Bertelsmann Boss Awarded "Global Leadership Award" in Washington

(By Ray D.)

CEO of Bertelsmann, owner of Stern, lauded by Johns Hopkins AICGS for "global leadership"...

Bertelsmann AG is far and away Germany's largest publishing firm. The media conglomerate also owns Gruener & Jahr, "Europe's biggest magazine publisher." And Gruener & Jahr owns Stern magazine, Germany's most widely read political weekly. At the top of the Bertelsmann empire sits CEO Gunter Thielen.

Late last year, Dr. Thielen was invited to a black-tie awards ceremony in Washington, DC by the good people of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) and awarded the institute's annual "Global Leadership Award." Apparently it didn't bother Karin Johnston and Jackson Janes, two self-anointed AICGS experts on German-American relations and German media, that Bertelsmann publications have propagated outrageous anti-American propaganda to millions throughout Germany over the past several years. Here is a picture from the dinner:

Dick Parsons (center) hands Gunter Thielen (left) the "Global Leadership Award" as Jackson Janes (right) looks on. (See more pics of Washington's German-American elite breaking bread with Gunter Thielen here)

And here are just a few examples of Bertelsmann's "global leadership" over the past several years:

• How America Lied To the World
• Stern: Americans Could Care Less About the Rest of Humanity
• Stern: Somalia in America's South
• Stern's Gallery of American Stereotypes
• The Voice of Her Master: Stern on Condoleezza Rice
• Stern: Anti-Americanism the Old Fashioned Way
• Stern: "America is Destroying the West"

Bertelsmann is also part owner of Der Spiegel, but hey, we at Davids Medienkritik don't want to spoil the party. So we would like to make a few nominations for the next award ceremony:

• Oskar Lafontaine
• Actors Billy Zane and Gary Busey
• Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick
• Ingo and Andreas Fischer of German website for kids "Helles Koepfchen"
• Florian Guessgen of Stern magazine.

On a final note: It also just so happens that Bertelsmann is a financial contributor to the Johns Hopkins affiliated AICGS. In fact, AICGS has taken money from quite a few interesting sources over the decades, including the East German government. Recently, when Davids Medienkritik contacted the German Embassy's press office in Washington, DC to conduct an interview on German media coverage of the United States, the representative left a message telling us that they were too busy with other issues and referred us to AICGS. They clearly felt comfortable that the institute would give us a point of view consistent with the German government's.

Endnote: Read an earlier post on this topic for more information.

Comments

[joe]

Hmmm....

This has a bit of the same sounding ring to it as the enviro award Kofia got from the committee headed by the German who was them appointed to a position in the UN.

Pay to play

[WhatDoIKnow]

Bertelsmann does more than publishing Stern, but it's a long way to ... Global Leadership ? Leadership in what ? A very pompous title for a rather unidentifiable work on a global scale. But hey, Bertelsmann probably pays (sorry, contributes) substantially, so I guess they deserve some kind of "Global" award. It's not really outrageous, it's ridiculous. Just like little boys playing in the sand and giving each other paper medals.

All of this while most Germans have absolutely no idea that they do not have a truly functioning media corp. This is a huge, no, I should make that HUGE, handicap for the Germans in the globalized world, but they don't know it. As it has been said here countless times, most Germans are convinced to their core that their media is very reliable. Not only that, but it is certainly better than the US media. Take that !

Having said that, I can't let the Germans off the hook. I understand not knowing that you are being lied to, if everyone around lies to you constantly. However, there is absolutely no excuse for not attempting to see beyond one's own horizon.

Being fooled by others is one thing and is not a crime. Not wanting to expand one's horizon, break out of the box, see what others say and what others do is something that Germans have already starting paying for economically. A very good example of this is the illogical fear of the famous "Amerikanische Verhältnisse" - dismissing a wealth of experience simply because it is American. This is a luxury, which in today's world is literally crippling, just like the German economy and social system are.

The German media is failing horrendously in its job, and the Germans aren't in a hurry to take initiative themselves and overcome the failing of the media. There is no light at the end of the tunnel yet, in fact, they got stuck in the tunnel and convinced themselves it is actually better to stay there than to get out in the sun.

[Don Miguel]

I'm not sure what the AICGS really thinks of him since his "award" looks like a goldfish bowl.

[Mike H.]

Com'on Don, it is a goldfish bowl, and since the news that you can make bio-diesel out of anything organic came out, the value of the contents of the award have appreciated considerably. There's more actual value than symbolic value, so you could say that his contribution was an investment.

[Pamela]

@MikeH
you can make bio-diesel out of anything organic came out, the value of the contents of the award have appreciated considerably

Most of the German media, ALL of the French media, and considerable portions of the US media have been fueled by 'organic' sources for quite some time and I fail to see any appreciation in value.

*snort*

[pst314]

A few years ago Bertelsmann purchased American publisher Random House, which includes such major labels as Ballantine, Bantam, Doubleday, and Knopf.

[LC Mamapajamas]

@"Apparently it didn't bother Karin Johnston and Jackson Janes, two self-anointed AICGS experts on German-American relations and German media, that Bertelsmann publications have propagated outrageous anti-American propaganda to millions throughout Germany over the past several years."

Actually, that's probably the EXACT reason Bertlesmann was given the award.

[Solomon2]

I am reminded of how proud Brezhnev was to wear a chest full of medals awarded to him by his own totally-dependent underlings! Gosh, what an honor that was!

[LC Mamapajamas]

Did anyone ever figure out which globe it is that Bertlesmann is supposed to be leading? :D