Unequal Media Worlds: East Berlin Media Criticism after 1990

Abstract

This article examines East Berlin media criticism post-1990, focusing on the unequal distribution of symbolic resources between East and West Germans. Utilising Giddens’s structuration and identity theories, we link the discursive side of inequality with media and define media criticism as one response of marginalised groups’ to hegemonic discourses. We conducted 37 biographical interviews with East Berliners to examine their media criticism and experiences of exclusion in media discourse. We found that hegemonic media narratives about East Germany have influenced East Berlin media criticism. This criticism is directed at systemic media biases, particularly in public service broadcasting. The study identified a latent consciousness of structural factors shaping media realities among East Berliners, often linked to their experiences of social declassing and the socioeconomic challenges after reunification. A range of East Berliners criticised the portrayal of German Democratic Republic (GDR) life in the media, particularly the focus on the Stasi and negative stereotypes, which they feel misrepresent their lived experiences. The persistence of these stereotypes has, for some, reinforced an East German identity and fostered media criticism as a form of identity work.