MAIN TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GERMAN NEWSPAPER MARKET

The aim of the study is to consider issues of establishment and development of the German newspaper market in the postwar period and after the unification of Germany on a systemic level. Specific impact of these two processes on the formation of the newspaper market features in the country is revealed. Particular attention is paid to the transformation of the German newspaper market in recent years, from the late 1990s to present. During the given period, under the onslaught of new digital technologies, changes in the preferences of information consumers have been observed, especially with regard to the print media: reduction in the time for reading newspapers, decrease in circulation and advertising revenues, and the bankruptcy of several reputable periodicals. The article also focuses on the groundbreaking approaches of some newspapers and the views of experts on how to overcome the crisis of the print industry. Germany has played an outstanding role in the development of world journalism. Unification of the German lands in the second half of the nineteenth century strengthened the position of German newspapers and led to the emergence of the press barons. In the postwar period, all German print media were under strict censorship control of the British and U.S. occupation forces. The postwar development of the German media was largely determined by the political evolution of the fragmented country into two parts belonging to two coalitions. Germany had been a newspaper country for three centuries. However, at the beginning of the XXI century, the situation changed dramatically. Digital media have affected the existence of German print media. Nevertheless, the German newspaper market is still the largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world.