fockenhausen, head of international cooperation division at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Pfalz Rheinhessen state government claims it has had few problems with the local press.

There were the odd occasions, like when the press reported on a state minister as having a love affair.

"But on the whole, we're quite content with the situation," said Wolfgang K. Lembach, deputy spokesman of the state government.

The German press also upholds its independence to the letter, expecting -- and getting -- little favor from the government.

None of the newspapers in Germany receives a subsidy, and the small publications have to fight it out on the same playing field with the giant publishers.

The only favor the industry receives from the government is a 50 percent reduction in value-added tax, from 15 to 7.5 percent, a facility which is also extended to books and cultural products.

Newspapers also receive discounts on mailing rates because some 800,000 copies are sent by post every day. "Everybody has to have the chance to read what he/she wants to read at a reasonable price," Pasquay said.

While the German constitution makes journalism a noble profession, the public gives it little respect.

Salaries of journalists are the subject of negotiations between the association of publishers and associations of journalists every year.

"Salaries are too low," complained Augsberger Allgemeine political editor Uwe Wilke, a Vietnam war "veteran".

But Anker said wages, at a monthly range between 4,800-8,500 DM, were quite good.

The same cannot be said of their social standing.

"They are almost as low as politicians, who are at the bottom among the most loathed professions, according to a recent survey," Anker said. (emb)