Quick camera movement instead of a miserable writing jam
Whether it’s *Der Spiegel*, *Die Zeit*, or language guru Wolf Schneider: Anyone who wants to shape public opinion is now «vlogging.» In Switzerland, only *Die Weltwoche* has so far embraced the new «video commentary» genre—as a solo «SonnTalk» and a replacement for «Arena.» Commentary by Oliver Classen, press spokesperson for the development policy organization Declaration of Bern and former media editor.
One of the unresolved issues in Internet journalism is server costs. It is clear that they rise with success and with moving image offerings. But it remains uncertain whether they can one day be refinanced by advertising, which at present is not even enough to refinance texts. Nevertheless, publishers and editors are outbidding each other with video news, reports and columns, with the latter quickly becoming the supreme discipline on the web. If proof were needed: In May, still teacher Wolf Schneider also began "vlogging," giving a boost to speculation that the fusion of blogging and video would soon make it into the Duden dictionary. Of all things, "Speak Schneider!"
is the title of his camera column on Sueddeutsche.de. In the campaign "Lebendiges Deutsch," which promotes "folding computers" and "e-waste" instead of "laptop" and "spam," Schneider is in fact campaigning against anglicisms. Well, let's forget it. But at two minutes, the linguistic pontiff's schoolmasterly tirades are at least short and therefore web-compatible. Which is more than can be said for many of the alpha dogs among Germany's opinion makers. For example, that of Stern co-chief editor Hans-Ulrich Jörges. For his weekly "Klartext," he recently stood on Berlin's Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, first to show the party headquarters of the Left Party and then to rant at epic length about God, the world and the tired German election campaign. Whether such popular educators want to bring their insights to new users who are no longer accessible on paper or simply recommend themselves for the next talk show: Big journalist vlogs are flourishing.
Vlogs make opinion
Jens Jessen, for example, has not been harmed by that fateful video, introduced with a sweeping tracking shot, about "criminal youths being chatted up by know-it-all pensioners. Rather, he is now head of the new major feuilleton of Die Zeit and vlogs with decreasing frequency, but more pointedly than ever. And Spiegel colleague Matthias Matussek has already made it into ARD primetime with subtle self-irony (à la "my belly button is the world and the world is my belly button") and wry sayings. For the past two years, his culture video blog has been showing TV professionals how to effectively multimediaize social criticism: with a smart choice of topics, sophisticated rhetoric and original accompanying music. The Goethe hand puppet, for example, which accompanies Matussek on his excursions into current affairs, has long had cult status and can be purchased for 19.90 euros from Spiegel online, including a signed autograph card. The gadget is advertised with a quote from the sage of Weimar: "What you inherit from your fathers, acquire it in order to possess it.
Roger Köppel also works according to the motto "cheekiness wins. No wonder, as an ex-Berliner and the only genuine Swiss alpha journalist besides Frank A. Meyer, he was the first to discover the new online genre. However, without servile counterparts who allow themselves to be chastised or snubbed, he comes across as even more vain and insubstantial than on Tele Züri's "Sonntalk" or the "Arena. But his most recent expulsion from the SF discussion format showed that Köppel remains in a class of his own when it comes to self-marketing. The claim of the ingenious commercial before the incriminated program with neo-Federal Councillor Burkhalter was, of course, "What I'm not allowed to say in the Arena, you'll read in the next Weltwoche" - and not "you'll find out in my next video commentary. In other words, pushing circulation in the traditional way instead of popularizing a new channel. Köppel could learn from Christoph Blocher here. Blocher did without his own campaign newspaper, but achieved a surprise success with Tele Blocher. And for those who find this comparison too lame: A Blocher hand puppet would certainly help his video messages achieve a breakthrough and sell like hot cakes as a Weltwoche gadget.
is the title of his camera column on Sueddeutsche.de. In the campaign "Lebendiges Deutsch," which promotes "folding computers" and "e-waste" instead of "laptop" and "spam," Schneider is in fact campaigning against anglicisms. Well, let's forget it. But at two minutes, the linguistic pontiff's schoolmasterly tirades are at least short and therefore web-compatible. Which is more than can be said for many of the alpha dogs among Germany's opinion makers. For example, that of Stern co-chief editor Hans-Ulrich Jörges. For his weekly "Klartext," he recently stood on Berlin's Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, first to show the party headquarters of the Left Party and then to rant at epic length about God, the world and the tired German election campaign. Whether such popular educators want to bring their insights to new users who are no longer accessible on paper or simply recommend themselves for the next talk show: Big journalist vlogs are flourishing.
Vlogs make opinion
Jens Jessen, for example, has not been harmed by that fateful video, introduced with a sweeping tracking shot, about "criminal youths being chatted up by know-it-all pensioners. Rather, he is now head of the new major feuilleton of Die Zeit and vlogs with decreasing frequency, but more pointedly than ever. And Spiegel colleague Matthias Matussek has already made it into ARD primetime with subtle self-irony (à la "my belly button is the world and the world is my belly button") and wry sayings. For the past two years, his culture video blog has been showing TV professionals how to effectively multimediaize social criticism: with a smart choice of topics, sophisticated rhetoric and original accompanying music. The Goethe hand puppet, for example, which accompanies Matussek on his excursions into current affairs, has long had cult status and can be purchased for 19.90 euros from Spiegel online, including a signed autograph card. The gadget is advertised with a quote from the sage of Weimar: "What you inherit from your fathers, acquire it in order to possess it.
Roger Köppel also works according to the motto "cheekiness wins. No wonder, as an ex-Berliner and the only genuine Swiss alpha journalist besides Frank A. Meyer, he was the first to discover the new online genre. However, without servile counterparts who allow themselves to be chastised or snubbed, he comes across as even more vain and insubstantial than on Tele Züri's "Sonntalk" or the "Arena. But his most recent expulsion from the SF discussion format showed that Köppel remains in a class of his own when it comes to self-marketing. The claim of the ingenious commercial before the incriminated program with neo-Federal Councillor Burkhalter was, of course, "What I'm not allowed to say in the Arena, you'll read in the next Weltwoche" - and not "you'll find out in my next video commentary. In other words, pushing circulation in the traditional way instead of popularizing a new channel. Köppel could learn from Christoph Blocher here. Blocher did without his own campaign newspaper, but achieved a surprise success with Tele Blocher. And for those who find this comparison too lame: A Blocher hand puppet would certainly help his video messages achieve a breakthrough and sell like hot cakes as a Weltwoche gadget.
