Der Spiegel

Website: www.spiegel.de/

Owner / Publisher: Spiegel-Verlag

Language: German, English

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Liberal

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Weekly

Der Spiegel is a German-language news magazine that is known for its investigative journalism. It was first published in 1947 by John Challenor and Rudolf Augstein. Augstein was recognized by the International Press Institute in 2000 as one of fifty World Press Freedom Heroes. The magazine is owned by Spiegel-Verlag. Weekly circulation is over one million, making it one of the most influential news sources in Europe.

Die Tageszeitung

Website: www.taz.de/

Owner / Publisher: Taz development

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Left-wing

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Daily

Die Tageszeitung (commonly referred to as taz) is a progressive and left-leaning paper that focuses on politics and social issues. It is frequently supportive of the German Green Party, but has criticized policies of the SPD/Green Party coalition government. The paper is cooperatively owned and administrated through employee self-management. Its headquarters are in Berlin.

Die Welt

Website: www.welt.de/

Owner / Publisher: Die Welt

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National, international

Politial Affiliation: Conservative

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Daily

Founded by British occupying forces in Hamburg in 1946, Die Welt originally published news and British-viewpoint editorials, but moved to covering issues of both British and German interest. At its peak during the occupation, the paper had a readership of approximately one million. Circulation is now about 209,000 copies. Owned by Axel Springer AG, the paper claims a liberal cosmopolitan viewpoint, but is generally considered to be conservative. It is a founding member of the European Dailies Alliance and cooperates with papers from other countries, such as Spain's ABC, France's Le Figaro, and the UK's Daily Telegraph.

Die Zeit

Website: www.zeit.de/

Owner / Publisher: Zeit-Verlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co KG

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Liberal

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Weekly

Die Zeit is the most widely read German weekly, with a circulation of over 2 million. The paper is generally considered to be highbrow, with centrist and social-liberal political leanings, although it sometimes takes a right-leaning viewpoint. It is known for publishing essays, dossiers, and third-party articles espousing a third party's point of view on a particular subject in one or more issues. Die Zeit is published in Hamburg and owned by Zeit-Verlag Gerd Bucerius GmbH & Co KG.    

Financial Times Deutschland

Website: www.ftd.de/

Owner / Publisher: Financial Times Deutschland

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Type of Coverage: Business, Financial

Frequency: Daily

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Website: www.faz.net/

Owner / Publisher: Fazit-Stiftung

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National, international

Politial Affiliation: Conservative

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Daily

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is the German paper with the widest international circulation, distributed in 148 countries. Thiş prestigious German-language daily is known for its center-right wing political alignment. Instead of one editor, five editors work cooperatively to determine the paper's editorial content. The paper is owned by Fazit-Stiftung and circulation is approximately 380,000.

Frankfurter Rundschau

Website: www.f-r.de/

Owner / Publisher: Frankfurter Rundschau

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Liberal

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, international news, sports, politics, culture

Frequency: Daily

The Frankfurter Rundschau is a German-language daily covering local, regional, and international news, sports, politics, and culture. The paper is aligned with social-liberal views, and claims that "independence, social justice, and fairness" are the foundation of its journalism. The paper is owned by Frankfurter Rundschau and circulates approximately 120,000 copies. 

Handelsblatt

Website: www.handelsblatt.com/

Owner / Publisher: Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Type of Coverage: Financial

Frequency: Daily

Handelsblatt is a leading German-language business paper, with a circulation of approximately 124,000. It is owned by Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt and published in Düsseldorf. In 2005 the paper began offering WirtschaftsWiki, an online database of terms and definitions used in economics and politics.

Junge Freiheit

Website: www.jungefreiheit.de/

Owner / Publisher: Junge Freiheit

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Conservative

Type of Coverage: Politics, culture, foreign affairs, economics

Frequency: Weekly

Junge Freiheit is a weekly focusing on politics and culture. Self-described as liberal-conservative, it is generally considered to be right-wing and the central publication of the Neue Recht. Originally published in 1986 by students in Freiburg opposing what they viewed as the dominance of leftist thinking in universities, it is now published in Berlin. One of the paper's printing sites was bombed by left-wing activists in 1994. Circulation is approximately 19,000 copies.    

Junge Welt

Website: www.jungewelt.de/

Owner / Publisher: 8. Mai GmbH

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Left-wing

Type of Coverage: General News

Frequency: Daily

Self-described as a leftist and Marxist, Junge Welt was first published in 1947 in the Soviet section of Berlin. Shortly thereafter, it became the official newspaper of the central council of the Free German Youth. At its peak, it had the largest circulation of any daily paper in the German Democratic Republic, distributing 1.4 million copies daily. Today, circulation is approximately 17,000, making it the smallest nationwide daily. Junge Welt is owned by 8. Mai GmbH.

Rheinischer Merkur

Website: www.merkur.de/

Owner / Publisher: Rheinischer Merkur

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Conservative

Type of Coverage: Entertainment, sports, news

Frequency: Weekly

Süddeutsche Zeitung

Website: www.sueddeutsche.de/

Owner / Publisher: Südwestdeutsche Medien Holding

Language: German

Region Served / Publication Area: National

Politial Affiliation: Centrist-liberal

Type of Coverage: Local, regional, national, international news

Frequency: Daily

Süddeutsche Zeitung is the most-read nationwide German daily, with a circulation of 441,00 and a readership of over 1 million. It covers local, regional, and international news, politics, business, sports, and culture. The paper's political alignment is centrist-liberal. Süddeutsche Zeitung is well-known for its anonymous front-page column called Streiflicht. On Fridays the paper includes an English-language supplement, The New York Times International Weekly.