More attacks, catastrophic conditions: The global state of press freedom
The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has been publishing the “Press Freedom Ranking” since 2002. Based on questionnaires, the press freedom in almost every country in the world is assessed. The ranking for 2023 was last published on May 3, 2024. Germany, for example, is ranked in 10th place, compared to 21st place in the previous year. However, this can only be explained to a limited extent by an improvement in the situation, such as a lower number of physical assaults (41 in 2023, compared to 103 in the previous year). According to Reporters Without Borders, this is rather a reason why the situation in other countries has worsened in comparison.
Overall, Reporters Without Borders noted: “More attacks around elections and a record number of countries with catastrophic conditions for media professionals: The press freedom situation has deteriorated significantly by global standards.” And 36 countries were even rated in the worst category “Very serious situation”. Independent journalism? Almost impossible.
In order for journalists to be able to carry out their work in countries where press freedom is significantly restricted, they sometimes need special protection. However, if they are threatened with persecution, imprisonment or even the death penalty, a last resort is often to flee to another country. The core task of the non-profit organization Media in Connection and Transition (MiCT), for example, is to support people in their journalistic work on the ground or ultimately in their evacuation.
Active work on site
Shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the fall of the Baath regime on April 9, 2003, Klaas Glenewinkel, co-founder of MiCT, traveled to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. There, according to his own statement, he met “enthusiastic people from all parts of the political spectrum who were allowed to express their opinions publicly for the first time in their lives.” Many of the people he met and spoke to in Iraq had plans to set up their own radio stations, newspapers or websites to disseminate news. “Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, there were only two TV stations and two radio stations, but after his fall, hundreds of new media outlets sprang up in a very short space of time. “This desire for an open culture of debate was great – for the first time, minorities were able to go public and be heard,” Glenewinkel continues.
However, this burgeoning freedom of expression and dissemination of information also had a downside, as there was a lack of sound journalistic training. “The lack of professional media professionals was therefore glaring and in this vacuum, false reports and slander spread rapidly,” explains Glenewinkel.
In 2006, he and his colleague Anja Wollenberg finally founded the non-profit organization Media in Cooperation and Transition to change this situation. “Since then, we have trained over 600 journalists from all regions of the country, established a nationwide code of ethics and also helped to develop the curricula of journalism faculties at Iraqi universities,” says Glenewinkel, listing the successes of MiCT’s work.
Today, MiCT is not only active in Iraq, but in more than 20 other countries spread across three continents. Its services range from training for journalists and media professionals to support in the development of business models and the financing of productions of articles or entire programs.
In addition, the organization has been running the MiCT Fellowship for Critical Voices protection programme for almost three years, which is part of the Hannah Arendt Initiative, which in turn is run by the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Government Commissioner for Media and Culture. Support for the fellowship program “includes financial assistance, security measures and psychological support,” says Glenewinkel. Furthermore, MiCT also helps with evacuation, “because in some cases, leaving the home country is unavoidable, while for others, emigration to Germany is the only chance to escape persecution by their government.”
Exile Media Hub Brandenburg: Support for refugee media professionals
MiCT has set up the Exile Media Hub Brandenburg for journalists and media professionals who have had to flee to Germany. The organization normally supports people on the ground in their home countries. The hub is now also intended to help refugees in Germany to make a fresh start.
Glenewinkel and his colleagues were looking for a suitable building that would offer enough space for people to live and work. The mayor of Wiesenburg, Marco Beckendorf (DIE LINKE), soon heard about the project. His offer: a vacant building in Schmerwitz with over 100 rooms.
Schmerwitz is located in the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark in Brandenburg and is part of the municipality of Wiesenburg. It takes around 55 minutes to drive from Potsdam to Schmerwitz, and it can easily take two hours by public transport. The poor public transport connections were initially a reason against locating the hub in the village.
There were also protests against refugees in Schmerwitz just a year ago – another argument against locating the accommodation in the district. Despite the concerns, the Exile Media Hub Brandenburg officially opened in Schmerwitz in July 2024. Coconat, a coworking space from the neighbouring village of Klein Glien, and Soziale Arbeit Mittelmark e.V. (SAM e.V.), which is committed to social regional development, are also involved as cooperation and project partners.
For the refugees, the Exile Media Hub Brandenburg is both a living and working space. They have access to fast internet, studios for podcast and video productions as well as retreat rooms for concentrated work. The hub also offers plenty of space for exhibitions, conferences and cultural events.
The aim is to create a sense of togetherness on the one hand, but also to create a perspective. “We are convinced that refugees – and not just media professionals – gain a foothold most effectively when they live together under one roof and support each other.” A close-knit community of like-minded people is invaluable, especially in the initial phase when it comes to finding one’s bearings in a new environment, navigating the German bureaucracy, learning new skills and quickly entering the job market,” says Glenewinkel, summarizing the principle behind the hub.
In addition to personnel and material support, media professionals also receive offers for further training. For example, free training courses are offered by major tech companies such as Google and Amazon. Among other things, participants are trained in the use of artificial intelligence and new technologies.
Space for encounters
Another special feature of the Exile Media Hub Brandenburg is that the hub is also open to the residents of Schmerwitz in order to create space for exchange and encounters. It’s a bit like neighborly togetherness. Or as Glenewinkel puts it in a nutshell: “You help each other.” And while the villagers are invited to exhibitions, concerts or lectures, the media representatives were present at the last Christmas party, for example.
Glenewinkel cites the photographer Sareh Oveysis as a very special example. Her black and white photographs, often of queer subjects, were considered taboo in her home country of Iran, which is why she eventually had to flee. “She exhibited her queer nude photography in the shared accommodation and invited all the villagers to the opening. Contrary to expectations, they were impressed by her work and asked Sareh to photograph them too,” says Glenewinkel. The resulting portraits will even be exhibited in Bad Belzig in February.
Plans for the future
For the future, Glenewinkel hopes that asylum and employment will be considered together: “We would like to develop a new model for the integration of refugee media professionals into the labor market that gives them the opportunity to gain a professional foothold during their asylum procedure.” However, it is important to record both the qualifications of the individuals and their professional wishes and ideas as early as possible in order to be able to offer them suitable further training opportunities and even bring them together with potential employers. However, Glenewinkel is not just referring to refugees working in journalism and the media. This is also necessary in other areas, for example in nursing or the skilled trades.
For the Exile Media Hub Brandenburg, the goal is now “to create concrete career prospects for the majority of our participants by the middle of the year.” If this project is successful and the model pays off, Glenewinkel could imagine implementing the concept in other parts of Germany. And perhaps this approach could also be exported to other countries: “The fact that our approach has met with great interest was demonstrated in December, when community representatives from Turkey visited us to jointly examine whether our model could also be successfully implemented in their region.”
Picturecredit: ©MiCT / Klaas Glenewinkel
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The media technologies of the future are already being used today – not only in the entertainment sector but in a wide variety of industries. For our MediaTech Hub Potsdam blog, we talk to tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers once a month and tell the stories behind their innovative business models, ideas, projects and collaborations.
