Who Owns Journalism?

Who Owns Journalism? The words were those of a subeditor at the Paris daily Le Figaro, but the concept behind them is shaking all of European journalism: "Should a man who happens to have enough money to own a newspaper be allowed to dictate what it says?" Management's answer may be yes, but more and more editors, writers and reporters are saying no. They insist that they have an intellectual and moral investment in their publications, and should therefore have a voice in how they are run.

To an extent that is staggering from a U.S. point of view, the idea has caught on in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, England and, as one editor puts it, "even Spain." The "democratization" movement has flourished in the generally socialist climate of postwar Europe. Bitter experiences under the Third Reich or the Occupation prejudiced many journalists--both rank and file and at the top of the masthead --against extreme concentration of editorial control.

The latest demands have been heard at Der Spiegel, West Germany's influential weekly newsmagazine. Publisher Rudolf Augstein, 46, himself a liberal, has responded by offering his employees 50% of Spiegel's ownership and profits and something of a voice in its management. By so doing, he may spare Spiegel the uproar that the movement has caused at three other major publications, the French dailies Figaro and Le Monde and the LIFE-like German magazine Der Stern.

Veto Voice. Le Monde's staff has made its voice heard ever since a 1951 management crisis in which it successfully opposed the ouster of Editorial Director Hubert Beuve-Mery and thwarted a plan to kill the paper. The staff now owns two-fifths of Le Monde and has a veto voice in all "extraordinary" decisions (relating, for instance, to a merger, liquidation of the paper or the naming of a new editor in chief).

When the co-owner of Figaro, Industrialist Jean Prouvost, 84, made it clear that he intended to take over as editorial director as well, the staff united to demand rights similar to Le Monde's --including a say in choosing a director. Prouvost was unbending, and the dispute led to a warning strike in October 1968 and a 15-day staff walkout last May. Finally, Prouvost agreed to the staffers' demand for enough seats on a proposed management committee to give them the veto right they sought. But when he made a bid for the power "to engage or discharge all members of the staff," negotiations fell apart, and the matter went into court--where it remains. Meanwhile, the paper is being managed by a public administrator.

Advantage Pressed. Concurrent with the Figaro flap last spring was a brouhaha at Der Stern, whose staff was spectacularly successful in pushing its demands. Word had gone around that one of Stern's three owners, Richard Gruner, wanted to sell 25% of the partnership. The likeliest buyer was Heinrich Bauer, a publisher of sex magazines. The editorial staff threatened a walkout and it was said that anyone who stayed on the job "would be beaten to a cripple in the hall." The Bauer deal fell through, and the staff pressed its advantage by drafting an "editorial statute" to which the owners agreed. It spelled out the magazine's liberal political stance, declared that no employee had to write against his convictions and gave the staff a say in ownership or top personnel changes. Indeed, the editorial crew helped decide on a suitable buyer for Gruner's stock and forced a conservative candidate for editor in chief to withdraw himself from consideration.

The revolt at Stern inspired the socialist-minded staff at Spiegel, but two factions began arguing over an acceptable editorial statute; Augstein headed them off at the impasse with his offer. If the employees would form a corporate organization, said the publisher, he would give it half the annual net profits (for use in a comprehensive pension fund) and would, over the next ten years, throw in 50% of the company. This radical venture, Augstein said, would give his staff "concrete insights" into the way things are run--so that they "will no longer seek to limit the freedom of action of the appointed and installed executives." Augstein is willing to allow the staff a vote in the selection of business managers and editors in chief, but he will not brook interference in day-to-day management or editorial decision making. Later this month, the employees will probably accept Augstein's offer and begin setting up their corporation.

There are, of course, alternate ways of coping with the movement. Right-Wing Press Lord Axel Springer (Bild-Zeitung, Die Welt, Bild am Sonntag), for example, will have nothing to do with the participatory trend, and invites those of his staff who might agitate for it to find work elsewhere. Still, the movement seems destined to spread; Augstein is already vie ving his barely nascent reorganization plans as "a model for others."

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