“Berliner Zeitung” is taking “Spiegel” to court

The “Berliner Zeitung” has sued the “Spiegel” for an injunction because of its reporting on the paper. As the “Berliner Zeitung” wrote on its own behalf, a decision from the Munich Regional Court is expected at the end of October.

The “Berliner Zeitung” accuses the magazine of making “false allegations” about the paper’s owner and publisher, Holger Friedrich, in its text “The Alternative Media Makers” at the end of September.

The background is a long-simmering conflict between the two titles. Since the “East Berlin software millionaire” Friedrich and his wife Silke took over the traditional Berlin newspaper, which was founded in 1945, there has been “a lot of understanding for autocrats, opponents of vaccinations and explainers of Russia,” the “Spiegel” wrote in the criticized text. The editor-in-chief and publisher of the “Berliner Zeitung”, Michael Maier, had already countered this in an open letter published in the newspaper at the end of September.

“Intent to damage the editorial team”

Now it is said that since October 2023, Friedrich has repeatedly offered the editor-in-chief of “Spiegel” to hold explanatory discussions “about the discrediting reporting by “Spiegel” about East Germany and the resulting structural damage in the political and media landscape.” However, these discussions did not take place.

Instead, “Spiegel” researched the “Berliner Zeitung” for several months. The paper sees the intention behind this “to damage the editorial team as competitors”. In the end, a piece was published that had “serious journalistic deficiencies,” according to the “Berliner Zeitung.”

When asked, the “Spiegel” said that the claim that “all opponents, almost a dozen former and current employees, had insisted on anonymity” was false. The article also includes voices from the publisher, such as editor-in-chief Kurianowicz. On this point, the “Berliner Zeitung” asked the “Spiegel” to cease and desist. “We rejected the request to cease and desist,” said “Spiegel”.

The “Spiegel” statement also states: “We always publish purely for reasons of reporting interest and never with the intention of causing harm, regardless of who we report on.”