Dialogue without fear and cooperation between different generations

Franziska: When it comes to anti-discrimination, but also with other topics, you sometimes­ see a gap between young and old people. A few months ago, the head of the German School of Journalism, Henriette Löwisch, said in an interview that we need more cross-generational teams in order to exchange ideas and have more mutual respect. What do you think about this, and where do you think we could create these types of cross-generational teams in a more targeted way?

Sven: What we are trying to do is establish a culture of debate. There are already cross-genera­tional teams. But you have to avoid the formation of separate groups, you have to offer discussion forums like our “Debate” format. There are a few structural measures, such as bringing younger colleagues into management positions in good time. You have to allow dialogue and make sure that the climate doesn’t become toxic. We usually manage that quite well.

Peter: We need to involve the next generation and the generation after that, not only in the editorial department but also in management. I believe that building up expertise is very important. Just being young is not enough, rather I have to get to a position where I can make my point when I’m discussing things with the editor-in-chief and that point is also well-founded. I think these are the conditions that we need to create.

Ann-Marie: Building up expertise is one thing, but wouldn’t it also be important to create a communication format in order to resolve the generational conflict and the associated hierarchies and enter into dialogue without fear? Perhaps it would also be good to think about our town halls in a younger way. Why not hold an event where young female trainees are interviewed rather than experienced editors or members of the editorial board?  

Sven: We will soon be launching a format to enter into closer dialogue with young editors, for example over lunch. The editorial board’s listening tour through our regional offices is and was one such attempt, especially after the pandemic, because there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face. We’ve held two management retreats to train them in this respect. We have a whole­ host of training opportunities. Conversely, of course, we always have to make sure that these training courses not only contribute to the satisfaction of individuals, but also have a benefit for the company.

News avoidance, new approaches

Benedikt: I’ve been working at #UseTheNews for a year. A study shows how young people consume news and are reached by it. The result is that there are entire ­sections of the population that are no longer being reached by the news. What are your approaches for changing this? Is that also dpa’s task?

Sven: The key word is recipient perspective. Who are we doing this for? What questions will the readers have? This is constructive because it engages with people by focusing on the problems they have. But, of course, it’s also about news avoidance. This is when people are overwhelmed and avoid the news because they can no longer cope with the sheer amount of negativity. The constructive approach is always much more difficult than the controversial one.

Hilal: I think it’s also a bit of a matter of habit. People simply click more on the negative because they’re used to it. But actually, this constructive approach sometimes brings news that you wouldn’t expect.

Peter: I think that is a contradiction in terms. If we were to become very constructive now, many people would initially assume that there was an agenda behind it. 

Franziska: Not necessarily. I don’t see a constructive approach as meaning that we have to find the solution, but rather that we have to report even more on different solutions proposed by different people. Then we won’t be accused of pursuing an agenda.

Benedikt: The fact that we are a service provider and have to follow what our customers­ want, doesn’t that mean that we are sometimes held back when it comes to new ­developments?

Sven: “We are service providers” means that we try as best we can to satisfy the needs of those who said in this hotel in 1949: We need comprehensive news. That is our job. But it’s not easy. A lot has happened in the last 10 years. dpa’s products have changed. In this, we are following the customers. But there’s also a lot of pressure to change, and we have to be careful. I always think we shouldn’t march ahead and then turn around and ask where the others are. We actually have to be in the middle of the hiking group. And ideally, one of us should be at the back making sure that everyone is coming along, and there should be someone at the front who says: We could go that way.

Ann-Marie: But isn’t it extremely important for those at the back of the hiking group to be at the front? Shouldn’t we try with all our might to bring our customers from the back to the front? I think we need much more of a culture of failure within dpa in order to try out different business models and move forward.

Peter: Failure is absolutely fine; it just requires that the players are competent. One of these experiments is the topic of content creation, for example. This is something that doesn’t really fit into dpa’s business model. However, we are trying it out in an isolated field and then trying to gain as many insights as possible. Journalistic forms of expression are key, but so are the business models behind them. We have to conduct a lot of experiments.