Checkbook journalism
Checkbook journalism is a journalistic genre in which informants are paid for certain, mostly sensitive, information.
criticism
Checkbook journalism is extremely controversial within the media industry. On the one hand, this has to do with the fact that, according to observers, paying money for exclusive information creates a kind of two-class society in journalism : “Those who are financially strong can simply buy the best information together. The smaller and less potent competitors for the news, however, fall by the wayside. "
The direct remuneration of an informant is rejected by some media workers for ethical reasons. For example, the editorial consultant Christian Sauer criticizes : “To inform the public fully and critically about relevant topics is a task protected by the Basic Law. Paying informants makes the democratically important act of research a commercial act. "
However, in certain circumstances, whistle-blower fees are commonly accepted when there is an overriding public interest in the information.
Prominent cases
A prominent example of unsuccessful checkbook journalism is the scandal surrounding the so-called Hitler diaries published by Stern magazine in 1983. The news magazine paid over 9 million German marks for the supposed Hitler diaries, which later turned out to be forgeries. Also, the levels experienced a fiasco in 1986, when he for a fake telegram which the Austrian president Kurt Waldheim , paid 50,000 German marks discredited obvious.
The purchase of documents by Der Spiegel , which contributed to uncovering the affair surrounding the German housing company Neue Heimat , on the other hand, is rated by the investigative journalist Hans Leyendecker as "a great moment of the information mission, the media have", as it served the purpose of clarification.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Christoph Fasel : Checkbook Journalism, in: Deutscher Fachjournalisten-Verband (Ed.): Journalistische Genres, UVK-Verlag, Konstanz 2016, p. 127 ( PDF ).
- ↑ See also archived copy ( memento of the original dated June 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ See also Fasel 2016, p. 129 ff.
- ↑ Hans Leyendecker : Geldwerter Vorteil, http://www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/wikileaks-geldwerter-vorteil-1.2605341
