Junge Freiheit

The Junge Freiheit (JF), "Young Freedom", is a German weekly newspaper for politics and culture established in 1986. It has been described as conservative, ultraconservative, right-wing, nationalistic and as the "ideological supply ship of right-wing populism" in Germany.[1]

Junge Freiheit
TypeWeekly newspaper
PublisherJunge Freiheit Verlag GmbH & Co.
Editor-in-chiefDieter Stein
FoundedMay 1986
Political alignmentNational-conservative
LanguageGerman
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
Circulation31,161 (Q1, 2020)
Websitejungefreiheit.de

History

JF was founded by students in Freiburg im Breisgau in May 1986 on the initiative of the 19-year-old Dieter Stein. The founders described the newspaper as a reaction to the "dominance of the leftist 68's generation" among university teachers. In 1993, the newspaper moved its headquarters to Potsdam, near Berlin, and to Hohenzollerndamm, Berlin, in 1995. In 1994, a printing site for the JF in Weimar was firebombed by far left terrorists, with damage totalling 2.5 million marks. The paper moved to Berlin a few years later, where it continues to be published today.[2] JF had a circulation of 31,161 paid copies in the first quarter of 2020, this was an increase of 28 percent relative to the first quarter of 2015.[3] In 2016, the British weekly magazine The Economist noted the grown reputation and influence of Junge Freiheit amid the surge of the Alternative for Germany party. The paper concluded that "the presence of a right-wing voice in Germany’s media landscape is part of the country’s path to political normality".[4]

Issues and style

The JF has one section for politics, one for culture and for foreign affairs; it pays less attention to economics. There is a substantial number of opinions and commentaries including weekly opinion columns. Every week, the paper also conducts an interview with a prominent politician, author, scientist or artist.

Ruling

JF was involved in a legal battle relating to the freedom of the press against two local State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution, in which the newspaper was represented by its lawyer and frequent supporter, former German Attorney-General Alexander von Stahl (FDP). The Offices for the Protection of the Constitution in two federal states, North Rhine Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, mentioned Junge Freiheit in their yearly reports of alleged "anti-constitutional activities" between 1995 and 2005, along with most publications and organizations affiliated with the Left Party. The newspaper successfully sued the North Rhine Westphalia local authorities, and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled such classification to be unconstitutional in 2005 (the so-called "Office for the Protection of the Constitution report case"[5] or "Junge Freiheit Case"[6]).

Since then, neither state's report has mentioned the newspaper.[7]

People

The founder and editor-in-chief as well as managing director of JF is Dieter Stein.

Its prominent contributors include Holger Zastrow, Wolf Jobst Siedler, Frederick Forsyth, Alain de Benoist, Paul Gottfried, Elliot Neaman, Rolf Hochhuth, Ralph Raico, Derek Turner, Billy Six,[8] Klaus Rainer Röhl, and Fritz Schenk. Among its prominent public supporters are also Alexander von Stahl and Peter Scholl-Latour.

Gerhard Löwenthal Prize

Together with German "Foundation for Conservative Education and Research" (Förderstiftung Konservative Bildung und Forschung), Junge Freiheit awards the Gerhard Löwenthal Prize, a biannual prize for conservative journalists.

Citations
  1. Mahlberg, Gaby (March 31, 2017). ""Junge Freiheit": Ein Besuch im "ideologischen Mutterschiff" des Rechtspopulismus" – via www.welt.de.
  2. Dieter Stein: Der vergessene Terror, JF, 4 December 2014
  3. https://www.ivw.eu/aw/print/qa/titel/8020?quartal%5B20051%5D=20051&quartal%5B20151%5D=20151&quartal%5B20161%5D=20161&quartal%5B20171%5D=20171&quartal%5B20181%5D=20181&quartal%5B20191%5D=20191&quartal%5B20201%5D=20201&=Anwenden.
  4. "Politisch inkorrekt" – via The Economist.
  5. Federal Constitutiona Court of Germany (24 May 2005). "Order of the First Senate of 24 May 2005 – 1 BvR 1072/01". Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. Kommers, Donald P.; Miller, Russell A. (2012). The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany (Third ed.). Duke University Press. p. 509.
  7. Alexander von Stahl: Kampf um die Pressefreiheit. Chronologie eines Skandals. Die Verfassungsbeschwerde der Wochenzeitung 'Junge Freiheit' wegen Verletzung der Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit durch Verfassungsschutzberichte des Landes NRW. Reihe Dokumentation, Edition JF, Berlin 2003/2004, Band 5-7
  8. "billy six".
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