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Programm

Nothing but migration?

Agenda setting and the pressure on democracy

This is the motto of the 2nd CIVIS Media Dialogue on Thursday, 23 January 2025. The CIVIS Media Foundation and Stiftung Mercator are hosting a meeting of media professionals and representatives from academia, politics and civil society to discuss the role of the media in the debate about flight and immigration to Germany.

Among other things, the following questions will be addressed: What responsibility do media professionals have in dealing with this highly controversial topic, a major concern to many citizens and closely linked to the rise of populism and extremism? How do journalists handle this responsibility? Are they, as some critics claim, reporting too little, too cautiously and trivialising? Or do they, according to reverse criticism, focus too often on migration and its problems? Do the media neglect other topics that are equally relevant but less liable to play into the hands of enemies of democracy? Furthermore, how free are media professionals in their agenda setting? Are they at all in a position to report much more intensively on climate change, the housing shortage or the education crisis while the political dispute over migration is boiling over and more productive in drawing attention? Or is it just because broadcasters and newspapers give it so much space that the dispute so often dominates the political agenda? And to what extent are journalistic media able to weather the storms time and again triggered by the topic on social media?

Here you can find the video of the 2nd CIVIS Media Dialogue.

Moderation: Dr. Leonard Novy
Location: ProjektZentrum Berlin of the Mercator Foundation, Neue Promenade 6, 10178 Berlin

16:30WelcomeNina Ohlmeier Head of ProjektZentrum Berlin
Ferdos Forudastan Managing Director CIVIS Media Foundation
16:45IntroductionIntroduction to the topic by moderator Dr. Leonard Novy Director of the Institute for Media and Communication Policy, Cologne/Berlin
16:50Keynote

Prof. Dr. Nayla Fawzi Communication scientist specialising in democracy and digital communication at the Institute for Journalism Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion

17:30Panel discussionShakuntala Banerjee Head of the ZDF main editorial office for politics and current affairs

Christiane Hoffmann
First Deputy Government Spokeswoman and First Deputy Head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government

Dr. Julia Reuschenbach
Political scientist at the Otto Suhr Institute, Free University of Berlin

Jona Teichmann
Programme Director Deutschlandradio

Jennifer Wilton
Editor-in-chief of DIE WELT
ca. 19:00End of the event.