“The written word prevails”
Quality journalism in the age of acceleration
Erik Tabery, Alexander Cammann
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The situation facing quality newspapers in the Czech Republic and Germany is similar, regardless of whether we are talking about the small newspaper "Respekt", which is barely managing to stay afloat financially, or Europe’s largest weekly, DIE ZEIT, which is also commercially successful. This is the conclusion reached by the two editors Erik Tabery (Prague) and Alexander Cammann (Berlin). Newspapers are under constant pressure to modernise, operating under the dictates of a breakneck pace driven by social media and online journalism. Lengthy, in-depth debates spanning different social circles hardly ever take place anymore. The triumph of audiovisual media is also forcing print journalists to turn to podcasts and video formats. Yet the written word offers greater depth and opens up a special space for reflection. However, this requires people who can read and who are capable of reflection.
(Osteuropa 5-6/2026, pp. 61–70)