Der Spiegel (online)

Der Spiegel is one of the five most read German-language news websites.[1][2] Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was Spiegel Online (short form: SPON).

DER SPIEGEL (online)
Type of site
News website
Available inGerman, English
HeadquartersHamburg
Country of originGermany
OwnerDER SPIEGEL GmbH & Co. KG
ChairpersonThomas Hass
Managing directorThomas Hass, Stefan Ottlitz
URLwww.spiegel.de
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched25 October 1994 (1994-10-25)
Current statusActive

It was founded in 1994[3][4] as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, Der Spiegel, with a staff of journalists working independently of the magazine. Today, it is the most frequently quoted online media product in Germany.[5] Spiegel Online International, a section featuring articles translated into English, was launched in autumn 2004.[6] In 2019, its editorial office was merged with the one of the printed Spiegel and in 2020, the website was renamed accordingly.[7][8]

Company and editorial staff

The news website Der Spiegel is run by Der Spiegel GmbH & Co. KG (formerly Spiegel Online GmbH & Co. KG), itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Spiegel-Verlag. The editorial offices of the news website and the print magazine Der Spiegel are separate operations, that had their own offices, authors, and content until January 2020. Now, content for both media is created by a shared editorial team. The news portal Der Spiegel has a record of profitability.[9] Regular staff includes 150 people in the Hamburg headquarters,[10] complemented by freelancers, and domestic and international news bureaus. In the German capital, Berlin, 15 correspondents cover the German federal government, political parties, corporations and artists. The Munich and Düsseldorf offices have one correspondent each. There are journalists based in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Moscow, New Delhi and Istanbul. The online news staff also receives support from Der Spiegel magazine's network of correspondents in Germany and abroad. The site also uses content from news agencies such as AFP, AP, dpa and Reuters.

Wolfgang Büchner was editor in chief of Spiegel and Spiegel Online from September 2013 to December 2014. Büchner's former deputies, Florian Harms and Barbara Hans, headed Spiegel Online after Büchner left the company. On 13 January 2015, Harms was appointed sole editor in chief.[11] After Florian Harms had to leave the company on 6 December 2016 Barbara Hans was promoted to editor in chief.[12]

History

Online journalism pioneer

The news website first went up on 25 October 1994 under the name Spiegel Online,[13] making it the first online presence of an established news magazine, one day before the Time site. SPON started as a service on CompuServe.[14] The web domain spiegel.de was established one year later. SPON's content initially consisted of hand-picked articles from the print magazine. As early as 1995, however, original content first appeared in a section called "Scanner," which was only available online. In the following year, Spiegel Online was relaunched and commenced featuring breaking news as well.[15]

Rebranding in 2020

In 2019, its editorial office was merged with the printed Spiegel. In January 2020, the website was rebranded, now using the same media brand as the printed format.[16][17]

Popularity

Currently it is included in the top 30 most visited websites in Germany.[18] Today, Der Spiegel is among the five widest reaching news website in Germany.[19][20]

See also

References
  1. IVW: Online-Nutzungsdaten IVW-geprüfter Online-Angebote
  2. IVW: Monatsauswertung April 2014
  3. Schäffner, Christina (2005). "Bringing a German Voice to English-speaking Readers: Spiegel International". Language and Intercultural Communication. 5 (2): 154–167. doi:10.1080/14708470508668891.
  4. Anne Penketh; Philip Oltermann; Stephen Burgen (12 June 2014). "European newspapers search for ways to survive digital revolution". The Guardian. Paris, Berlin, Barcelona. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  5. PMG-Pressemonitor: Meistzitierte nationale Medien (Top 30) Archived 17 January 2014 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
  6. Greenslade, Roy (15 August 2006). "Der Spiegel's English site seeks young recruits". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  7. https://meedia.de/2019/06/19/umstrukturierung-beim-spiegel-bis-alle-online-in-der-mitarbeiter-kg-sind-dauert-es-noch-zehn-jahre/
  8. https://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/75657/umfassender_relaunch_spiegel_online_ist_geschichte/
  9. medienMITTWEIDA: „SPIEGEL ONLINE ist das Maß aller Dinge“, 10 May 2007. The article reports figures for 2006, when Spiegel Online’s turnover amounted to €15 million, yielding €2 million in earnings.
  10. Spiegel-Gruppe: Spiegel Online
  11. Florian Harms ist neuer Chefredakteur von SPIEGEL ONLINE. Pressemitteilung der Spiegel-Gruppe.
  12. "Überraschend Chefredakteurin von "Spiegel Online"". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  13. "Bereits am 25. Oktober 1994 konnte man auch den SPIEGEL im Internet finden". Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  14. Bönisch, Julia. Meinungsführer oder Populärmedium? Das journalistische Profil von Spiegel Online. Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2006.
  15. Spiegel Online: "Aussehen von Spiegel Online 1996" Spiegel
  16. https://meedia.de/2019/06/19/umstrukturierung-beim-spiegel-bis-alle-online-in-der-mitarbeiter-kg-sind-dauert-es-noch-zehn-jahre/
  17. https://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/75657/umfassender_relaunch_spiegel_online_ist_geschichte/
  18. Top sites in Germany - Alexa Rank
  19. IVW (April 2020): Reach statistics for German online portals for April 2020.
  20. Statista (April 2020): IVW: Number of visits (Online + Mobile + CTV) of news portals in Germany in April 2020.
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