Last but not least: The Big Court Lottery

Fifty seats are available to the press for the highly publicized NSU trial. These were all allocated within a few hours—to German media representatives. This was because all Turkish and most international media outlets were unfamiliar with the seemingly common «first come, first served» system (also known as the «first-come, first-served» procedure), which had not been communicated in advance. The outrage was particularly intense in Turkish circles, as all of the victims of the right-wing terrorists were of Turkish descent. Politicians from both sides intervened, and the newspaper Sabah successfully secured four seats for the Turkish media through legal action. The trial was ultimately postponed to allow for a new accreditation process. Five seats were allocated by lottery to domestic and foreign news agencies, and ten seats to foreign-language media. The remaining 35 seats were allocated by lottery among German media representatives.

The result, which was announced today, was met with incredulous head-shaking. The major national daily newspapers—the *Süddeutsche Zeitung*, *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung*, *Die Welt*, and *Die Tageszeitung*—were left out. Among those that fared better were quality media outlets such as Bild, RTL 2, Kabel 1, the Lübecker Nachrichten, and… Brigitte! The announcement that the women’s magazine would serve as a trial observer sparked schadenfreude, disbelief, and horror. Shortly thereafter, the Facebook group «FDP Liberté» posted a fictional Brigitte cover featuring Beate Zschäpe as the «cover girl» widespread («Trend Color: Brown»).

The reactions from the newspapers that were passed over were not long in coming. Taz is reportedly seeking to secure a video broadcast (a solution that the Turkish media had rejected after the initial award). According to reports, the Springer publications *Welt* and *Faz* believe that W&V is considering legal action. This time, press seats may be made available to other accredited journalists—though those who didn’t win the lottery shouldn’t get their hopes up too much about getting a “Brigitte” ticket: Of course, Brigitte will make use of the space, according to a statement from the Facebook page. Coverage of the NSU trial has already begun… with an article about Zschäpe’s attorney: Zschäpe's attorney: «I can easily handle the anger». Whether Brigitte felt the wrath of the one who had been kicked Shitstorms It remains to be seen whether it can handle it with ease. By the way: Representing Switzerland is the NZZ.

Thomas Häusermann