Hostility from left-wing scene in Germany: Editor-in-chief of regional newspaper withdraws

Neubrandenburg - The editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Nordkurier in Neubrandenburg , Jürgen Mladek, has announced a “break” after hostility from the left-wing scene. "If you suddenly have to weigh every word and every sentence carefully in order not to be judged across the board and put in a corner, that is not conducive to the joy of life and creativity," Mladek wrote in a letter to the workforce according to the Medieninsider portal.

“In this poisoned climate, I'm actually really happy that my two children don't have my last name. It has come a long way. ” In the past few months, Nordkurier and Mladek have repeatedly been the target of left-wing campaigns on social networks.

Criticism of "state-piously colored reports"
The daily newspaper from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was accused of mentioning the origin of the perpetrators of crimes and of having interviewed supporters of the so-called "Querdenker" (lateral thinker) movement, who are critical of the Covid measures in Germany. In addition, the newspaper repeatedly reported critically about the corona policy of the federal government and the Schwerin state government.

Mladek had expressly defended the course of the paper in a highly regarded article at the end of January, after it was demanded to dismiss an employee who had reported that, according to internal documents of the Federal Criminal Police Office, there was no security risk from the lateral thinker movement. In the comment, the editor-in-chief criticized "state-piously colored reports" that "deprive the audience of the opportunity to form their own comprehensive picture of points of view and arguments".

This is not journalism like the Nordkurier wants to do, but "propaganda". The paper, wrote the 53-year-old at the time, would continue to appear without an “attitude disclaimer”.

According to his own statements, the father now wants to “withdraw completely from day-to-day business for a few months” in order to be able to “deal with the essential questions of the future of the journalist profession in peace and quiet, free from the pressure of current events and a heated public mood”.

Source: Junge Freiheit