An Open Letter to the Editors and Staff at Stern.de

(Please note: Stern.de has positively responded to our open letter. We have translated their letter and posted it below. The original German version of the Stern.de letter has been published next to the German version of our open letter at Medienkritik Online.)

To the editors and staff of Stern.de:

I am writing this letter to express deep concern about your recent article "Fire and Bullets Rained Down on Us." In the article, you write that Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence agent who was tragically killed in Iraq, was “murdered”. By using the word “murdered” you are clearly labeling the US soldiers involved in the shooting as murderers. And when you state that Mr. Calipari was “murdered”, you are also implicitly stating that he was intentionally targeted for death by American soldiers, although there is presently absolutely no evidence that would support such a claim. In fact, both the US and Italian governments strongly reject all implications that the death of Mr. Calipari was in any way intentional and both governments agree that his death was the result of a tragic accident and NOT the result of murder.

Before Our Open Letter / Stern.de: Calipari "murdered" by US soldiers.

After Our Open Letter / Stern.de: Calipari "killed" by US soldiers

By using the word “murdered” you are once again rushing to judge the United States and its citizens. You are declaring US soldiers guilty of murder with absolutely no factual evidence to back your assertions. It would seem that to Stern, the US soldiers involved in the incident are guilty until proven innocent. And, in a broader sense, it would seem that Stern is portraying Americans are a suspect race of “Tätervolk” not be trusted.

Sadly, this exploitation of German anti-American sentiment for profit seems to be part of a larger pattern at your publication. That is particularly troubling because Americans are not the first group to be made into scapegoats for all the world’s problems in German society. I will point to just two (of many) recent examples of particularly egregious anti-Americanism at Stern:

Method Wild-West / How America lied to the World

The incredible lack of journalistic integrity and responsibility displayed in "Fire and Bullets Rained Down on Us" and in many other Stern articles on the United States is deeply troubling to the readership of Davids Medienkritik and Medienkritik Online. We ask that you remove the word “murdered” from the article and we sincerely hope that, in the future, your publication will refrain from the opportunistic, financially driven exploitation of your readership’s anti-American sentiments.

Sincerely Yours,

David Kaspar
Davids Medienkritik, Medienkritik Online
www.dmko.info

UPDATE: Here is the letter we received from Stern.de, translated by Ray. Stern.de quickly made the right decision. Kudos!

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

We just received your critique of the named article “Fire and Bullets Rained Down on Us.” We thank you for your critical accompaniment of our Stern.de online offering.

Your critical objection to the use of the term “murdered” in the context of the, to this point, unresolved death of Nicola Calipari is absolutely appropriate. We would like to apologize in the name of the editorial staff for the lack of care in the editing of the text.

The article has been worked over in the meantime and the choice of words has been accordingly corrected.

For this clear – but hopefully one-time mistake – we would like to request once again that you excuse us and remain with friendly greetings,

Your stern.de-Team

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the person who read our email had the journalistic integrity to recognize, admit and demand the correction of this obvious mistake on the part of the editorial staff of Stern.de. Hopefully this change of heart will not be a "one-time" event.

Comments

[der.gipper]

@Amihasser:
Wow! "Imbezil". Neues Fremdwort gelernt und direkt zweimal geposted, was?
Ehre, wem Ehre gebührt, Intelligenzbestie.

Note from David: I have - as always - deleted the amihasser comments. It would therefore be helpful not quote from his comments.

BTW, Amihasser has become more agitated, more ... outspoken lately. Apart from his worsening psychological condition this is certainly linked to the re-election of President Bush.
I just regret we are not able to offer him the professional help he so urgently needs. Hopefully the staff of his hospital ward can come up with new and more efficient medication...

[Bateman]

Hi Troll!

Wenn die beiden tatsächlich an Imbezilität leiden sollten, dann kann ich bei Dir in Relation nur Oligophrenie oder Kretinismus unterstellen...

[Ulan]

I have written a similar letter to Stern because of their article. Haven´t received an answer till now. And I don´t really expect one.
They know exactly what they are doing, and they are doing it because 1) it sells and 2) anti-americanism is a "way of life" for the "journalists" working there.

[Huan]

you should let some of us sign it next time.

Thanks

[Ray D.]

I suggest that those who share our sentiments contact Stern:

Contact Stern

I have also included a link above at the end of the article.

---Ray D.

[Pogue]

I really do doubt they will respond - they probably laugh at your letter because as they all know Bushchimphitler is the evilist man ever

In the US we have Time and Newsweek as major news magazines

Is Stern comparable to one of these in impact and importance?

Does it have a direct competitor?

Perhaps some effort on this side to publicize what Stern is up to and to publicize their activities - lets see how Parent Bertelsmann, publisher of major US titles like Parenting Magazine, will enjoy being linked to such trash?

Here is from the Bertelsmann website

--------

Gruner + Jahr is an international printing and publishing corporation that produces more than some 100 magazines and newspapers in 14 different countries. With a staff of approximately 13,000, it achieved sales exceeding 3,048 billion Euro (5,961 billion DEM) during 2000/2001. About 62% of this revenue stems from operations outside Germany. Many international renowned magazine brands are owned by Gruner + Jahr, like "Geo" (geographic, traveling), "PM" and "Focus" (popular-scientific), "Gala" (people magazine), "Parents" (parenting), "Inc", " Fast Company", "Capital" (business), etc.

Gruner + Jahr is owned by Bertelsmann AG in Gütersloh (74.9%) and the Jahr family in Hamburg (25.1%).

Some 50 magazines are produced for markets outside Germany - including France, the U.S., Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Austria and Netherlands. The two most important non-German companies are Prisma Presse in Paris, now the second largest magazine publisher in France, and Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing Company of New York.

In Germany, Gruner + Jahr publishes about 40 magazines, including "STERN". In spite of the great diversity of products, Gruner + Jahr publishes only quality titles, each of which leads its respective market segment in terms of both journalistic content and visual presentation.

------

Heres the website for Gruner & Jahr USA - I wonder if the US readers of Parents Magazine would like to know Bertelsmann is making lots of money calling their country a facist murdering regime back at home in Germany

http://www.gjusa.com/magazines/child.html

[Trak77]

"...exploitation of German anti-American sentiment for profit...". This line says it all. Similarly, Schroeder exploited German anti-American sentiment for political gain. Thanks to Medienkritik for it's on-point analysis.

To the exploitees of these tactics, remember the old bromide about playing poker...if you don't know who the sucker in the game is, it's probably you.

[Doughnut Boy Andy]

"Stern.de quickly made the right decision. Kudos!"

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllll!!!!!!!!!!!
Well done Medienkritik!

[Pogue]

It is clear - you are watching them and will hold them accountable for their casual slanderings of the soldiers, citizens and officials of the United States in their ever constant effort to pump up sales with inflamatory hate rhetoric

Very well done guys!

But I still think that the US consumers of these Bertelsmann publications should be informed of this situation

Maybe LGF would run with this a bit? And if we could get it onto Fox news ( the one watched by those 60M+ dumkopfs that re-elected Bush you know ) we could probably make a nice dent in their circulation numbers over here

[Elaib]

Congratulations gentlemen, I am deeply impressed.

[Pamela]

Well, David and Ray, you were much more polite than I would have been. Congratulations. Forgive my cycnicism but for people who make their living with word-craft, they knew exactly what they were doing the first time out. I think it speaks more to the influence of your site than their integrity that they changed it.

I'm such a 'Bah, humbug!', I know!

[mamapajamas]

Well done, David! Thank you from a grateful citizen of the US :).

[GC]

Thanks David for pointing this out to the Stern. If only there were more people like you who had the courage to do this. The relatives (some of the younger ones) I have in Germany have also fallen into the trap of "America is Evil". I am so disappointed and discouraged by their behavior.

[Huan]

Well done!
Thanks.

[Sandy P]

Congrats, gentlemen, you've just chinked the armor.

AND - considering what the Italian military has just said, me thinks there's lots of egg on lots of faces.

Via LGF:
Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli said today that communist reporter Giuliana Sgrena should stop making careless accusations. (Hat tip: Nancy.)

[Denis C. Monahan]

Didn't the US spend a good deal in blood and treasure ending the NAZIS rule over the German people (while I know that many Germans look on this as a bad thing, there must be a few who consider it a good thing), rebuilding West Germany after WWII and protecting West Germany (Oh! and West Berlin - remember all the airplanes - from Soviet aggression and eventually helping Eastern Germany to become free and Germany reunited?? Did we do that for the oil? or was it just more cowboy agression against peace loving people by crazed Americans?

[State the obvious]

Buddy, you're preaching to the choir.

[Markdj321]

Please just shut up about condemning what the Nazis did, since THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT AMERICANS ARE DOING TO INNOCENT PEOPLE AND TOWNS AND CITIES IN IRAQ. US troops lay siege to them, post snipers that gun down anything that moves including ambulances, dogs, pregnant women and children trying to escape, bomb families, use cluster bombs to kill kids and white phosphorus that literally melts anyone in the vicinity, steal their valuables and their resources, perpetrate rapes and assasinations, shut down hospitals, electricity and water. Your modern-day Nazis even laugh while kids die or get maimed. Remember the Warsaw Ghetto? Iraq is a replay of that, the american military must have been following Hitler's manuals word for word. US TROOPS IN FACT DO MURDER AND TORTURE INNOCENTS, JOURNALISTS IF THEY GET IN THEIR WAY, YOU'RE IN IRAQ TO COMMIT MASS MURDER, STOP PLAYING THAT "WHO ME? I'M THE VICTIM" SONG AND YOUR "CHAMPIONS OF SHAMOCRACY" PROPAGANDA, THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE ALL ABOUT.