Lügenpresse on the right-wing beat: German journalists and their hostile sources

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Journalists covering German right-wing extremist groups and the populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) work under extraordinary circumstances. Online harassment, physical attacks and anti-press rhetoric are on the rise. Reporters assigned to the beat balance the necessary proximity to sources that are openly antagonistic and vilify them as Luegenpresse (lying press) with safety concerns and professional norms. Based on 23 in-depth interviews this study explores how German journalists and editors working for local, regional, national, commercial and public service media negotiate this difficult terrain. Findings show that they adjust reporting routines by reducing the number of events they cover, by downgrading their gear to reduce visibility and by telling different kinds of stories. Newsrooms self-censor on one hand and try to control the narrative on the other by changing who they interview and the way they conduct and publish interviews with politicians. As they compete with populist groups and their digital media regimes, they are adjusting to an increasingly successful right-wing populist media logic. After decades of overly cautious engagement with the right, Germany’s press is on the defensive.