A group of 13 German broadcasting journalists spent three weeks learning more about media, politics and life in the United States during a RIAS Berlin Commission Fellowship. They spent a week together in Washington DC meeting journalists, politicians, analysts and activists before traveling together to spend one week together to New York for a week of meetings there. To get a more comprehensive view of the United States, they then spent a week visiting small TV and radio stations across the country in the Midwest, South and Southwest to learn about issues in other parts of the country. Here are some of their impressions of their experiences.
Sven Knobloch, MDR, Leipzig
So here I am, sitting in the passenger seat of a police car driving through downtown Wichita, Kansas. Officer Trevor Macy and I are heading to a Walmart to arrest a shoplifter. Crime has gone through the roof, he tells me. Because of the opioid crisis. Drug addicts steal to pay for the next hit. We take the young woman to jail, where she is processed. A depressing place. This is just one spotlight out of my three weeks with the RIAS program. We didn’t just talk about the issues the US faces at the moment – we saw them firsthand.
I had never been to the US before. For me, being in Washington DC and New York was overwhelming. And being in the Midwest after that was just such a stark contrast. I came with some images and stereotypes in my head to all those places, but most of all with questions. And they were answered, in intense discussions and meetings with journalists, politicians, activists and everyday Americans. I still have questions, but many things that puzzle Germans from time to time when they look across the Atlantic, I understand better now.
What stood out? I met Wolf Blitzer, one of my journalistic idols. What a smart, funny and dedicated man. And yet, I am not sure: was that the highlight of my trip? Or maybe to hear the story of 9/11 survivor Gordon Huie? Or to be in Congress when
Final day of one-week @riaskommission alumni program in Los Angeles. Fascinating talks at the @thomas_mann_house with the dynamic German consul general @andrea_sasse and director @ohartmann77 and Thomas-Mann-Haus fellows. Also had a great visit to the spectacular @villaaurorala and talked with ARD West Coast Office in Santa Monica.
Visits to KTLA and KABC newsrooms were on the schedule on Thursday for 25 German journalists on a @riaskommission fellowship. The group even had the chance to make a spontaneous brief cameo appearance on the 1 pm news show. The Germans also visited @hollywoodmuseum and met with NPR journalists
German journalists on a @riaskommission fellowship program to Los Angeles spent many hours on Wednesday talking with two leading Republican Party voices in California— former California Governor Pete Wilson and former USA ambassador Richard Grenell. The Germans also had the chance to learn more about the life as a well-connected Hollywood reporter for German TV, Frank Fastner. They also had the chance to visit the Wende Cold War Museum that puts an important spotlight on the events in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. They also visited the local NPR station. Thanks to RIAS alumni in California @frankmottek @andreagtrrz and @scottshafer for an unforgettable day in LA
A group of 32 American journalists took part in a one-week RIAS Berlin Commission “short/alumni” program in Cologne and Munich recently to learn more about the country they first visited several years or even decades earlier on their RIAS Berlin Commission fellowships. Many of the Americans used the three days in Cologne and four days in Munich to learn more about the political situation in Germany ahead of an important regional election in the state of Bavaria on October 8 and about the troubles facing the church in Germany with several meetings in Cologne. They had the chance to meet political leaders in both cities, learn more about the economic importance of Oktoberfest for Germany and its 7 million annual visitors, about BMW’s new factory in Munich and about media developments in Germany. The Americans also had the chance to ride the country’s high-speed Intercity Express (ICE) train on a four-hour ride from Cologne to Munich at speeds above 220 kilometers per hour. One participant, Lane Luckie, even did a live report for his station in Tyler, Texas while sitting on the speeding train about the train system in Germany for a Texas audience in a state that has long considered building high-speed train lines between Dallas and Houston. Here are their short summaries of their experiences:
Karin Caifa, CNN, Washington DC
The value in a RIAS alumni program is that it allows us to continue to build our knowledge and understanding of German political, economic and cultural affairs. In making the comparison to university-level learning, I’d say my initial trip in 2018 was German Politics & Economy 101, with a broad overview of the country and its place in the European Union. My first alumni trip in 2021 for the historic German national elections drilled down deeper into party dynamics, so more like German Politics & Economy 102. And this trip, timed to the elections in Bavaria, took us another layer below to the local election level. It also helped highlig
After 8 meeting-filled days in Cologne and Munich, 32 American broadcasting journalists celebrated the end of their RIASBerlin program with the traditional passing out of the certificates of completion. They also meet the leader of the Greens party in Bavaria Katharina Schulze, who brought lessons she learned working on campaigns in the USA to Germany. They also met süddeutsche Zeitung editor Stefan Kornelius and took a behind-the-scenes tour of Allianz Arena.
American journalists in München had a busy day with a talk with Greens candidate for governor Katharina Schulze, Süddeutsche Zeitung editor Stefan Kornelius, the DJS Journalism school and a behind-the-scene look FC Bayern’s Allianz Arena and even the hallowed ground of the Bayern locker room.
A group of 32 American journalists with an insatiable appetite to learn got the chance to meet the chairman of #paulaner brewery at the Oktoberfest in München, sample their famous Paulaner beer, learn more about quality control and their efforts to keep the beer ice cold and as foam-free as possible with a „beer-drant“ (fire hydrant for large amounts of beer gushing out), and see how the 8,000-person tent transforms from a more senior-citizen um-pa-pa style music in the early afternoon to a more party-like temple in the evening. The journalists also got the chance to visit the special Oktoberfest police station headquarters and learn about the special challenges the 600-person squad has with pickpockets from across Europe, excessive drinking, assault with bodily harm and sexual assault for which there is zero tolerance nowadays but was not always as zealously prosecuted a decade ago. All in all it was an astonishingly informative and enlightening day at Oktoberfest thanks to the press team at @paulaner @paulanerfestzelt. Thanks also to support from the Munich alumni chapter and the VAP Foreign Press Association in Berlin for making this happen @riaskommission @rias_berlin @michaelg4ny @susanfalkenstein @adam.reiss @thomasdemane @britsilverstein @grexgor @greim_i @mahebe2
In Munich, a group of 32 American journalists had the chance to meet State Secretary for European Affairs Florian Herrmann from the CSU party to talk about the upcoming Bavarian election, immigration and transatlantic issues right after a brief chance encounter with Bavaria‘s governor Markus Söder who was campaigning on a street corner outside the state chancellery with a local CSU candidate. The group also learned more about BMW‘s electric car future and the challenges of tearing down older factory sections while simultaneously rebuilding parts of the plant at the same location. They also got to see the inside of the robot-dominated assembly line. They also had the chance to meet Munich Jewish community leaders and journalists at BR public broadcasting company on cutting edge topics AI and the future of journalism as well as the impact of a BR podcast about gay issues. Thanks to the Munich alumni chapter for creating such a richly diverse RIAS Berlin Commission program @riaskommission @rias_berlin @grexgor @mahebe2 @michaelg4ny
In Munich, a group of 32 American journalists had the chance to meet State Secretary for European Affairs Florian Herrmann from the CSU party to talk about the upcoming Bavarian election, immigration and transatlantic issues right after a brief chance encounter with Bavaria‘s governor Markus Söder who was campaigning on a street corner outside the state chancellery with a local CSU candidate. The group also learned more about BMW‘s electric car future and the challenges of tearing down older factory sections while simultaneously rebuilding parts of the plant at the same location. They also got to see the inside of the robot-dominated assembly line. They also had the chance to meet Munich Jewish community leaders and journalists at BR public broadcasting company on cutting edge topics AI and the future of journalism as well as the impact of a BR podcast about gay issues. Thanks to the Munich alumni chapter for creating such a richly diverse RIAS Berlin Commission program @riaskommission @rias_berlin @grexgor @mahebe2 @michaelg4ny
The intrepid group of American journalists jumped on a high-speed Intercity Express (ICE) train after finishing their four day program in Cologne and zipped across the country at nearly 150 mph before arriving in Munich to a warm welcome from chapter leader Susan Falkenstein. Final stops in Cologne included talks with German Public Radio director Birgit Wentzien and anchor Friedbert Meurer as well as a talk at Cathedral Radio station with cologne chapter leader Bartosz Dudek. Thanks Cologne for the great experience.
The intrepid group of American journalists jumped on a high-speed Intercity Express (ICE) train after finishing their four day program in Cologne and zipped across the country at nearly 150 mph before arriving in Munich to a warm welcome from chapter leader Susan Falkenstein. Final stops in Cologne included talks with German Public Radio director Birgit Wentzien and anchor Friedbert Meurer as well as a talk at Cathedral Radio station with cologne chapter leader Bartosz Dudek. Thanks Cologne for the great experience.
The RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION is a binational organization for the promotion of German-American understanding in the field of broadcasting
