German media: public broadcasters, tabloids, trust — and the rise of alternatives

From public broadcasting scandals to tabloid power and pandemic moralising: how German media narratives shape politics, polarisation and public trust.

Germany likes to imagine itself as a country of sober institutions: cautious courts, boring coalition deals, a civil service that quietly works. Its media ecosystem often trades on the same self-image — especially the public broadcasters, who present themselves as the calm centre holding the republic together.

But if you follow German politics closely, y…