Germany: Staff prints edition to protest publisher

Posted by Maddie Hanna on May 31, 2006 at 3:11 PM

The editorial staff of Germany’s Berliner Zeitung published a reduced 12-page edition Tuesday to protest David Montgomery’s selection of Josef Depenbrock as editor-in-chief, the latest and most extreme move in the staff’s actions against Montgomery.

Staff members believe Depenbrock’s hire signals Montgomery’s desire to change the paper from a broadsheet format to a tabloid-style publication. Their primary concern is that Montgomery will “sacrifice journalistic quality and high standards for the sake of short-term, money-making ambitions,” a statement that appeared in yesterday’s protest edition, as reported by the Guardian.

Montgomery, a British tycoon and former Mirror Group executive, took over the paper in the fall.

Source: The Guardian (through European Journalism Centre)

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