The Balancing Act of Reporting
Paul Scheffer, Hermann Pörzgen, Gerd Ruge
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The leadership of the Soviet Union saw controlling the reporting of foreign correspondents as a matter of policy. Whoever came to Moscow as a correspondent quickly found themselves caught between political considerations and an objective view of reality. Paul Scheffer, Hermann Pörzgen, and Gerd Ruge, who all helped shape the German image of Russia and German public opinion vis-à-vis the Soviet Union for decades, had to struggle with restrictions and blind spots despite all their knowledge and access on the ground. Each later admitted to errors and a certain helplessness in assessing Russia. The task of the correspondents was and is: informing people about what is happening. Self-censorship and partisan journalism do harm to the work of informing others.
(Osteuropa 1-3/2025, pp. 35–52)