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Der Spiegel, translated as "The Mirror," is a weekly newsletter based out of Hamburg, Germany. The publication is known for its coverage of political scandals and its investigative reporting.Der Spiegel is available online and in print. Der Spiegel produces a variety of media publications including video and audio formats. The Spiegel Group also publishes Manager Magazine. Through their digital platform, Spiegel Online, they offer topic specific digital Spiegel magazines along with an online archive of Der Spiegel publications that dates back to 1947. In addition, the website began publishing daily news in 2017.
The company also provides educational resources and certification programs through SPEIGEL Akademie. Steffen Klusmann, Clemens Höges, Melanie Amann, and Thorsten Dörtiis make up the current members of editor-in-chief at Der Spiegel. Thomas Haas is Chairman of Management. Their mission statement reads
Say what is. We make the world understandable. We uncover, post news and reliably provide context.
The Spiegel group, known legally as SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG, includes the following subsidiaries:
- SPIEGEL TV GmbH
- Manager Magazin Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (75.1%)
- DCTP Entwicklungsgesellschaft für TV-Programme mbH (12.5%)
- Klassik Radio GmbH & Co. KG (8.1%)
- a + i art and information GmbH & Co. television productions
- ASPEKT Telefilm-Produktion GmbH (60%)
- STORY HOUSE Productions GmbH (35%)
- SPIEGELnet AG (86%)
- SPIEGEL ONLINE GmbH
- Manager Magazin Online GmbH
- Quality Channel GmbH
- portal100 internet GmbH
Der Spiegel was first published on January 4th, 1947. The newsletter was created with the goal of bringing objective news to the German people after of World War II. The magazine was a successor of the publication Diese Woche or "This Week," founded in 1946. Rudolf Augstein was the first publisher and editor of the magazine. Der Spiegel was first released in Hanover but moved to Hamburg in 1952, where it is still headquartered.
Der Speigel became recognized in the 1950s and 1960s for its coverage of political scandals and investigative reporting. Over the years, ownership of the paper changed hands multiple times, but in 1969, Rudolf Augstein bought all shares of the company and became the sole owner. In 1971, he sold a quarter of the shares to the company Gruner+Jahr. In 1974, Augstein decided that fifty percent of shares should go to the employees of Der Speigel, making Der Speigel an employee-owned company.
Der Speigel publishing went on to release a variety of publications:
- Manager Magazin (1970)
- SPIEGEL SPEZIAL, later to become SPIEGELreporter (1989)
- SPIEGEL Kultur Extra, later to become KulturSPIEGEL (1995)
- UniSPIEGEL (1998).
Over the years, they became involved in TV and radio productions, making their TV debut on May 8, 1988, with their TV-show SPIEGEL TV MAGAZIN. In 1993, they started producing a variety of content for the VOX channel. SPIEGEL TV led to the founded the production company a + i "art und information" GmbH in 1996. In 2000, a + i took over 50 percent of the ASPEKT Telefilm-Produktion company. SPIEGEL published its first electronic editorial on October 25, 1994.
Editor, Rudolf Augstein, Nov. 7, 1962 Der Speigel
In 1962, Augstein was arrested after the German police occupied the Spiegel office due to accusations of treason. The paper had published an article titled "Limited Readiness for Defense" written by Conrad Ahlers, which conveyed the message that the German military unprepared to defend the country based on a NATO assessment of west German forces. This led to an accusation before parliament of high treason, though in the end none of the arrested parties were found guilty . Protests began in response to the arrest of Augstein and other editors. Augstein was released after 103 days, and the Defense Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss resigned as a result of his actions during the incident. Charges against Augstein, Conrad Ahlers and others involved were dropped due to lack of evidence in May of 1965. This incident received international press, and Spiegel received support during the affair from other media groups.
