German journalist learns about local journalism in U.S. through partnership with KLTV

An exchange program for American and German journalists is building bridges of understanding through the field of broadcasting. A news presenter for a regional public TV network in eastern Germany just spent a week embedded in the KLTV newsroom, the largest news organization in East Texas. Janett Eger, a journalist with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), presents…

International exchange program brings German journalist to KLTV newsroom

A correspondent for a German TV network is learning about local journalism from the largest news organization in East Texas. Tom Garus of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), an affiliate of the internationally respected ARD network, just completed a week embedded in the KLTV newsroom in Tyler. Based in Berlin, he serves as reporter and moderator for…

‘Stumbling stones’ serve as persistent reminders of Germany’s dark past

Every time I’m in Germany, I’m struck by the sheer number of Stolpersteine or “stumbling stones” I come across. These mini memorials throughout Germany are placed outside the last known residence of Holocaust victims. 75,000 plaques have been installed in sidewalks so far. These are real people, each with a story to be remembered. Not…

Former Cold War-era NSA listening post overlooks Berlin

This hill in western Berlin was actually created from all of the rubble left over after Allied bombings in World War II. It stands 180 feet tall and contains 420 million cubic feet of debris. You might be wondering about those three white radome “balls” sitting atop Teufelsberg. During the Cold War, the U.S. constructed…

Lingering East-West division in Germany highlighted by economic issues

This August marked 60 years since the Berlin Wall first went up, creating a physical barrier between East and West Germany. Despite the wall coming down nearly three decades later, a lagging economy in parts of the former East are creating new divisions. Wages, unemployment, and GDP are lower in the former communist East Germany,…

Inside German broadcaster Welt’s new Berlin headquarters

It’s all hands on deck for election week at the Welt TV network, which is owned by German media giant Axel Springer. The Bundestag elections in September are the first major parliamentary election broadcast from Welt’s studio inside the new Axel Springer Building. The facility, along Zimmerstrasse in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, opened in April. The…

Talking Politics: Analyzing Texas election outcomes with international journalists

With a historic voter turnout in Texas during an unprecedented pandemic, the 2020 general election will likely be studied for years. President Donald Trump garnered roughly 600 thousand more votes in the Lone Star State than Democratic challenger Joe Biden, upending pundits’ predictions that Texas would turn “blue.” Democrats did make in-roads, expanding their reach…

Network anchor Tom Brokaw shares lessons learned from Berlin Wall

Legendary NBC news anchor and former ‘Nightly News’ managing editor Tom Brokaw returned to Germany for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was the only American broadcaster on-air when East Germans began to stream across the border on November 9, 1989. On November 7, 2019 he spoke with a small…

Understanding the Wall: How the Berlin Wall divided a nation

Three decades after the so-called ‘Peaceful Revolution’ toppled the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, people are celebrating the anniversary of its climax — the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. More time has passed since the Wall came down than the nearly three decades it stood, but painful memories associated with…

Art installation sends ‘wishes’ fluttering over post-Wall Berlin

Freely moving in the wind, independent, yet seemingly in harmony, 30-thousand ribbons dance in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Germany’s most visible symbol of unity. The vision of American artist Patrick Shearn and his studio Poetic Kinetics, a massive public art display drapes the setting for one of Germany’s biggest celebrations in years — the…

International broadcaster exchange brings German journalist to KLTV/KTRE newsroom

An international exchange program is bringing another journalist from Germany to work side-by-side with the largest news organization in East Texas, KLTV and KTRE. Andreas Mitzkus will spend the next week shadowing and learning from producers, anchors, reporters, photographers, digital content producers, and news managers in the KLTV and KTRE newsroom. Mitzkus is a producer…

German journalist embedded in KLTV newsroom as part of international exchange

As the main anchor of Germany’s international broadcaster, Sarah Kelly is the face of Deutsche Welle’s coverage of the world’s biggest stories. Over the last decade, her personal and professional travels have taken her from the World Economic Forum to the G-20 summit, though, a three-week whirlwind tour of the U.S., including a week in…

KLTV newsroom hosts German journalist in Trans-Atlantic exchange

As so-called ‘cord cutting’ and mobile technology trends drive the ways consumers connect with news and information, journalists are constantly adapting to the needs of their audiences. For more than two decades, an exchange program for American and German broadcasters has been building bridges of understanding — both personally and professionally. More than 1,200 American…

Reporter’s Notes: Lessons learned in Germany

As I stepped off the platform onto my train to the Frankfurt Airport, my world seemed to transform into a slow motion flood of memories. After three weeks in Germany as a fellow with the RIAS Berlin Commission, this life experience had just become my standard by which all others will be measured. Gazing out…

Why the Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most-visited destination

The Cologne Cathedral, a symbol of Christianity’s influence through the ages, is the most-visited destination in Germany. Situated along the shores of the river Rhine, the church is also home to the shrine of the Magi, making it one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations for believers. After the remains of the Magi were transferred…

Germans take to social media to create traditions for national holiday

Germans have reason to celebrate Tuesday as the country marks 27 years since East and West Germany were peacefully reunified, forming the Federal Republic of Germany. Though the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989, the task of joining two countries didn’t go into effect until nearly a year later, with the adoption of the German…