Media Overview

Private broadcasters have competed with public broadcasters in Germany since 1987, creating one of Europe's most competitive and packed TV broadcasting markets. All but 10% of the country's 34 million TV households have the pick of scores of private channels, many received free by cable or satellite.

Print media has a strong regional bias, with few publications being available nationally. The few national daily newspaper are generally awful.

German radio is much like that of many other Western countries. Pop, rock, adult contemporary and oldies dominate, with classical and opera offerings at the lower end of the dial. The inevitable Morning Zoo format is in great vogue here, so during commuting time you're bound to hear jovial German DJs giggling, honking horns and making fart noises.

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Periodicals

Bild (newspaper)

Pure sensationalism (an actual headline: 'Sex Waves From Space!')

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Die Welt (newspaper)

One of the higher-quality nationals, but very conservative.

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Die Zeit (newspaper)

An excellent weekly newspaper with in-depth reporting on everything from politics to fashion.

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Der Spiegel (magazine)

A widely read weekly magazine that offer investigative journalism between covers often featuring scantily clad models.

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Further Reading

The Origins of Modern Germany

Geoffrey Barraclough (history/politics)

An excellent introduction to the country's complex history.

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

William Shirer (history/politics)

The powerful landmark history of Hitler's reign.

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The Germans

Gordon A Craig (culture)

An insight into the German character with great cultural details.

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Berlin and the Wall

Ann Tusa (history/politics)

A saga about the events, trials and triumphs of the Cold War, the building of the Wall and its effects on the people of Berlin.

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Faust

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The original tale of a pact with the devil gone (surprise, surprise) horribly wrong.

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The Threepenny Opera

Bertolt Brecht

A fine example of Brecht's 'alienated' theatre. Listen to Kurt Weill while reading it.

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The Tin Drum

Günter Grass

A stunning examination of the post-war German psyche; these days it would be called magic realism.

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Perfume

Patrick Süskind

The extraordinary tale of a psychotic 18th-century perfume maker.

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A Tramp Abroad

Mark Twain

The great humourist's comical observations of German life.

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Television and DVD

TV system

PAL

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DVD zone

Zone 2: Europe, Japan, South Africa, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East