Increasing violence against journalists in Germany
The German Journalists' Association (DJV) has expressed concern over the increasing tendency of right-wing groups to resort to violence against media representatives.
Association head Frank Überall said that he had never imagined having to be afraid when practising his profession: "I only knew that from authoritarian regimes." In the past, journalists were shouted at and mobbed at right-wing extremist marches, Überall said on Deutschlandradio Kultur on Tuesday. "Now it really is the case that the microphone is knocked out of your hand, that the camera is blinded, that a colleague is pushed into a doorway and spat at."
According to the DJV chairman, attacks and death threats from right-wing extremists have already led to some journalists no longer wanting to work in this field: "That's a great pity, because we need many colleagues who collect facts, who check facts, even in the right-wing extremist scene, who explain and classify them."
Overall, he has the impression that citizens have become more alert and critical of journalistic work, said Überall: "Not everyone who shouts 'lying press' is automatically right-wing extremist," said the DJV chairman. There are certainly people who "no longer feel represented" by the media. (SDA)
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