| Newspaper Name: |
Berliner Zeitung |
| Newspaper name in English: |
The Berlin Newspaper |
| Owner: |
M. DuMont Schauberg |
| Country / Region: |
Germany (Berlin) |
| Language: |
Deutch |
| Format type: |
Newspaper |
| Category: |
General |
| Political alignment: |
Centre-left |
| Frequency: |
Daily |
| Publication Years (print version): |
1945 — now (78 years) |
| ISSN: |
0947-174X |
| Circulation: |
148,000 (2015) |
| Official Pages: |
|
| Official Apps: |
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| Website: |
berliner-zeitung.de [read with translation] |
|
The first publication of the «Berliner Zeitung» took place on 21 May 1945 in East Berlin. Thus, the newspaper became the first German-language publication in post-war Germany. At first, it was published under the title «Organ des Kommandos der Roten Armee» (The Printed Organ of the Red Army Command), its editorial staff consisted of Soviet officers, former resistance fighters and local journalists. In August of the same year, when its editorial staff moved to Berlin, the newspaper became the «Amtliches Organ des Magistrats von Berlin» (the official press organ of the city of Berlin) and from that moment promoted communist and socialist lines.
Since 1953, the «Berliner Zeitung» has been designated as the main representative office of the Central Committee of the Socialist United Party of Germany (SED Central Committee). For many years, the Berliner Zeitung became the central daily newspaper of the GDR capital with a circulation of more than 345 thousand copies. After the fall of the regime and the Berlin Wall, the newspaper was acquired in equal shares by «Gruner + Jahr» and the British publisher Robert Maxwell. The future of the publication was uncertain, it was waiting for a period of experiments.
In 1997, «Gruner + Jahr» became the sole owner of the newspaper, the «Berliner Zeitung» was completely reorganized and relaunched as the «German-language version of the American
Washington Post, that is, it was supposed to reflect the position of the official government. In fact, the newspaper published politically diverse opinions «from east to west», inviting journalists from all over Germany to its pages, and its style was described as «young, modern and dynamic». In 2003, the newspaper was recognized as the largest subscription newspaper in Berlin, its readership reached almost 500 thousand people.
«Berliner Zeitung» is the only newspaper of the former East Germany that received recognition after the unification of the country. It is also the first German-language newspaper to come under the control of foreign investors. In 2005, The Berliner Zeitung was sold to the British Mecom Group and the American Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Under their leadership, the newspaper slipped to a tabloid periodical and it was waiting for a period of decline in popularity. The next change of ownership took place in 2009, the new owner of the newspaper was «M. DuMont Schauberg» (MDS).
This newspaper has nothing in common with the Berlin tabloid of the same name «
B.Z.», which specializes in sensational news.
