 | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Junge Freiheit Verlag GmbH & Co. KG |
| Editor-in-chief | Dieter Stein |
| Founded | May 1986 |
| Political alignment | National-conservative Right-wing |
| Language | German |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
| Circulation | 31,161 (Q1, 2020) |
| Website | jungefreiheit.de |
TheJunge Freiheit (JF, "Young Freedom") is a Germanweekly newspaper on politics and culture that was established in 1986. Junge Freiheit is politicallyconservative,right-wing, andnationalistic; it is further described as the "ideological supply ship ofright-wing populism" in Germany.[1]
According to the scholar Gideon Botsch, JF is a "hinge between national conservatism and the extreme right".[2]Alexander Gauland, a co-founder ofAlternative for Germany, has claimed that "Whoever wants to understand Alternative for Germany ought to readJunge Freiheit".[3]
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JF was founded bystudents inFreiburg im Breisgau in May 1986 on the initiative of the 19-year-old Dieter Stein. The founders described the newspaper as a reaction to the "dominance of the leftist68.Generation" among university teachers. In 1993, the newspaper moved its headquarters toPotsdam, near Berlin, and toHohenzollerndamm, Berlin, in 1995.
On December 4, 1994, an unknown group carried out an arson attack on the printing plant inWeimar where the newspaper was produced. There was damage of more than one million DM.[4]
JF had a circulation of 31,161 paid copies in the first quarter of 2020, which was an increase of 28 percent relative to the first quarter of 2015.In 2016, the British weekly magazineThe Economist noted the grown reputation and influence ofJunge Freiheit amid the surge of theAlternative for Germany and concluded that "the presence of a right-wing voice in Germany’s media landscape is part of the country’s path to political normality".[5]
TheJF has one section forpolitics, one forculture and forforeign affairs and pays less attention to economics. There is a substantial number of opinions and commentaries, including weekly opinion columns. Every week, the paper also conducts an interview with a prominent politician, author, scientist or artist.
JF was involved in a legal battle relating to thefreedom of the press against two localState Offices for the Protection of the Constitution in which the newspaper was represented by its lawyer, and frequent supporter, the former German Attorney-GeneralAlexander von Stahl (FDP). The Offices for the Protection of the Constitution in two federal states,North Rhine Westphalia andBaden-Württemberg, mentionedJunge Freiheit in their yearly reports of alleged "anti-constitutional activities" between 1995 and 2005, along with most publications and organizations affiliated with theLeft Party. The newspaper successfully sued the North Rhine Westphalia local authorities, and theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled the classification to be unconstitutional in 2005 (the so-called "Office for the Protection of the Constitution report case"[6] or "Junge Freiheit Case"[7]).
Since then, neither state's report has mentioned the newspaper.[8]
The founder andeditor-in-chief and managing director ofJF isDieter Stein.
Its prominent contributors includeHolger Zastrow,Wolf Jobst Siedler,Frederick Forsyth,Alain de Benoist,Paul Gottfried,Elliot Neaman,Rolf Hochhuth,Ralph Raico,Derek Turner,Billy Six,Klaus Rainer Röhl andFritz Schenk. Its prominent public supporters include alsoAlexander von Stahl andPeter Scholl-Latour.
Together with the German "Foundation for Conservative Education and Research" (Förderstiftung Konservative Bildung und Forschung),Junge Freiheit awards theGerhard Löwenthal Prize, a biannual prize for conservative journalists.[9]
(in German)
Media related toJunge Freiheit at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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