New German Media Professionals

Example of a good practice from Germany. Find out about a large active group of more than 250 members and a network of more than 1,200 people from all over Germany.

Neue deutsche Medienmacher are a large active group of more than 250 members and a network of more than 1,200 people from all over Germany. They are a nationwide association of journalists, directors, photographers and authors for print, online, TV and radio with diverse backgrounds, competences and language skills. Utilising these resources, their goal is to promote diversity in the media – both in front of the cameras and microphones and behind the scenes, on the editorial as well as the executive level.

Neue deutsche Medienmacher try to ensure balanced and nuanced media coverage on issues of diversity, migration and integration. They strive to increase the appreciation of and support for diversity and intercultural competences within the media and foster a culture of recognition that values the potentials of a diverse society. With this aim in mind, they have created local networks throughout the country to transfer knowledge. For instance in 2009, they started the training project ‘Bi-cultural Cross-media Journalism’ in cooperation with the ‘Bildungswerk Kreuzberg’ in Berlin. Since then, several journalists with a migrant background have successfully completed the 15-month course.

In 2010, they started a mentoring programme supporting young journalists from immigrant families or exiled journalists. In addition, they offer a database of experts of ethnically diverse professionals and specialists (www.vielfaltfinder.de), created a glossary with wordings around the topic of migration and asylum to guide journalists (glossar.neuemedienmacher.de), and they coordinate the European ‘No Hate Speech Movement’ campaign in Germany by supplying background information, revealing ways to counter hate speech and offering assistance to affected parties (no-hate-speech.de).

They are successful because they are a unique network that unites the skills and knowledge of professionals working in the media with diverse backgrounds. This strong network creates visibility in the mainstream media and puts forward a diverse perspective that has not been supported in Germany for a long period of time and is still only visible in German (mainstream) media to a limited degree. With their mentoring programme and trainings they support young professionals who can affect future media. They also attend conferences and network meetings to reach multipliers.

http://www.neuemedienmacher.de/