German Print Media Reviewed

I couldn't find the language changer on any of the sites, so my observations are rather simplistic and obvious.  It looks like the same layouts the U.S. uses.  One difference I did see was that German Newspapers use a lot of pictures.  While the U.S. papers don't.  I assume that the U.S. puts pictures linked to the stories that they want readers to read.  Maybe not focus on issues that could give the company a bad rap.  I also saw David Hasselhoff on quite a few newspaper's websites, while none on U.S., just thought that was interesting.

Mass Media - Radio

Are Mass Media more globalized than the people who consume them?

I’m not really sure, I’d like to say no but there is something in me that says yes.

What does it mean when patterns across the Western globe are so similar?

I think that patterns in the Western globe are so noticeable similar because once one country finds a sequence of doing something that controls the following group (the group being unconscious of this) then other countries catch on seeing what this pattern has brought forth.

Where do cultural differences "survive" if media do not carry them - or do they?

Cultural differences survive in the people.  If the culture rejects a pattern long enough media will have to change to satisfy the following.

What can you say about Radio in Germany?

I say that radio stations in Germany are much of the same pattern of the U.S.’s.  Although I don’t know if the commercials are any similar compared to ours.

My observations about the top 20 Radio stations in Germany

My very first observation about the top 20 Radio stations in Germany was that my German sucks.


The second observation was that the stations (that worked for me at the time) seemed to play English-Sung songs.  Which I thought wasn't strange, but I wasn't excepting it, some radio stations didn't even translate the titles of the songs.  For example Great Expectations and It's Raining Again were introduced such as that.  


Third observation I made was the wide variety of genres they have.  Six of the top 20 stations had Mix as the genre, showing that there is a demand for all types of music.  


Fourth observation was that one station has a genre Schlager, when 'googled' roughly translates to hit.  These types of songs are ballads light pop type songs.  


My over all observation, other than the learn German so I can understand the commercials, were that I like the German top 20 radio stations for their choice of songs.

Bayerische Wald

• The Bayerische Wald (Bavarian Forest) is the oldest national park in Germany
• This forest has been completely returned to nature.
• No humans live here
• There are wet valleys, streams, bogs, moors and meadows in this forest
• The Bavarian Forest is the largest contiguous area of protected forest in central Europe.
• Many rare species have made the Bayerisch Wald their home
• lynx, black stork, eagle owl, and the three- toed woodpecker are a few examples
• There are 300km of walking trails
• 200km of cycling paths
• Mountain biking is all popular here
• This forest is not well known which makes it a great place to go to avoid tourism
• The Bayerische Wald contains Germany's cleanest air
• This forest use to be covered in glaciers
• Home to the tallest mountains in Bavaria

http://www.slowtrav.com/germany/bavarian_forest.htm

http://www.germanplaces.com/germany/bavarian-forest-national-park.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8292819@N08/4247956363/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophie-/3138137194/

Berlin Topics

1. Bradenburg Gate
2. Popular Sights and Activities in Luebeck, Germany
3. Museum Island
4. Art and Culture of the 1920's
5. Berlin Music, Art, and Literature
6. Reichstag
7. Berlin Structures
8. Berlin Buildings
9. Berlin During WWII
10. U-Bahn and S-Bahn
11. Berlin After WWII
12. Sports
13. Berlin Nightlife
14. Berlin Olympiastadion
15. Berlin Tram

Berlin in the 1920's and Today

Lexi Ball
Art and Culture in the  1920's

In 1923, inflation swept through Germany. Having no money led to the odd mixture of despair and manic festivity that led to Berlin’s artistic, musical, and literary renaissance.

Theater
Das Proletarische Theater (The Proletarian Theater) was founded by Erwin Piscator in 1920. Piscator used theater as a way to keep the working middle class Germans from their depression and prepare them for the coming "socialist revolution".

Kurt Weill came up with the “Singspiel” (song play) and introduced German audiences to the musical as we know it today. Although Kurt Weill was very popular he was a Jew. When the Nazis came to power Weill came to America where he continued to be very successful.

Music
As in America, jazz music was very popular in Berlin during the 20s.  Josephine Baker, and African-American singer, caused a sensation in Berlin with her overtly sexual “banana dance.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1tVgzMy5dY&feature=related

Classical music also flourished during the 1920s. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was under the leadership of conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler,  a very creative and passionate man.

Art
In Art, DaDaism was a controversial and exciting movement in Berlin during the 1920's. DaDaism used collage and photomontage techniques. Many DaDa works were overtly political. The majority of DaDaists denounced the Prussian government and were anti-capitalistic.  Prominent DaDaists included artists Hans Richter, George Grosz, and Raoul Hausmann.

Writers

The most influential book in Germany in the 1920’s was “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Written by Erich Maria Remarque. Erich was a young veteran of the German Army in World War I. His book is about the horror of the war and the sense of utter defeat felt by many Germans. His book has become one of the most read novels of all time.

Art and Culture in Berlin Today

Theater

Berlin is world famous for their status as film festival capital of Europe. They are third behind Cannes and Venice.

Berlin's and one of Germany's most famous theatre companies, the Berliner Ensemble, was founded by Bertolt Brecht. Today it still is producing great theater.

Music

Peter Fox belongs to the band Seeed but he has gone solo and  has became very popular. Culcha Candela is a famous dancehall group.

Art

Berlin attracts artists from all over the world. Berlin's annual art trade fair has made the city a melting pot of the international art market.

Berlin is once again the city where trends are put in motion and is fast becoming one of Europe's art capitals.

Writers

Günter Kunert has written in nearly every literary genre, including literary criticism, short stories, television plays, and poetry. Kunert's most recent poem is So und nich anders, which he wrote in 2002.

http://www.berlinfo.com/freetime/Film-Theatre/index.htm

http://www.essortment.com/all/artberlin_rbut.htm 

http://www.visitberlin.de/english/sightseeing/e_si_museen_museumsjahr.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Fox_%28musician%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culcha_Candela
http://www.greeninteger.com/pipbios_detail.cfm?PIPAuthorID=979

Historic Centers of Stralsund and Wismar

Stralsund and Wismar are two cities in the Northern part of Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern.  The cities are known for lending a hand in the formation of brick construction techniques from the 13^th to the 15^th centuries.  This can be seen in many of the churches and cathedrals throughout the city.  In the 17^th and 18^th centuries these towns were under the control of the Swedish.  The Swedish used the cities as administration and defense centers for the German territories.

City Hall of Stralsund

Both Stralsund and Wismar have a large number of gothic religious buildings, having six major Gothic Brick churches between them.  They also have unchanged medieval ground plans, and city centers that survived WWII almost untouched.  The architecture in the cities also has a Swedish ‘twist’ on it with brightly painted houses and buildings.  We can see the gothic architecture in the city hall above.

One reason Stralsund and Wismar have the title of being a World Heritage Site is their Swedish heritage.  The other most important reason these cities were inducted into the World Heritage Site was because of the role they had in the Hanseatic League.  The Hanseatic League was a group of trade posts stretching from London to Novogorod (Russia), with most trading posts in Germany.  This group was affiliated with each other and had a monopoly on the market.  Here you can see some of the major trading posts in Europe.

Stralsund and Wismar are located right of Lübeck