AP: There is one difference, according to my experience … in the process of research you are on a team with the author. In process of fact checking, it’s more of an adversarial relationship.
MS: The relationship is different, true. But the way of working isn’t. In both cases, I try to find accurate information. In the research phase, I try to find a broader amount of information. And the fact checking is guided by the facts provided in the article.
CS: Do you think your readers know about this very involved fact checking process?
AP: I think so, yeah. One of the reasons to have such a big and of course financially significant fact checking and research department is to build up a special relationship between reader and magazine. In German there is a term [that means] “reader-magazine connection.” And it has something to do with the special image of Der Spiegel in Germany.
CS: Why do you think you’re the only ones who do this in Germany?
AP: We’re not the only one. We’re the one who does it in the most sophisticated way.
MS: I think it is a [part of our magazine’s] culture, and because Der Spiegel wants to be—and is—a high quality product.
AP: And let’s say it: For many years [the magazine] was also economically a very successful product. It had the money to sustain such a significant department, and that’s the reason why it’s interesting to see what is going to happen when [we have] less money.
Correction of the Week
“An earlier edition of this story incorrectly stated that ACORN advisers posed as a prostitute and a pimp. In fact, two conservatives who posed as a pimp and a prostitute sought tax tips from ACORN advisers.” – The Washington Post
Craig Silverman´s article delivers interesting and important information on the Spiegel´s impressive fact-checking department, which he acquired at the end of March 2010 fact-checking conference at Spiegel headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. Some additional background information should be added to allow American readers, usually not familiar with Der Spiegel, a better understanding of its strong and weak points. Spiegel´s Documentation Department originally was not a fact-checking operation of the American type, aiming at getting stories factually right and preventing libel suits. Rudolf Augstein, Spiegel´s first owner and publisher, had big political ambitions and fought against Western integration of Germany during the cold war. Spiegel became famous for muckraking, but the muckraking was often aimed at destroying the political careers of politicians Augstein opposed. The objective of the Documentation Department was to collect all the facts bolstering Augstein’s position, omitting or dismissing contrary facts and thus helping to produce "convincing" stories. The Spiegel quite often lost libel suits and had to pay damages, but Augstein did not care very much and his Spiegel was able to pay. (German courts allow no punitive damages).
In 1962 the Spiegel offices were searched and occupied by the police, and Augstein and several Spiegel editors were taken into investigative custody, being accused of having published military secrets. Students, liberals and even conservatives organized widespread protests defending freedom of the press. (A sit-in demonstration, "Free Augstein", at the Frankfurt Hauptwache was the first public protest I, then 15 years of age, participated in). Augstein was released and the criminal procedings ended because no intentional breach of secrecy could be proven. Augstein´s main political foe had to resign as German Defense Secretary (he returned a few years later as Secretary of the Treasury). Augstein became a national freedom hero in Germany, Spiegel´s circulation doubled to more than a million, and Rudolf Augstein and Spiegel-Documentation rode out many cases of factual misreporting without corrections and without serious image problems. Augstein had become a "teflon publisher", because many Germans credited him with having "rescued" Germany’s democracy and free press during the Cold War era.
Since Augstein’s death in 2002 no publisher or editor at the Spiegel comes close to his "teflon status", power and ability to stop and spoon-feed fact checking. Spiegel reporting became less ideological and Spiegel-Documentation department is focusing in on American type fact checking, often delivering factchecking excellence. However, problems with factchecking by Spiegel-Documentation remain where old Spiegel“revelations” have become mainstream mediacontent but lack factual correctness and have to be reevaluated. How many serious corrections can "venerable" Spiegel's image withstand?
Such a problem plagued the fact-checking conference, even it barely became a point of discussions. In 1959 Rudolf Augstein published a big investigative story revealing that the reichstag fire was not started by the national socialists, as believed until then, but by young Dutch anarchist Marinus van der Lubbe alone without their knowledge or participation. This revelation became mainstream in media and history writing after official German research Institut for contempary History "Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte ", Munich, published a confirming professional opinion. Der Spiegel recapitulated the Story every decade. Today even Ian Kershaw and many American textbooks on German history present the Spiegel´s revelation as true history .
Independent fact checking proves that the Spiegel´s “revelation” relied on faked witness statements and neglected evidence in police and court records of 1933, implicating other suspects that the police did not dare to investigate be
#1 Posted by Hersch Fischler, CJR on Wed 14 Apr 2010 at 01:33 PM
Yes, Der Spiegel is highly overrated. In my book, Energy Switch, I lambaste their coverage of energy for three pages. Der Spiegel acknowledged that I am right by recommending the German edition of my book in a special issue devoted to energy - I was one of 19 books recommended:
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegelspecial/0,1518,474513,00.html
Don't read Spiegel. It's a waste of time.
#2 Posted by Craig Morris, CJR on Mon 19 Apr 2010 at 01:52 PM
Since my commentary above of April 14 2010 somehow got a technical damage and is interrupted where it becomes interesting, I post it again in its original form:
Craig Silverman´s article delivers interesting and important information on theSpiegel´s impressive fact-checking department, which he acquired at the end of March 2010 fact-checking conference at Spiegel headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. Some additional background information should be added to allow American readers, usually not familiar with Der Spiegel, a better understanding of its strong and weak points. Spiegel´s Documentation Department originally was not a fact-checking operation of the American type, aiming at getting stories factually right and preventing libel suits. Rudolf Augstein,Spiegel´s first owner and publisher, had big political ambitions and fought against Western integration of Germany during the cold war. Spiegel became famous for muckraking, but the muckraking was often aimed at destroying the political careers of politicians Augstein opposed. The objective of the Documentation Department was to collect all the facts bolstering Augstein’s position, omitting or dismissing contrary facts and thus helping to produce "convincing" stories. The Spiegel quite often lost libel suits and had to pay damages, but Augstein did not care very much and his Spiegel was able to pay. (German courts allow no punitive damages). In 1962 the Spiegel offices were searched and occupied by the police, and Augstein and several Spiegeleditors were taken into investigative custody, being accused of having published military secrets. Students, liberals and even conservatives organized widespread protests defending freedom of the press. (A sit-in demonstration, "Free Augstein", at the Frankfurt Hauptwache was the first public protest I, then 15 years of age, participated in). Augstein was released and the criminal procedings ended because no intentional breach of secrecy could be proven. Augstein´s main political foe had to resign as German Defense Secretary (he returned a few years later as Secretary of the Treasury). Augstein became a national freedom hero in Germany, Spiegel´s circulation doubled to more than a million, and Rudolf Augstein and Spiegel-Documentation rode out many cases of factual misreporting without corrections and without serious image problems. Augstein had become a "teflon publisher", because many Germans credited him with having "rescued" Germany’s democracy and free press during the Cold War era. Since Augstein’s death in 2002 no publisher or editor at the Spiegel comes close to his "teflon status", power and ability to stop and spoon-feed fact checking. Spiegel reporting became less ideological and Spiegel-Documentation department is focusing in on American type fact checking, often delivering factchecking excellence. However, problems with factchecking bySpiegel-Documentation remain where old Spiegel“revelations” have become mainstream mediacontent but lack factual correctness and have to be reevaluated. How many serious corrections can "venerable" Spiegel's image withstand? Such a problem plagued the fact-checking conference, even it barely became a point of discussions. In 1959 Rudolf Augstein published a big investigative story revealing that the reichstag fire was not started by the national socialists, as believed until then, but by young Dutch anarchist Marinus van der Lubbe alone without their knowledge or participation. This revelation became mainstream in media and history writing after official German research Institut for contempary History "Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte ", Munich, published a confirming professional opinion. Der Spiegelrecapitulated the Story every decade. Today even Ian Kershaw and many American textbooks on German history present the Spiegel´s revelation as true history . Independent fact checking proves that the Spiegel´s “revelation” relied on faked witness statements and neglected eviden
#3 Posted by Hersch Fischler, CJR on Tue 25 Oct 2011 at 01:35 AM