Uwe Kruger

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Uwe Krüger (* 15. May 1978 in Leipzig ) is a German diploma journalist and media scholar . His research focuses on media independence .

Life

Krüger grew up in Borsdorf (Saxony) and in Bergen on Rügen . After doing his community service, he studied journalism and political science in Leipzig from 1998 to 2006 . He stayed temporarily in Rostov-on-Don (Russia) for study and research purposes . In 2003/04 he completed a traineeship at the Leipziger Volkszeitung . From 2007 to 2010 he was a research assistant at the Institute for Practical Journalism Research in Leipzig (IPJ) and editor of the journalism journal Message .

In the media magazine Message in post alpha journalists embedded ? In 2007 he questioned the coverage of the Bilderberg conferences , as the participating journalists threatened to lose their independence.

He gave lectures at national and international specialist conferences, u. a. the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), the German Society for Media and Communication Studies ( DGPuK ) and the Research Network. He worked on the monograph Der Info-Kompass for orientation for the competent handling of information of the State Agency for Media North Rhine-Westphalia (2012). Krüger worked as a freelance journalist and PR copywriter. In October 2012 he took up a position as a research assistant at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig . In 2013 he completed his dissertation on Opinion Power , supervised by Michael Haller .

His main research interests are journalistic ethics , journalism and PR, journalism and social media , while teaching focuses on methodical research and the print sector .

Publications

"Power of Opinion" (2013)

Previous scientific and journalistic treatment of the topic

In his dissertation, Krüger refers to the earlier scientific and journalistic treatment of the topic; he distinguishes himself from more Marxist-oriented research approaches because his theses are to be empirically verified. The result of Krüger's investigations can be interpreted in terms of a refeudalization of the structures of the political public and thus in the context of a privatization of power.

Krüger refers to Lutz Hachmeister with his thesis that a "closed society" has developed in politics, business and leading media and also to Peter Ludes , who said that journalists, as confidants, did not want to endanger their privilege of access to politicians and therefore to Refrained from criticism.

Krüger refers to the agreement with the accounts of experienced journalists: Hans Leyendecker speaks of "complicit entanglements". Hans-Ulrich Jörges criticizes the perversion of the journalist profession through “personal affinity with politics”, the mixing of journalism with political advice and the writing of politicians' biographies. Gerhard Hofmann's “The Conspiracy of the Journaille in Berlin” works out the interweaving of politics and journalism in detail using an example.

Research approach, theses and results of the investigation by Krüger

In the main part of Krüger's dissertation on the influence of the elites on German journalists and the media, a theoretical model is developed that explains media behavior with the help of pressure groups and social networks and that predicts that leading media more or less reflect the current discourse of the elites, but its limits do not exceed and do not critically question its premises.

Krüger's initial thesis is “that a consensually united elite can rule against the interests of a large part of the population on important issues (war and peace, macroeconomic order) and that journalistic elites could be too deeply involved in the elite milieu to be critical as advocates of the public interest -to have a controlling effect. "

In the empirical part, his social network analysis initially focuses on the social environment of 219 leading editors in leading German media. One in three had informal contacts with political and business elites; With four foreign policy journalists, Stefan Kornelius , Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger , Michael Stürmer and Josef Joffe, there are dense networks in the US and NATO-affine elite milieu. Other journalists analyzed are Kai Diekmann ( picture ), Peter Frey , Claus Kleber (ZDF) and Matthias Naß ( Die Zeit ).

A subsequent frame analysis asks to what extent the output of these four journalists in the controversial questions of the definition of security (extended security concept) and Afghanistan deployment of the Bundeswehr is in line with the identified reference groups. Finally, the reports on the Munich Security Conference and its opponents in five daily newspapers are analyzed for content . She comes to the conclusion that the leading media close to the elite, FAZ , Die Welt and Süddeutsche Zeitung, provide a detailed account of the elite discourse taking place at the security conference, but marginalize and de-legitimize the protests and the counter-event, the Munich Peace Conference.

“The direct connections to the economy, more precisely the consultancy work of editors-in-chief and publishers for profit-oriented corporations: Josef Joffe ( Zeit ) as advisory board member of HypoVereinsbank and Stefan Aust ( Spiegel ) and Helmut Markwort ( focus ) as advisory board members of Deutsche Telekom AG appear to be highly problematic .

Second, should the involvement of journalists in an organization of the Federal Government viewed critically, including Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger ( FAZ ), Stefan Kornelius ( SZ ) and Peter Frey ( ZDF ) as advisory boards of the Federal College for Security Studies , a think tank under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Defense .

According to the Academy's statutes, the Advisory Board advises the Board of Trustees, which in turn consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers of Defense, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Justice, Economy and Development Aid. The three journalists thus undertook to advise the federal government that they are supposed to criticize and control as public lawyers. (P. 148) "

Regarding the question of what kind of influence the elites exert on journalists, Krüger suspects that “journalists with values ​​and opinions that are compatible with elites (have) a higher chance of gaining access to the highest circles, and their involvement in the elite milieu increases the conformity over time. This also means that journalists with opinions that are compatible with the elite have better chances of making a career, because they can score points in their own company and in the industry with exclusive information and high-ranking interview partners. ”Krüger argues with Pierre Bourdieu's concept of social capital .

Reception and criticism

Reviews

In the communication and media science textbook Qualitative Research in Communication Science , Krüger's study is described as a "milestone" which has decisively changed the discourse on media quality in Germany.

The Annotated Bibliography of Political Science sees Krüger's research work as an analysis of the questionable way of dealing with the power of opinion, which is too seldom the subject of methodologically sound scientific analyzes, as well as a remarkable contribution to an open and factual discussion on the independence of journalists beyond conspiracy theories.

In the FAZ review, Boris Holzer criticizes the fact that the causality of the capture of journalists by elite networks cannot be clearly proven.

Peter Zudeick from the Süddeutsche Zeitung confirms that the media tend to “align themselves”, but interprets this not as influencing, but as an independent decision by the journalists.

Christoph Neuberger accused the study of a lack of science. Proximity to institutions was interpreted as appropriation for no reason and with selective selection of suitable quotations. Krüger conducts "opinion-making" himself, since he takes a position instead of researching without prejudice. Krüger rejected Neuberger's arguments in a reply. In the study he would point out "that no simple causality can be assumed between personal proximity to elites and opinions close to elites". In addition, he chose the quotes because he found in them references to propaganda , according to the definition of the generally recognized social scientist Thymian Bussemer, and explained this.

Satirical exploitation and injunction against "Die Anstalt"

Krüger's concept of networking alpha journalists with think tanks and political elites was used on April 29, 2014 by the satirical program “ Die Anstalt ” to criticize the one-sided reporting of German quality media about the Ukraine crisis from the viewpoint of the satirical program . Josef Joffe responded with a cease and desist motion to ZDF and a letter of complaint to Peter Frey . The contribution of "Die Anstalt" does not correspond to the facts and Krüger's investigation is "not a good science". After legal action by several instances, the injunction against ZDF finally failed on January 10, 2017 before the BGH . In the meantime, ZDF had removed the program from its media library.

More reactions

In an interview with ZAPP author Daniel Bröckerhoff ( NDR ) on May 14, 2014, Stefan Kornelius admitted unspecified errors and a general lack of transparency, but defended his membership in institutions as this is part of his "business as a journalist" . He forms his own opinion and does not represent the opinions of these institutions. For journalistic participation in political institutions, he drew the line at political advice. He criticized the exaggerated and unreasonable tone of dealing with him and the leading media as a whole. He assigned Krüger's research work a special role in criticizing the leading media. Krüger's thesis that the influence of elites determines the journalistic work of leading media and alpha journalists was rejected as unfounded. Michael Haller criticizes the unwillingness to grapple with Krüger's arguments and the lack of precision in terms such as the term “mainstream”.

"Mainstream" (2016)

In his publication Mainstream. Why we distrust the media , Krüger tries to work out what, according to his account, are the decisive causes for the loss of trust in the " mainstream media" of large sections of the population, as evidenced by opinion polls . In his opinion, this loss of confidence became clear during the Ukraine crisis . Many recipients noticed the one-sidedness and homogeneity of the reporting. The media responded to the criticism of well-known personalities from politics and journalism mainly with defense and defamation and thus intensified the crisis of confidence. Krüger's self-declared goal is to make the external view of the recipients and the media critics understand the work processes in the media world with empathy for both sides. In doing so, he tries to solve the “riddle” of “how media harmony can be achieved in a free and pluralistic democracy.” Krüger provides the socialization and working conditions of journalists, the informal communicative processes within the media and the dependencies and influences between media , Society and politics "on a publicly invisible political and media backstage".

Peter Praschl agrees with Krüger in the world on many points when he calculates to journalism “that it is nowhere near as credible as it should be and thinks to be [...]. Journalists are actually often partisan, too close to the powerful, selective in their choice of topics, driven by their own convictions and recruited from homogeneous milieus (middle class with university degrees). ”Praschl sees the reason for the adaptability of the media in consumer behavior of the reader to whom the media crisis therefore does not even reach.

Works

Books

  • Bought press in Russia. Political and economic surreptitious advertising using the example of the media in Rostov-na-Donu . LIT (Medien & Politik series), Münster 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9679-X ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Power of opinion. The influence of elites on leading media and alpha journalists - a critical network analysis . Herbert von Halem Verlag (series of the Institute for Practical Journalism and Communication Research), Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-86962-070-1 .
  • Mainstream. Why we don't trust the media anymore. CH Beck, Munich 2016 (2nd edition). ISBN 978-3-406-68851-5 .

Fonts (selection)

  • Don't lose face. What do Russian local journalists see as the most important tasks of the press? For the first time, a survey enables a comparison of professional and role self-image with the West. In: Message , Issue 1/2003, pp. 88-93.
  • The laws of the soap opera. The media and the kidnapping victims Natascha Kampusch and Susanne Osthoff . In: Christian Schertz, Thomas Schuler (ed.): Character murder and media victims. The violation of personal honor. Verlag Ch. Links, Berlin 2007, pp. 216–228.
  • The race in the hamster wheel. Paradoxes and dangers of the media acceleration trip. In: Journal for Communication Ecology and Media Ethics , Issue 1/2009, pp. 156–160; netzwerk-medienethik.de (PDF).
  • Leading media and their proximity to political and business elites. Theory, networks, case studies . Dissertation , University of Leipzig 2011.
  • Proximity to power. Elites - Networks of German Journalists in Foreign Policy. In: Medien Journal , issue 2/2012, pp. 33–49.
  • with Marcel Machill and Markus Beiler: The new face of the public. How Facebook and other social networks are changing opinion formation . (PDF) State Agency for Media North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf 2014.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short biography of Uwe Krüger ( memento from January 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on Journalismusforschung.de
  2. ↑ a b Re-feudalization and privatization of power? In: Deutschlandfunk . ( deutschlandfunk.de [accessed January 30, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Uwe Krüger: embedded? In: Message . No. 3 , 2007 ( lobbycontrol.de [PDF; accessed January 30, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Marcel Machill et al .: The Info Compass: Orientation for the competent handling of information. (PDF) State Agency for Media North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) in cooperation with the German UNESCO Commission e. V., September 2012, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Uwe Krüger: Meinungsmacht , p. 28
  6. ^ Hans-Ulrich Jörges : Embedded in Berlin. (PDF) Lecture at the conference “Structural Change in the Public 2.0: Media Democracy = Media + Democracy”. December 1, 2003, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  7. ^ Günter Bartsch: Renaissance of media criticism in German non-fiction books . ( Memento of October 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) nr-Dossier, 1/07
  8. ^ Gerhard Hofmann: The conspiracy of the journaille in Berlin. A political diary with conclusions. Bouvier Verlag, 2nd improved edition, Bonn 2007
  9. ↑ Uwe Krüger: Power of opinion. The influence of elites on leading media and alpha journalists - a critical network analysis . Cologne 2013
  10. ↑ Uwe Krüger: Opinion power , blurb of the book edition
  11. ↑ Clemens Ronnefeldt: The interweaving of leading media, politics and economy. isw - social-ecological economic research e. V., March 5, 2014, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Marcus Klöckner: Journalism Research: “Completely in line with the elites”. In: heise.de. Accessed January 30, 2019 .
  13. ↑ a b Marcus Klöckner: editorials and power elites. In: telepolis . Accessed January 30, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Michael Meyen, Maria Löblich, Senta Pfaff-Rüdiger, Claudia Riesmeyer: Qualitative methods in communication studies . In: Qualitative Research in Communication Science . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-17380-1 , p. 9-27 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-92829-6_1 .
  15. ↑ Nils Hesse: Review of: “Uwe Krüger: Meinungsmacht.” Cologne 2013. Portal for Political Science, June 5, 2013, accessed on January 30, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Boris Holzer: Uwe Krüger: Power of Opinion - How does opinion get into the world? In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed January 30, 2019]).
  17. ↑ Uwe Krüger: Power of opinion. The influence of elites on leading media and alpha journalists - a critical network analysis . Reviews. ( perlentaucher.de [accessed January 30, 2019]).
  18. ^ Christoph Neuberger : Opinion making instead of power . In: Medium magazine . No. 11 , 2014 ( ejo-online.eu ).
  19. ↑ a b Uwe Krüger: Reply to the review “Meinungsmache statt Macht” by Christoph Neuberger in Medium Magazin ( November 24 , 2014 ) ( memo from December 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 30, 2019
  20. ^ Thyme Bussemer: Propaganda. Theoretical concept and historical meaning. In: Docupedia. Edited by Jörg Baberowski et al., August 2, 2013, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  21. ↑ “Die Anstalt” - “Zeit” journalists fail with lawsuits against ZDF satire. In: Spiegel Online . October 1, 2017, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Interview with Stefan Kornelius. ( Memento from May 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) ZAPP , NDR
  23. ^ Paul Schreyer : Between readers and lobby networks. hese.de, November 4, 2014, accessed January 30, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Does Facebook make journalism big or break it ? Welt Online , March 14, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Kruger, Uwe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German journalist
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig