Munich, we will definitely see each other again! <3

Looking back on our seminar “Media Institutions in Munich”, I can honestly say that it gave me a much broader understanding of how media systems function in practice. Before coming to Munich, I mainly knew the German media landscape from the outside and from the programs for example on TV, that we also have in my home country Austria. Through the classes, lectures, presentations from the other groups and field trips I was able to experience how diverse and different media institutions actually are.

One of the highlights for me in the beginning was definitely our group presentation about the press. While researching the topic I learned much more about media system in germany, such as its press freedom, the dual public-private broadcasting system and the differnet roles of institutions. I was especially interested also in comparing Germany with the media systems of our home countries, which in my was group Austria, the Netherlands, Italy and the Czech Republic. Although every country faces challenges such as digitalization, declining print readership and changing audience habits, I realized that historical, political, and cultural backgrounds shape journalism in very different ways. These comparisons helped me understand that there are different approaches in every country that all come with their own strengths and weaknesses.

The field trips were another important and really interesting part of the whole seminar and semester, I really liked. Also when sometimes it was hard and took long to get to the several media institutions they allowed us to experience media beyond the classroom. Our first fieldtrip was Radio LORA. This showed me how valuable community media can be. As I also described in my second blogpost I was totally impressed by the passion of the volunteers and by their commitment to giving a voice to people and topics that are often underrepresented by mainstream media even if they do not even get paid for their work. Even though the Radia LORA operates with limited resources, people, money and equipment it demonstrates that journalism is not only about commercial success but also about the more social topics including diversity, inclusion and social responsibility. It totally changed my way of perspective, now I am a big fan of and can see a lot more worth in the little and more purpose driven institutions than before!

On our second excursion we visited the Media School which left a even stronger impression on me. I admire and love the concept on how young people like students are given the opportunity to gain practical experience in media with journalism, radio, television, podcasts or social media, regardless of their financial background. Seeing students develop their own ideas with professional equipment while learning about journalism and new media made me realize how important such practical education is for the future of journalism, digitalization and education of Germany. As someone who has already worked for the ProSiebenSat.1-Group I could even imagine returning back to Munich one day for another internship at a media institution like the Media School. I am so excited now after our visit in practical media education and want to learn more or even just try new things out to enlarge my horizon for my future creative career in Copywriting or Journalism. 

The visit to the Media Lab Bayern added another perspective by introducing us to the world of media innovation, different start-ups and entrepreneurship. I found it inspiring to learn that the Lab supports more than 120 start-ups and helps young founders through the hard funding processes. One project that particularly caught my attention was an AI-based start-up aiming to reduce online hate speech. It showed me how technology and also now AI can be used not only to optimize media production but also to solve important societal challenges especially in times of digitalization. It also made me think that founding a start-up could be an exciting career path in my future as well. So let’s see if I can keep up with a cool new idea to build the future of media! I also loved the way our visit was structured with informational content at first and then let us be creative with the followed workshop to create a new product with an idea or solution for a new podcast for students. To give you a quick insight into our cool idea we developed: During the workshop w had the chance to brainstorm intensively, identify a problem young people have with podcasts, cluster our ideas and then develop possible new products and content formats – all within just one hour! It was definitely not easy to come up with a fully developed idea in such a short time, but we then decided on an app concept inspired by “Pokémon Go”. The idea was that users can walk around the city and unlock different podcast snippets at specific locations. These snippets could include interesting facts about the city, hidden stories or insider information about for example local events. By adding cliffhangers in the podcasts users would be motivated to keep exploring and continue listening. Another important feature could be the opportunity to meet likeminded people and discover the city together. This would be especially exciting for exchange students who want to get to know for example Munich and other new people…

I am also very thankful for the effort of our seminar teacher, even though the field trip to TZ got cancelled spontaneously, we still had the alternative chance to get an inside with a guest talk with Dr. Rick. Overall, this course gave me a lot of insights in journalism and media while showing me that the industry is constantly evolving and changing. Digital platforms, social media, AI, new formats and innovative start-ups or ideas for example will continue to transform how media is and will be produced and consumed. At the same time, values such as credibility, diversity, independence and responsible journalism seem more important for me than ever, especially in times of AI, fake news and the lack of trust because of that. I leave this course not only with new academic knowledge but also with a greater awareness that I also have to go with digitalization, the changes in media and also learn more about it all. As we say in german “Gehe mit der Zeit, sonst gehst du mit der Zeit!”. Beyond the academic content, this course also had a personal impact on me. Living in Munich helped me to better understand the media infrastructure of the city and why it is considered one of Germany’s most important media locations. At the same time, the international atmosphere of the course was one of my favorite aspects. Working together with students from different countries allowed me to learn not only about the german media but also about how journalism works across Europe and the whole world. The conversations with my colleagues enlarged my perspective and led to friendships that I hope will continue long after my exchange semester. Thank you for letting me experience and feel so much joy during the last few months! Thank you Munich, we will definitely see each other again!