HOW DER SPIEGEL WINS PROFITS--AND ENEMIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200830023-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2004
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: January 30, 1963
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

Vendors all over Germany
help keep circulation high.
ILLEGIB
How Der Spiegel wins
profits-and enemies
By printing exposes of German officialdom-and business, too
the newsweekly magazine has become a publishing
miracles-even though its publisher faces trial for treason
Whether they buy Der Spiegel on the street or have it delivered by mail, the
200AOBAM f 4.R91REkRB&-sI]'~9fe?MQ{1u290$30aid and best-educated
people in Germany. While readers concede that Der Spiegel foes after everyone
with egtial ressiveness, many d1ul:ilcc its know-it ;01 :lttiltrde,
 Approved For Rel
Each Monday morning a mercilessly
probing-and highly profitable-
magazine makes its appearance in
West Germany. Sandwiched among
its full-color ads for Winston ciga-
rettes, Mercedes cars, Lufthansa
flights, and Friedrich Krupp steel,
top German officials find themselves
mirrored in some of the most tin-
flattering prose and photography
found anywhere.
The magazine is Der Spiegel (The
Mirror), and just last week for the
second time in two years its obstrep-
erous young publisher, Rudolf Aug-
stein, was haled up before a federal
judge for questioning on charges be-
lieved to be treason. Details of the
latest charge haven't been spelled
out and Augstein is sworn to silence.
However, it's a safe bet his magazine
was probing into a touchy subject-
management of Germany's defense
program.
Success story. In appearance a
German version of Time or News-
week, Der Spiegel's trophies include
the scalp of one high German official.
It has been likened to an American
tabloid with a college degree-dis-
respectful but responsible. In rang-
ing far and wide for its targets, Per
Spiegel has written a success story
in publishing that matches Volks-
wagen's in auto production.
Bonn officialdom is Der Spiegel's
special hunting ground, but business
comes in for its knocks. Earlier this
month it delved into improprieties
in operations of certain West Berlin
banks that had suffered losses
from financing car dealer operations.
The banks had failed to nail down
solid security against their credit. It
also jumped hard on two U. S. com-
panies, Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) and
Litwin Engineering Co. of Wichita,
Kan. Litwin is dickering to sell So-
hio's technical knowhow on produc-
tion of acrylonitrile to the East Ger-
man government, a deal that Der
Spiegel bitterly attacked. Its story
also pointed out bow embarrassing
it was to the Bonn government to
learn of the talks first in the news-
papers.
In zeroing in on German public
figures, the magazine has proved that
even in orderly, stay-in-line Ger-
many, it can be good business to
oppose anything in public life that
seems pompous or false.
1. The weapon
Today an issue may run to more
than 160 pages with some 90 of them
filled with high-class advertising-
about the same as an average issue
Esquire ma pipe._NIRY atly_e&t~iAel
ing revenues In g are e (t~i~ NaiF
million yearly and have been rising
Publisher Augsteint, who relishes controversy, sets Der Spiegel's tons
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 on the order ofA1P~(Pn41Gead2~;~f,1i1~;~,--,~150R~, q2~,$,3; 8belicvr ,represents
Circulation has climbed to a current
630,000 from an initial 15,000 when
the magazine was started in early
1947. Gross revenues last year were
well above $8-million.
The magazine has a modest staff,
servers believe only two will survive. an ominous resurgence of authori-
They have achieved their circulation tarianism.
probably because German television,
while competent and educational,
gives little plain entertainment.
considering its volume of news-in II. The target
all 104 editors, reporters, corres-
pondents, and researchers on its own Like American publications, Der
staff plus about 20 stringers around Spiegel does a great deal of reporting
the world. on political personalities. But unlike
Der Spiegel pays some of the U. S, magazines, Der Spiegel is not
highest salaries in German journal- just an observer; it also is an active
ism and recently hired a subordinate combatant. Among its exposes:
editor for $10,000 yearly. It has a ^ In 1952, the magazine reported
policy of going after anything that that the then chancellor, Konrad
appears odoriferous or in need of Adenauer, discussed with a French
airing in official or public life. espionage agent in wartime plans to
Phenomenon. In some ways Der evacuate his family to Spain in case
Spiegel is a greater German miracle Russia invaded Germany. A suit was
than the rise of the Volkswagen, be- brought, then dropped, after Der
cause it started farther down and Spiegel conceded it really didn't
had less going for it. Augstein, its want to defame Adcnaticr.
founder, was only 23 and had little ^ In 1958 it exposed a minister of
experience and almost no money a German state who used his office
when he took over the embryo of for personal profit. The minister lost
the present magazine from British his job and was sentenced to jail.
occupation authorities. ^ In 1961 Der Spiegel charged Dc-
Even today, there is something im- fense Minister Strauss helped an ar-
probable about Der Spiegel's sue- chitect friend get commissions for
cess. Many Germans who reacl it, dis- construction of U. S, military housing
1Je its brassy, know-it-all attitude. in Germany. A .parliamentary corn-
it, addition to his latest brush with mission cleared the minister.
the courts, Augstein-who views The 1962 affair with Strauss has
Germany's strict press laws as abom- caused the greatest shock waves. At
finable and an insult to journalistic that time Der Spiegel reported in
freedom-still faces trial for trea- startling detail results of a NATO
son on charges of allegedly printing maneuver purportedly showing the
state secrets. The charge grows out German army badly prepared to fight
of the famous "Spiegel affair" of off a Russian attack. Behind the
1962, which caused a government story was Der Spiegel's conviction
crisis. It knocked Germany's for- that Strauss wanted to arm Germany
mer defense minister, controversial with nuclear weapons and favored a
Franz-Josef Strauss, out of the cab- "pre-emptive" strike strategy.
inet, made Strauss and Augstein en- Aftermath. On grounds that Der
emics for life-and eventually kicked Spiegel had publish(,(] state secrets,
Der Spiegel's circulation still further police by the score descended on the
upwards, magazine's offices, occupied them
Remolding. Der Spiegel has set a for a month, confiscated torts of doc-
standard of unflinching, irreverent uments, and forced tl,e staff to oper-
reporting for a press that had to re- ate out of other quarters.
cover from a dozen years of Nazi- Augstein and key men on the staff
state influence. In so doing, it prob- were jailed for a time. However,
ably has helped make German Strauss was forced to resign when
publishing a more thriving, highly _ it was learned that he was instru-
competitive business. mental in having a vacationing Spic-
While Der Spiegel has no direct gel editor picked up by Spanish po-
competitor in Germany, big picture lice and returned to Germany.
magazines are starting to run more Out of this and other battles with
Spiegel-type political coverage in the former defense minister has
their columns. From practically no grown a smoldering complex of legal
functioning press after World War cases, rulings on which can further
11, Germany's publishing industry damage the already battered career
now counts 178 consumer-type mag- of Strauss or put Augstein into jail.
azines with 46-million circulation The German supreme court will
e
magazmes, eac with over 1-mil- Dcr S i re es s,~,~}~~v Anyone who is
lion circulation, a ttRgi3 FtotSthtele , '3i4' >R ' 50. u
y reads it." End
"111URU U1 1111C M
and 1,450 newspapers selling nearly. make the decisions, but probably not Germany's largest corporations and
17-million copies. before spring. The feud between Der a regular advertiser: "We prefer Der
At the top of the magazine heap, Spiegel and Strauss serves to point Spiegel for institutional ads because
competition is rough. Five big photo- up two current forces in Germany: it s the only mass medium reaching
t
xt h
III. "The marksman
Dcr Spiegel today, as it was at the
beginning, is Augstcin, now 41. lie
works in his shirtsleeves in a book-
lined office in Hamburg's Presse
Ilaus, and oversees practically the
entire textual and photographic pro-
duction. Ile writes his own highly
personal political column.
Fighter. Der Spiegel's combative-
ness is again a reflection of Augstein,
although the man himself belies it.
Slight, short, and bespectacled, lie
looks more like a divinity student
than Germany's most controversial
press figure. Many Spiegel employ-
ees pass him in the hallways without
recognizing him. He dresses mod-
estly, lives in an unpretentious Ham-
burg neighborhood (in a house origi-
nally built by Max Schmeling). owns
a Ford Thunderbird, but appears to
prefer a Volkswagen 1500.
Augstein has strong views on most
issues, and the magazine naturally
goes along-sometimes to the regret
of his colleagues. The magazine
originally opposed NATO, German
rearmament, and attempts to unify
Europe.
One of Augstein's most controver-
sial stands is for recognition of East
Germany-not necessarily formal po.
litical recognition, but admission of
the fact that, like Red China, it exists
and has to be dealt with. In Ccr-
many, this is something like heresy.
Actually, Augstein is a devoted citi-
zen who desperately wants Germany
to play a responsible role in Euro-
pcan and Atlantic affairs. This, it is
felt, is one of the keystones of his
antagonism toward Strauss.
Complete job. Still, most Germans
concede that Der Spiegel goes after
everything with equal aggressiveness
-and is interesting. Its well-re-
searched articles tell readers all they
.need know about birth control pills,
the dangers of smoking, even the in-
flux of American capital (on which it
concluded that "the increase ... over
the past years corresponds to little
more than 1% per year of total in-
vestment growth of the German
economy").
Further, its readers are the best-
educated, best-paid people in West
Germany, or so its advertising do
partrnent claims, citing independent