Europe is currently confronted by a refugee crisis on a scale not seen since World War II and a refugee center located in Lower Saxony is being reminded of when it opened its doors over 70 years ago. At that time, there was massive migration of ethnic Germans from the east and the British Military Government opened Transit Camp Friedland to process the influx of people who had nowhere else to go.

A new DW documentary, Transit Camp Friedland, produced in cooperation with NDR focuses in on the ongoing situation today in Germany where an estimated 800,000 refugees are expected this year alone. The documentary adds depth to the current acute refugee crisis – portraying a time when Germans themselves were refugees.

Germany is seen as a place of opportunity for those seeking a new life and whose home have been destroyed. Some risk everything to make it and Friedland is for many the first place where they will feel secure and the first place where many will begin their new lives. It is a place where hope and disappointment come together as the future remains uncertain.

DW has a special role as Germany’s representative in the international media landscape to tell stories that show this country’s unique relationship with history and explain a different narrative than you may find on the surface. DW is also doing its best to show all sides of the latest refugee crisis with its special Refugees’ Hopes – Europe’s Challenge.

Veteran interviewer Tim Sebastian has forged an uncompromising style over his 40-year career that is more direct than diplomatic – but he isn’t looking for easy answers, he is looking for accountability.

In his first interview as the host of DW’s Conflict Zone he sat down with Yanis Varoufakis, the embattled and outspoken former Greek Finance Minister. Yaroufakis is someone who is experienced in fending off tough questions with what Sebastian has called a “hard edge” combined with “well-developed spin”. Indeed, Varousfakis began the interview saying, “you didn’t invite me on your program to give you powerless statements”.

Sebastian’s job was to break through the talking points and reveal a new side to the story and the person.  With the ongoing Greek economic drama reaching a new level of crisis over the summer, Varoufakis emerged as a controversial and divisive figure in European politics. Sebastian went straight to the heart and what emerged during the interview was a unique outline of the crisis and a personal look at the positions held by the Greek finance minister as a tense situation unfolded. After his resignation Varoufakis said of the so called Troika that he would “wear their loathing with pride”. Sebastian asked why he wanted to make it so personal and Varoufakis replied that they had made it personal by distorting the truth about him through the media on many occasions.

This wasn’t a comfortable discussion and Varoufakis’s barbed style proved an excellent match for Sebastian’s line of questioning. After the interview, Sebastian said it had been a “good battle”. Sebastian who has come up against masters of spin like Bill Clinton or the intellectual prowess of Noam Chomsky said that the interview revealed why many of the other European finance ministers were fed up with Varoufakis. “He is very convinced that he is right and that he is the only person who is right.” During the interview Varoufakis said that his former colleagues lacked “sophistication” and that there was “no discussion” of macro-economics in the Eurogroup.

The interviews on Conflict Zone make a difference because of the time and effort that goes into producing questions that poke holes in arguments and challenge interviewees with facts. As the intensity of this first interview indicates, the next guest on Conflict Zone should come well prepared.

 

DW was in Dhaka this week to provide journalists and media professionals a look at the the new 24/7 English news channel presented in cooperation with local partner Bangladesh Television (BTV). The flagship program, DW News, features a programming block that focuses on regional issues for Asia and content with regional significance in cooperation with local partners. These co-productions will maintain DW’s standards while allowing partners the flexibility to use their own graphics and on air personalities – a method that succeeds in combining international expertise with regional appeal.

In Bangladesh, DW reaches an audience of opinion leaders and people who are curious about learning and seeking information. Dorothee Ulrichs, DW’s Head of Asia Distribution said theses are people who aren’t satisfied with tag lines or headlines and want to “discover new places and understand the ‘why’ in the world around them”.

Part of the global launch of DW News last June was a promotional campaign that focused on the audience and highlighted local heroes in regions all over the world. Local heroes are people who make a difference in their communities by working, thinking, creating and innovating. Two Bangladeshi local heroes were guests at the launch in Dhaka. Their work sets an exceptional example.

Mahfuza Akter is an Infolady – volunteers who bike hundreds of miles a month to provide advice and medicine to thousands of people in remote, impoverished villages around the country. Using the Internet, they connect people with modernized methods and ideas that they cannot access elsewhere. Their work also earned them a 2013 DW Bobs online activism award. And Korvi Rakshand founded the JAAGO foundation in 2007, which provides education for disadvantaged children living in slums. The school also promotes volunteer action groups in Bangladesh through the initiative Volunteer for Bangladesh. The project has organized over 10,000 volunteers in Bangladesh who are working to enact positive social change.

 

 

The Global Media Forum is where DW brings media professionals together with experts and policy makers to discuss and dissect issues that define the intersection of media and society. Every year, the conference broadens horizons and fosters new connections and partnerships – and the numbers show the conference is exceeding the participants’ expectations.

Over 2,200 media professionals representing 743 institutions and 126 countries gathered for the 2015 Global Media Forum. Three days packed with 40 seminars and plenary discussions sparked debate and shed light on the challenges to international relations created by the digital age. The vast majority (87 percent) said in a survey that they considered the conference to be global leader in critically questioning the role of media in an international context and 95 percent agreed that DW was the ideal host for a conference covering these topics.

For journalists, keeping a discussion on track is an essential skill. Foreign policy in the digital age is a complex and nuanced topic, but DW succeeded in providing a high level of expertise and producing events that stayed focused with 95 percent of participants agreeing the workshops zeroed in on the subject at hand. 87 percent said that they thought there was an ideal mix of plenary sessions and smaller workshops. As a whole, the conference met the expectations of 89 percent of participants.

Planning for next year’s Global Media Forum has already started and the numbers are set to grow as 96 percent of the participants in 2015 said they would recommend the conference to their colleagues.

What does the Russian information war mean for the news industry? International media play a major role in forming the narrative on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine – and polarization is increasing as opposing sides try to take the lead in covering events for people living in affected regions.

DW prides itself on providing a unbiased voice to the media landscape. And to ensure that even more people can benefit from fair and balanced news and information, DW is producing two new 10-minute news formats in Russian and Ukrainian. From Monday to Friday, DW Nowosti and DW Nowyny provide audiences with news coverage on regional and European issues that they won’t find elsewhere with the support of local Russian and Ukrainian correspondents.

Broadcasting partners of DW Nowosti are currently TV Rain in Russia, LRT in Lithuania, Yerkir Media in Armenia, GPB 2 in Georgia and YES TV in Israel. There are on-going negotiations to include more partners soon. All broadcasts of both formats are always available online.

Across the spectrum of issues, there is bias and a need for objective information. Since the beginning of the current conflict in Ukraine, DW has provided a third perspective that can help people get the big picture. Geofaktor, DW’s news magazine for the region has been on air since January 2014. This information conflict looks likely to continue into the near future and DW will continue to provide a standard of journalism that everyone can count on.

Russian media outlets are afflicted by a  lack of objectivity – especially when reporting on events in Ukraine and eastern Europe. In a context that is packaged as professional journalism, innuendo, half-truths and outright lies can be propagated without any measure of veracity.

Media outlets from the “west” that take a hawkish stance on reporting Russian affairs tend to exacerbate the problem and can lend credibility to the assertions of Kremlin-controlled media. The best approach to address the tangled web of information coming out of Russian news outlets is to continue producing steady, solid and serious news reporting that maintains the core principles of journalism.