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The RIAS Berlin Commission – founded 1992 in recognition of the merits of RIAS Berlin (Radio in the American Sector) as a “free voice of the free world” from 1946 to 1993

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2023

17. January 2023 azzmin Events EN

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RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

1 week ago

RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION
After Wolf Blitzer of CNN won the 2023 Grand Prize of this year’s RIAS Media Prize competition, the RIAS Berlin Commission has once again opened the annual competition for the 2024 awards with a Call for Entries. www.riasberlin.orgRIAS Grand Prize Winner 2023 Wolf Blitzer holding his trophyJournalists in Germany and the United States are encouraged to consider submitting stories they have done or worked on (or saw or heard or know about) that aired in 2023 — outstanding stories that touched upon a transatlantic issue or had a global message. Many of the recent winners have learned about the RIAS Media Prize thanks to word-of-mouth – including CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.The prizes will honor outstanding stories broadcast in 2023. There will be a total of $10,000 (10,000 EUR) in prize money awarded for exceptional radio, TV and digital stories that touch upon a transatlantic topic – including stories about Germany that appear in US media and stories about the United States that appear in German media. There is also a category for best fellow prize to be awarded to journalists who did their reporting on a RIAS fellowship or were inspired to do their story or stories on RIAS fellowship in recent years.The RIAS Media Prize is designed to strengthen the diversity of transatlantic dialogue and deepen interest in German-American relations.The deadline for entries is January 31, 2024Ideally the contributions submitted should:- go beyond daily and routine reportings- promote dialogue on similarities and differences between the two countries- stand out thematically and/or in their executionhematically and/or in their execution- take on new questions in a creative way- critically examine and make diversity of social reality clear- contain interesting ideas for transatlantic debate- encourage reflection on problems and solutions- question clichés about Germans or Americans- describe trends in everyday life of general interest- contribute to mutual curiosity and understanding- strengthen democratic and societal valuesThe RIAS Berlin Commission is planning to have the annual awards ceremony honoring the winners in Berlin on June 3. ... Read MoreRead Less

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RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

1 week ago

RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

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RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

1 month ago

RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION
It was fun to research and write this story about riding public transit in LA for a week recently with a group of hearty fellow travelers from Germany on a RIAS Berlin Commission alumni exchange program to Los Angeles. We saved money, nerves, time and above all CO2. Opinion: They traveled on Metro for a week and loved it. Can two dozen German journalists be wrong? ... Read MoreRead Less

Opinion: They traveled on Metro for a week and loved it. Can two dozen German journalists be wrong?

www.latimes.com

Twenty-five participants in a journalism fellowship in L.A. used Metro buses and trains to get to multiple meetings a day for a week. Safely. Happily. And on time.
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RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

1 month ago

RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION
A group of 13 German broadcasting journalists spent three weeks learning more about media, politics and life in the United States during a RIAS Berlin Commission Fellowship. They spent a week together in Washington DC meeting journalists, politicians, analysts and activists before traveling together to spend one week together to New York for a week of meetings there. To get a more comprehensive view of the United States, they then spent a week visiting small TV and radio stations across the country in the Midwest, South and Southwest to learn about issues in other parts of the country. Here are some of their impressions of their experiences.Sven Knobloch, MDR, LeipzigSo here I am, sitting in the passenger seat of a police car driving through downtown Wichita, Kansas. Officer Trevor Macy and I are heading to a Walmart to arrest a shoplifter. Crime has gone through the roof, he tells me. Because of the opioid crisis. Drug addicts steal to pay for the next hit. We take the young woman to jail, where she is processed. A depressing place. This is just one spotlight out of my three weeks with the RIAS program. We didn’t just talk about the issues the US faces at the moment – we saw them firsthand.I had never been to the US before. For me, being in Washington DC and New York was overwhelming. And being in the Midwest after that was just such a stark contrast. I came with some images and stereotypes in my head to all those places, but most of all with questions. And they were answered, in intense discussions and meetings with journalists, politicians, activists and everyday Americans. I still have questions, but many things that puzzle Germans from time to time when they look across the Atlantic, I understand better now.What stood out? I met Wolf Blitzer, one of my journalistic idols. What a smart, funny and dedicated man. And yet, I am not sure: was that the highlight of my trip? Or maybe to hear the story of 9/11 survivor Gordon Huie? Or to be in Congress when they ousted the Republican speaker? Or to get a shoutout by the Reverend in Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem? And is maybe Michael Schwanke from News 12 in Wichita my new journalistic idol, because of his friendship and his dedication to his community?Three weeks with the RIAS program do not fit in a few paragraphs. I will be forever grateful for this experience. Special thanks go to Erik Kirschbaum, Pam Ortega and most of all to the 13 fellows from my group. You will always have a special place in my heart. Kirsten Gerhard, ARD, HamburgWow. Yes wow, because it is hard for me to find words for what I have experienced in the past three RIAS weeks. They were weeks that I didn’t expect like this and that moved something in me. People who opened up to us and told us their stories. Be it the meeting with Gordon Huie, a “triple survivor” of 9/11, survivor, relative of a victim and first responder, who found it incredibly helpful to work through his trauma in conversation with journalists. Or the incredible Frieda Vizel, who left the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, but is an insider who was able to give us insight into this closed community. Or the visit to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, the Reverend included us in a greeting! Or my host Erik Runge in Chicago, who was fully there for us despite a bereavement in the family. Or Ryan Burrow, who managed to bring us closer to the American media at any time of the day or night. Everywhere we were warmly welcomed and experienced people and their stories with whom we would otherwise never have come into contact. There were many more interesting key speakers during these three weeks. To mention them all, there wouldn’t be enough space. What we also saw, however, was what tasks America is facing. How torn this country is. How people are resisting South American migrants being housed in their neighborhoods. That, too, is America 2023, one year before the election. Special thanks to Erik Kirschbaum and Pam Ortega for putting together this fascinating program.Hiba Obaid, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Berlin I’m in the car, heading to Dallas airport. It’s 7:30 in the morning. The Texan sunrise paints the sky as I think back on the last three weeks, which felt like three whole years. So many memories flood my mind, filled with emotions, vivid scenes, heart-to-heart talks, and countless steps taken.This was my first time in the United States, and everything was new and exciting. I remember the first moment I walked the streets of New York; it felt like stepping into a real-life wonderland. The city was immense, bursting with colors, and everyone was in a hurry. As the days passed, I learned the American way of beginning conversations with, “How are you?” In Germany, ordering a coffee didn’t involve such a question. But here, it was a part of their culture, a little greeting. I can still recall the puzzled look on the waiter’s face when I replied with just “Okay.” They expected the response, “I’m really fine. How are you?”After exploring Washington and New York for two weeks, I made my way to Dallas, Texas. There, I saw a genuine cowboy, just like in the movies. I watched people eagerly awaiting the bull shows with their magnificent longhorns in Fort Worth. I savored tacos, enjoyed German beer in a cozy saloon, and was touched by the beauty of the sunrise and sunset from the house’s window.These memories are more precious to me than words can express. I’m immensely grateful to all the people who made this experience a part of my life. I can’t wait to share these tales with my future grandchildren, as they hold a special place in my heart.Clara Pfeffer, RTL/ntv, Berlin“Please sit down,” the man says to me. That’s all he can say in German, but he speaks Yiddish and somehow we can communicate with that. He was born in Germany, but at the age of 5 his family fled to New York to escape the Nazis. Today he is happy to meet a German – in a kosher restaurant in the middle of Williamsburg. For me, the district was initially the opposite of what the USA is all about. Rules govern every aspect of life here, no matter how small. Who is allowed to cross the street, how, when and where, on which days which clothes are worn and which food may be prepared and how – for all this there are the most precise instructions in the Hasidic community. For women, everything revolves around marriage and household chores. The men devote their lives to studying Torah. The average family here has eight children. The playgrounds are full, almost every woman pushes at least one stroller. And at some point, all the children go to school, boys and girls separately, each on specially designated school buses. Never before have I seen so many big yellow school buses. What at first glance looks like a monotonous and always the same life with no room for self-realization, turns out to be quite diverse and colorful at second glance. The way the women wear their wigs varies, and by looking at the men’s hats, our guide can immediately tell which group they belong to and whether they are very strict about the rules. Here, too, there is room for individuality. And it is important to Frieda Vizel to show this. This world was too small for her, and she left the community in her mid-twenties. She does not at all gloss over how difficult that was and how restrictive life is in the Hasidic community. But she also draws attention to the great food, the cohesion, the trust in the community. People here write the access code to their front door in Yiddish on their doorbell signs. In the case of anti-Semitic incidents, which have become increasingly frequent lately, the community sticks together and offers support. Frieda Vizel wants to break down prejudices about the community. Above all, she says, it’s about respect for different ways of life. And that, in turn, is for me exactly what the USA is all about. These three weeks have clearly shown me how incredibly diverse this country is. There are worlds between Williamsburg and Broadway – and half a continent between Broadway and the Spanish church in East Texas.Station Week in the small Texas town of Tyler is another piece of the puzzle for me in trying to better understand this country. There are many rules here as well: Prayer is said before every official event. The Bible is still above the Constitution for many here. Almost everyone owns a gun, the death penalty is widely supported, and many wish the borders were better protected. At the same time, I have rarely received such a warm and friendly welcome as I have here. Latinos and Americans live peacefully side by side – almost half of the residents speak Spanish as their first native language.Again and again in our conversations we talked about the increasing polarization in America. After the three-week program, however, I was more fascinated by what holds this country together. To represent such different ways of life and thinking in a single political system is an incredible feat. Especially when it’s always about protecting the individuality of the individual. Not everywhere is successful. The African-American community is still structurally discriminated against. If you don’t have money, you don’t have security. Journalists here are afraid to express their own opinions. At the same time, in many places the country is still fulfilling its promise to give every idea, no matter how crazy, a chance. As a journalist, I have learned once again how important direct exchange is. How much more we see and learn when we can talk directly to each other. I walked out of every single conversation of the trip with many answers, but with even more questions. And most importantly, with a great desire to pursue these questions further. I am incredibly grateful to have had this experience. It has changed the way I look at the United States. Every single conversation has helped me to break down prejudices and question assumptions. I was also impressed by the way our speakers approached things directly and with a large portion of optimism. Unpleasant questions were not avoided, criticism was gladly accepted. Hopefully, we can all take some of this back to Germany. And I am sure that all this will shape my reporting for a long time. And not just when it comes to the USA. The man who once fled the Nazis and is now happy to show me, a German, his culture and his “way of life” – has shown me that it is worthwhile to continue to believe in the idea of ​​the United States.Julia Brestrich ARD, BR, MunichI scroll through my phone, picture by picture, and catch myself smiling. 2,327 pictures and each of them tells a story. Three weeks that have not only changed my journalistic view of the United States, but above all have moved me personally. In colorful suits, we stood in front of the Capitol, the heart of the United States. Two pictures before I find a selfie, taken with Wolf Blitzer at breakfast together and a few pictures further the latest NASA project… oh and a video of the karaoke evening. What have we experienced please everything!Each picture shows a piece of the puzzle that is gradually putting together my picture of the USA. As I watch, I transport myself back to glittering skyscrapers in New York, feel goosebumps as I see 9/11 survivor Gordon Huie on the screen, taste the Jewish bread “Challah” in Williamsburg, and hum songs from the musical “Chicago” on Broadway in my head.And then this city also appears in the pictures. A similar picture as New York and yet completely different. On the pictures in Chicago our hosts, who welcomed us with open arms and took us into their city, into their life here. And they are proud of their city – you can feel that. Especially at sports, at the Chicago Bulls basketball game.It ends with my favorite picture – our group. We are beaming into the camera, holding our certificates, soaked in experiences that RIAS has made possible for us. We were strangers at first and have now become friends. Many of the 2,327 pictures show us together and every time I show them to someone, the pictures will always tell their story, relive this journey for which I am simply grateful with all my heart. Thank you thank you to RIAS, to Erik and Pam and the entire team.Timm Giesbers, ARD, funk, Deutschlandradio, CologneI really didn’t expect a day when a meeting with Wolf Blitzer wasn’t the undisputed highlight. This small, suit-wearing man looks almost shyly into the room, obviously wondering whether we’re all really waiting for him, and then he delivers a fireworks display of anecdotes. He’s been everywhere he’s felt, inaugurating Obama as president and getting Willy Brandt back on his feet. The same guy who in 2020 drove my pulse to the brink of cardiac arrest with his key race alerts entertains us with links and is then also available for selfies. And all this just so that a small, expensively coiffed lady with South American roots and a pearl necklace will steal the show of the day from him later in the day. Olga Ramirez-Kornacki is the media coordinator in the House of Representatives and desperately needs her own documentary. As she leads us through the Capitol, making sure no one gets lost in the many aisles, we understand that neither Biden, nor Pelosi, nor any GOP Speaker (who had just been lost that same week) has ever been Chief:in here. For the last few decades, the Queen’s name wasn’t Elizabeth either, it was Olga. She really had us all wrapped around her finger, sorry Wolf! Just one unforgettable day in three weeks, in which really every single day was full of experiences and encounters that you just can’t forget. Three weeks that felt like three months in the best sense and three hours at the same time. And just like that I mentioned it: I was in St. Louis, Missouri during my station week – more contrast to high-button DC and eternally-cool New York, it can hardly exist. But there’s one thing that’s really hot here: “Midwestern nice”, the northern counterpart to southern hospitality. I could go on like this for pages, but I would like to end with this: I am immensely grateful to have been part of such a diverse, eternally good-humored and insightful group. I overturned prejudices, learned so many new things, saw places and met people I would never have come into contact with otherwise, and really experienced the time of my life. In the end, I was just as sad looking out the plane window on the way home as I was at the end of my study abroad in Sweden. This is especially due to the great people with whom I went on this trip and whom I missed again just one day after the end. My RIAS group, that was really the coolest of all!Laura Wassermann, RTL, CologneWhat an honor: That’s the best way to sum up this trip. We visited the White House, Capitol Hill, the Washington Post. We went to Bloomberg and the New York Times – that was pretty exciting. But by far the most enriching thing: the people we got to meet. For example, Gordon Huie, 9/11 survivor & helper, who lost his sister that day. An impressive man with a moving story. We met some great journalists (American and German) who told us about their everyday life and their work in the USA. All these conversations – eg with Wolf Blitzer, Frieda Vizel, Michael Louis Gargiulo or Chivona Newsome – broadened my horizon and I am very, very grateful for that.What was also cool: meeting Charlie Pellett, whose voice is legendary in the New York Subway – for the words: “Stand clear of the closing doors please”. Thanks for everything Erik, Pam, Brandon, Adam & Michael! It was an unforgettable experience.Constanze Semidei, NDR, HamburgWhen Gordon Huie said he was so happy to talk to us journalists, because we met his story with questions instead of consternation, I could no longer hold back the tears – as if to prove the opposite. I was simply overwhelmed by this man, who is at the same time a 9/11 survivor, a relative of a victim and a first responder, and in whose fate the whole monstrosity of the terrorist attacks is reflected. RIAS brought us into contact with the most incredible people during the three weeks of our trip. Everyone, everyone, had story(s) to tell and answered with patience all our thousands of questions: Olga Ramirez Kornacki, media coordinator at the House of Representatives in Washington, Michael Gargiulo, WNBC anchor, UN spokesman Farhan Haq, the engineers and scientists at NASA Goddard Space Center and many many guest speakers more. The Station Week in St. Louis, Missouri, at the public radio STLPR brought again completely new impressions of the USA, the media, the people. And also there: hosts who took care of their shadowing protégés with great dedication. My week there ended with a listening party: St.Louis Public Radio had hosted the silver trailer of Storycorps for the past weeks. This nationwide long-term project records the private stories of ordinary Americans. All archived at the Library of Congress, some broadcast on the radio. A vast oral history. Those who want to participate, usually in pairs, sit in the trailer and tell their stories. And I, I could listen forever. Three weeks of RIAS Berlin programming were just: wow. So was our group, an unbelievably harmonious bunch of individualists in an eternally good mood. We might not have had a lot of “time to decompress” but maybe the time of our lives! Thank you, Erik and Pam for making it happen.Franziska Venjakob, ntv, CologneWe are all humans,” said the woman in the kosher restaurant in Williamsburg. Quite curious, she asked us about our experiences touring with Frieda Vizel about the Hasidic community. We shared that we learned a lot about the importance of family and community, talked about commonalities, but also of our newly learned knowledge about their traditions and rules. After we made an effort during the tour not to attract unnecessary attention and not to disturb the life of the local people, it was nice to get into a conversation with them and to realize that there is interest on both sides.I got to experience this feeling again in Atlanta during my station week. My host Faith Jessie took me to a homecoming party at Clark Atlanta University, the first historically Black university in the southern US, where her mother had studied, and to a very special church service on the city’s north side that felt more like a concert to me because of the live music and atmosphere. I was the only white person at both events, but felt very welcomed thanks to the many nice and interesting people.These are just two highlights of so many incredibly exciting days. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences of the last few weeks and the experiences that RIAS has made possible. It is so important as a journalist to be able to interact with so many different people, to listen and ask questions. Every single conversation in the US has helped me understand the country, the politics and the people more.Thank you Erik and Pam for organizing this, thank you to my great group and thank you to all the people I had the chance to meet and who made it possible for me to have such a great time. Veith Karl Jänchen, RBB, Potsdam It is incredibly difficult to find words for these three intense weeks. The colleagues before me have already said everything and I can add little new to that. For me it was the first time ever in the USA and as a native of East Germany I had to pinch myself sometimes: Capitol, White House, NASA, The New York Times, Empire State Building, church service in the Abyssinian Church. It was three weeks of superlatives … And of insights, experiences and knowledge. I saw some differences between the USA and Germany, that didn’t surprise me. That there are so many similarities, unfortunately also the not so beautiful ones, I had not expected. I think I understand some things better now, which often left me helpless and without understanding for many years. I was most impressed by the Americans themselves: the mother with cancer who found her healing and calling in healthy food in the Bronx, the colleague at Stationweek who took in two children of a Native American with drug addiction, and especially Gordon Huie, who narrowly survived 9/11 but lost his sister, who is forever scarred but not bitter. It was a tight program which challenged me physically and also emotionally and I am very grateful to the RIAS Commission for allowing me to have these encounters. I am glad to have dared to take on this challenge and to have left my comfort zone, because I was rewarded with many insights, I feel inspired to think beyond borders, I can sleep in at home. I would also like to thank Erik and Pam and of course my dear colleagues for this great joint adventure, which connects us forever.Katja Losch, WELT TV, BerlinStill in the USA, looking out of the window to Boston trees in red and gold, it’s difficult to summarize the last three weeks, as nearly every day seemed as packed as a whole week! It was great to see all the places in real whose pictures are so often part of our TV shows in Germany: Congress (the day after the speaker stepped down), the Press Briefing Room in the White House (+ boasting home with selfies in front of the WH), the UN Skyscraper… But even more impressive was to encounter so many different people and cultures. First and most intense, our wonderful core group: from very different places and backgrounds, and all very curious and engaged to look after and help each other. Then, to talk with German correspondents about the differences between the two countries. The honor of being invited to the service at Abyssinian Church on Sunday. To feel the pride and passion of journalists in legendary institutions like the Washington Post, Bloomberg, NYT and NBC – and their struggle for the future, which we know as well. Strolling through and tasting orthodox Williamsburg. Enjoy cultural pillars like Apollo Theater and a musical. Having breakfast with a black activist. Experience the still present trauma of 9/11 by a touching encounter with someone who survived physically – but lost part of his family and his peace of mind forever. And the important and heroic fight of the Anti-Defamation League against hate – which rises not only in Social Media, but also in real life against Jews + other minorities and liberal, democratic values ​​and human dignity in general.Kind of a cultural shock then arriving for the station week in Texas, greeted by cowboy hats already at the airport. The landscape: mostly multi-lane roads with gigantic cars on it. Buzzing motors even when the driver is out for a coffee, to keep the chill inside when coming back. And while the entire US history is made by immigrants, in San Antonio it is more present than in any other place I’ve been. Mexican and Latin-American influences everywhere. I met a housemaid who has lived 20 years in SA without speaking English…. But not only this – on the way to my accommodation I crossed Wurzbach Road and passed a huge announcement of a concert for the “Beethoven Male Choir, Oktoberfest”. Finally, my wonderful host Yami Virgin who is originally from Panama, covers immigration and one core point of it – the border to Mexico. We went to the 3.5m high fence which doesn’t stop immigration at all. Dozens of tissue rags in the barbed wire on its top prove that hope for a better future overcomes every fence. At the same time, the higher the fence, the higher the price for being smuggled over the border…It was great seeing Yami in action, to learn how a regional station runs and how hard the competition is. Somehow shocking, that sometimes journalists are only as free as advertisers allow. Astonishing, that in Texas judges are elected and therefore must campaign. And that apparently lawyers make the most money in the US as they live in the biggest houses in the nicest areas. Last but not least: I will always remember the Alamo! I am very grateful that I could participate in this horizon-widening adventure – thank you Erik, Pam and Adam for making this possible!Julia Lange, Der Spiegel, HamburgThe RIAS program provided me with the incredible opportunity to meet lots of inspiring people with diverse backgrounds that definitely enriched my understanding of the United States in the year 2023. The personal connections that I established with colleagues from both sides of the Atlantic and the manifesto new impressions that I gained during the three-week program will undoubtedly prove to be of great value to my future work. Ranging from immigration to environmental law, from the intricate dynamics of national to local politics, and from the continuing concerns of Black Lives Matter leaders in NYC to the current state of transatlantic relations, the program covered a wide range of topics, deeply informed and widened my perspective on multiple issues and, perhaps most importantly, forged connections between people and institutions that did not exist before. I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to spend my station week at the “Texas Tribune” in Austin, Texas with Ayan Mittra and his wonderful colleagues. I have never been to Texas before and the RIAS program provided me with the unique opportunity to acquaint myself with the specifics of Texan politics and culture. Last but not least, a big thank you to Erik Kirschbaum and Pam Ortega without whom the program would never have been as inspiring, enlightening and well organized as it was. Thomas Kempe, BR, ARD, MunichHow many incredible, touching and inspiring encounters can you experience in three weeks? If you take the RIAS Autumn Program 2023 as a yardstick, then in any case much more than you can normally process in three weeks! For example, the touching story of New Yorker Gordon Hui, a 9/11 survivor. He lost his sister in the Twin Towers and was a first responder on the day of the terrorist attack. Or, for example, breakfast with CNN star journalist Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Visits to the White House, the US Congress and pretty much all the big-name media – NBC, ABC, Washington Post, New York Times and, of course, the German colleagues – all garnished with fantastic interlocutors. Two weeks of “group travel” in Washington and New York made heads and hearts full – an incredibly profitable and exciting insight into the inner workings of politics, media, society and culture in the USA. The subsequent “Station-Week” took me on to Dallas and here it continued, with the experience and incredible encounters “intensive marathon”. In just one day: the story of a cabinet from Silesia, with a secret compartment, secret letters and a Jewish-German family tragedy. 2. lunch with one of the first Secret Service agents in the USA. 3. introduction to operating an AK47 including discussion of the sense and nonsense of US gun laws – with very convinced Texas gun owners. 4. dinner with our hosts, RIAS alumni and journalist colleagues in “typical local” Mexican ambience. Without words.Last but not least: sharing the experience of the trip with colleagues from all different parts of Germany and backgrounds makes RIAS something really very special. A fantastic group with so many smart personalities made the trip even better. Icing on the cake, I guess that’s what they say. In this sense: Thanks a ton. Keep up the amazing work! ... Read MoreRead Less

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RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION

1 month ago

RIAS BERLIN KOMMISSION
A group of 13 German broadcasting journalists spent three weeks learning more about media, politics and life in the United States during a RIAS Berlin Commission Fellowship. They spent a week together in Washington DC meeting journalists, politicians, analysts and activists before traveling together to spend one week together to New York for a week of meetings there. To get a more comprehensive view of the United States, they then spent a week visiting small TV and radio stations across the country in the Midwest, South and Southwest to learn about issues in other parts of the country. Here are some of their impressions of their experiences.Sven Knobloch, MDR, LeipzigSo here I am, sitting in the passenger seat of a police car driving through downtown Wichita, Kansas. Officer Trevor Macy and I are heading to a Walmart to arrest a shoplifter. Crime has gone through the roof, he tells me. Because of the opioid crisis. Drug addicts steal to pay for the next hit. We take the young woman to jail, where she is processed. A depressing place. This is just one spotlight out of my three weeks with the RIAS program. We didn’t just talk about the issues the US faces at the moment – we saw them firsthand.I had never been to the US before. For me, being in Washington DC and New York was overwhelming. And being in the Midwest after that was just such a stark contrast. I came with some images and stereotypes in my head to all those places, but most of all with questions. And they were answered, in intense discussions and meetings with journalists, politicians, activists and everyday Americans. I still have questions, but many things that puzzle Germans from time to time when they look across the Atlantic, I understand better now.What stood out? I met Wolf Blitzer, one of my journalistic idols. What a smart, funny and dedicated man. And yet, I am not sure: was that the highlight of my trip? Or maybe to hear the story of 9/11 survivor Gordon Huie? Or to be in Congress when they ousted the Republican speaker? Or to get a shoutout by the Reverend in Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem? And is maybe Michael Schwanke from News 12 in Wichita my new journalistic idol, because of his friendship and his dedication to his community?Three weeks with the RIAS program do not fit in a few paragraphs. I will be forever grateful for this experience. Special thanks go to Erik Kirschbaum, Pam Ortega and most of all to the 13 fellows from my group. You will always have a special place in my heart. Kirsten Gerhard, ARD, HamburgWow. Yes wow, because it is hard for me to find words for what I have experienced in the past three RIAS weeks. They were weeks that I didn’t expect like this and that moved something in me. People who opened up to us and told us their stories. Be it the meeting with Gordon Huie, a “triple survivor” of 9/11, survivor, relative of a victim and first responder, who found it incredibly helpful to work through his trauma in conversation with journalists. Or the incredible Frieda Vizel, who left the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, but is an insider who was able to give us insight into this closed community. Or the visit to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, the Reverend included us in a greeting! Or my host Erik Runge in Chicago, who was fully there for us despite a bereavement in the family. Or Ryan Burrow, who managed to bring us closer to the American media at any time of the day or night. Everywhere we were warmly welcomed and experienced people and their stories with whom we would otherwise never have come into contact. There were many more interesting key speakers during these three weeks. To mention them all, there wouldn’t be enough space. What we also saw, however, was what tasks America is facing. How torn this country is. How people are resisting South American migrants being housed in their neighborhoods. That, too, is America 2023, one year before the election. Special thanks to Erik Kirschbaum and Pam Ortega for putting together this fascinating program.Hiba Obaid, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Berlin I’m in the car, heading to Dallas airport. It’s 7:30 in the morning. The Texan sunrise paints the sky as I think back on the last three weeks, which felt like three whole years. So many memories flood my mind, filled with emotions, vivid scenes, heart-to-heart talks, and countless steps taken.This was my first time in the United States, and everything was new and exciting. I remember the first moment I walked the streets of New York; it felt like stepping into a real-life wonderland. The city was immense, bursting with colors, and everyone was in a hurry. As the days passed, I learned the American way of beginning conversations with, “How are you?” In Germany, ordering a coffee didn’t involve such a question. But here, it was a part of their culture, a little greeting. I can still recall the puzzled look on the waiter’s face when I replied with just “Okay.” They expected the response, “I’m really fine. How are you?”After exploring Washington and New York for two weeks, I made my way to Dallas, Texas. There, I saw a genuine cowboy, just like in the movies. I watched people eagerly awaiting the bull shows with their magnificent longhorns in Fort Worth. I savored tacos, enjoyed German beer in a cozy saloon, and was touched by the beauty of the sunrise and sunset from the house’s window.These memories are more precious to me than words can express. I’m immensely grateful to all the people who made this experience a part of my life. I can’t wait to share these tales with my future grandchildren, as they hold a special place in my heart.Clara Pfeffer, RTL/ntv, Berlin“Please sit down,” the man says to me. That’s all he can say in German, but he speaks Yiddish and somehow we can communicate with that. He was born in Germany, but at the age of 5 his family fled to New York to escape the Nazis. Today he is happy to meet a German – in a kosher restaurant in the middle of Williamsburg. For me, the district was initially the opposite of what the USA is all about. Rules govern every aspect of life here, no matter how small. Who is allowed to cross the street, how, when and where, on which days which clothes are worn and which food may be prepared and how – for all this there are the most precise instructions in the Hasidic community. For women, everything revolves around marriage and household chores. The men devote their lives to studying Torah. The average family here has eight children. The playgrounds are full, almost every woman pushes at least one stroller. And at some point, all the children go to school, boys and girls separately, each on specially designated school buses. Never before have I seen so many big yellow school buses. What at first glance looks like a monotonous and always the same life with no room for self-realization, turns out to be quite diverse and colorful at second glance. The way the women wear their wigs varies, and by looking at the men’s hats, our guide can immediately tell which group they belong to and whether they are very strict about the rules. Here, too, there is room for individuality. And it is important to Frieda Vizel to show this. This world was too small for her, and she left the community in her mid-twenties. She does not at all gloss over how difficult that was and how restrictive life is in the Hasidic community. But she also draws attention to the great food, the cohesion, the trust in the community. People here write the access code to their front door in Yiddish on their doorbell signs. In the case of anti-Semitic incidents, which have become increasingly frequent lately, the community sticks together and offers support. Frieda Vizel wants to break down prejudices about the community. Above all, she says, it’s about respect for different ways of life. And that, in turn, is for me exactly what the USA is all about. These three weeks have clearly shown me how incredibly diverse this country is. There are worlds between Williamsburg and Broadway – and half a continent between Broadway and the Spanish church in East Texas.Station Week in the small Texas town of Tyler is another piece of the puzzle for me in trying to better understand this country. There are many rules here as well: Prayer is said before every official event. The Bible is still above the Constitution for many here. Almost everyone owns a gun, the death penalty is widely supported, and many wish the borders were better protected. At the same time, I have rarely received such a warm and friendly welcome as I have here. Latinos and Americans live peacefully side by side – almost half of the residents speak Spanish as their first native language.Again and again in our conversations we talked about the increasing polarization in America. After the three-week program, however, I was more fascinated by what holds this country together. To represent such different ways of life and thinking in a single political system is an incredible feat. Especially when it’s always about protecting the individuality of the individual. Not everywhere is successful. The African-American community is still structurally discriminated against. If you don’t have money, you don’t have security. Journalists here are afraid to express their own opinions. At the same time, in many places the country is still fulfilling its promise to give every idea, no matter how crazy, a chance. As a journalist, I have learned once again how important direct exchange is. How much more we see and learn when we can talk directly to each other. I walked out of every single conversation of the trip with many answers, but with even more questions. And most importantly, with a great desire to pursue these questions further. I am incredibly grateful to have had this experience. It has changed the way I look at the United States. Every single conversation has helped me to break down prejudices and question assumptions. I was also impressed by the way our speakers approached things directly and with a large portion of optimism. Unpleasant questions were not avoided, criticism was gladly accepted. Hopefully, we can all take some of this back to Germany. And I am sure that all this will shape my reporting for a long time. And not just when it comes to the USA. The man who once fled the Nazis and is now happy to show me, a German, his culture and his “way of life” – has shown me that it is worthwhile to continue to believe in the idea of ​​the United States.Julia Brestrich ARD, BR, MunichI scroll through my phone, picture by picture, and catch myself smiling. 2,327 pictures and each of them tells a story. Three weeks that have not only changed my journalistic view of the United States, but above all have moved me personally. In colorful suits, we stood in front of the Capitol, the heart of the United States. Two pictures before I find a selfie, taken with Wolf Blitzer at breakfast together and a few pictures further the latest NASA project… oh and a video of the karaoke evening. What have we experienced please everything!Each picture shows a piece of the puzzle that is gradually putting together my picture of the USA. As I watch, I transport myself back to glittering skyscrapers in New York, feel goosebumps as I see 9/11 survivor Gordon Huie on the screen, taste the Jewish bread “Challah” in Williamsburg, and hum songs from the musical “Chicago” on Broadway in my head.And then this city also appears in the pictures. A similar picture as New York and yet completely different. On the pictures in Chicago our hosts, who welcomed us with open arms and took us into their city, into their life here. And they are proud of their city – you can feel that. Especially at sports, at the Chicago Bulls basketball game.It ends with my favorite picture – our group. We are beaming into the camera, holding our certificates, soaked in experiences that RIAS has made possible for us. We were strangers at first and have now become friends. Many of the 2,327 pictures show us together and every time I show them to someone, the pictures will always tell their story, relive this journey for which I am simply grateful with all my heart. Thank you thank you to RIAS, to Erik and Pam and the entire team.Timm Giesbers, ARD, funk, Deutschlandradio, CologneI really didn’t expect a day when a meeting with Wolf Blitzer wasn’t the undisputed highlight. This small, suit-wearing man looks almost shyly into the room, obviously wondering whether we’re all really waiting for him, and then he delivers a fireworks display of anecdotes. He’s been everywhere he’s felt, inaugurating Obama as president and getting Willy Brandt back on his feet. The same guy who in 2020 drove my pulse to the brink of cardiac arrest with his key race alerts entertains us with links and is then also available for selfies. And all this just so that a small, expensively coiffed lady with South American roots and a pearl necklace will steal the show of the day from him later in the day. Olga Ramirez-Kornacki is the media coordinator in the House of Representatives and desperately needs her own documentary. As she leads us through the Capitol, making sure no one gets lost in the many aisles, we understand that neither Biden, nor Pelosi, nor any GOP Speaker (who had just been lost that same week) has ever been Chief:in here. For the last few decades, the Queen’s name wasn’t Elizabeth either, it was Olga. She really had us all wrapped around her finger, sorry Wolf! Just one unforgettable day in three weeks, in which really every single day was full of experiences and encounters that you just can’t forget. Three weeks that felt like three months in the best sense and three hours at the same time. And just like that I mentioned it: I was in St. Louis, Missouri during my station week – more contrast to high-button DC and eternally-cool New York, it can hardly exist. But there’s one thing that’s really hot here: “Midwestern nice”, the northern counterpart to southern hospitality. I could go on like this for pages, but I would like to end with this: I am immensely grateful to have been part of such a diverse, eternally good-humored and insightful group. I overturned prejudices, learned so many new things, saw places and met people I would never have come into contact with otherwise, and really experienced the time of my life. In the end, I was just as sad looking out the plane window on the way home as I was at the end of my study abroad in Sweden. This is especially due to the great people with whom I went on this trip and whom I missed again just one day after the end. My RIAS group, that was really the coolest of all!Laura Wassermann, RTL, CologneWhat an honor: That’s the best way to sum up this trip. We visited the White House, Capitol Hill, the Washington Post. We went to Bloomberg and the New York Times – that was pretty exciting. But by far the most enriching thing: the people we got to meet. For example, Gordon Huie, 9/11 survivor & helper, who lost his sister that day. An impressive man with a moving story. We met some great journalists (American and German) who told us about their everyday life and their work in the USA. All these conversations – eg with Wolf Blitzer, Frieda Vizel, Michael Louis Gargiulo or Chivona Newsome – broadened my horizon and I am very, very grateful for that.What was also cool: meeting Charlie Pellett, whose voice is legendary in the New York Subway – for the words: “Stand clear of the closing doors please”. Thanks for everything Erik, Pam, Brandon, Adam & Michael! It was an unforgettable experience.Constanze Semidei, NDR, HamburgWhen Gordon Huie said he was so happy to talk to us journalists, because we met his story with questions instead of consternation, I could no longer hold back the tears – as if to prove the opposite. I was simply overwhelmed by this man, who is at the same time a 9/11 survivor, a relative of a victim and a first responder, and in whose fate the whole monstrosity of the terrorist attacks is reflected. RIAS brought us into contact with the most incredible people during the three weeks of our trip. Everyone, everyone, had story(s) to tell and answered with patience all our thousands of questions: Olga Ramirez Kornacki, media coordinator at the House of Representatives in Washington, Michael Gargiulo, WNBC anchor, UN spokesman Farhan Haq, the engineers and scientists at NASA Goddard Space Center and many many guest speakers more. The Station Week in St. Louis, Missouri, at the public radio STLPR brought again completely new impressions of the USA, the media, the people. And also there: hosts who took care of their shadowing protégés with great dedication. My week there ended with a listening party: St.Louis Public Radio had hosted the silver trailer of Storycorps for the past weeks. This nationwide long-term project records the private stories of ordinary Americans. All archived at the Library of Congress, some broadcast on the radio. A vast oral history. Those who want to participate, usually in pairs, sit in the trailer and tell their stories. And I, I could listen forever. Three weeks of RIAS Berlin programming were just: wow. So was our group, an unbelievably harmonious bunch of individualists in an eternally good mood. We might not have had a lot of “time to decompress” but maybe the time of our lives! Thank you, Erik and Pam for making it happen.Franziska Venjakob, ntv, CologneWe are all humans,” said the woman in the kosher restaurant in Williamsburg. Quite curious, she asked us about our experiences touring with Frieda Vizel about the Hasidic community. We shared that we learned a lot about the importance of family and community, talked about commonalities, but also of our newly learned knowledge about their traditions and rules. After we made an effort during the tour not to attract unnecessary attention and not to disturb the life of the local people, it was nice to get into a conversation with them and to realize that there is interest on both sides.I got to experience this feeling again in Atlanta during my station week. My host Faith Jessie took me to a homecoming party at Clark Atlanta University, the first historically Black university in the southern US, where her mother had studied, and to a very special church service on the city’s north side that felt more like a concert to me because of the live music and atmosphere. I was the only white person at both events, but felt very welcomed thanks to the many nice and interesting people.These are just two highlights of so many incredibly exciting days. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences of the last few weeks and the experiences that RIAS has made possible. It is so important as a journalist to be able to interact with so many different people, to listen and ask questions. Every single conversation in the US has helped me understand the country, the politics and the people more.Thank you Erik and Pam for organizing this, thank you to my great group and thank you to all the people I had the chance to meet and who made it possible for me to have such a great time. Veith Karl Jänchen, RBB, Potsdam It is incredibly difficult to find words for these three intense weeks. The colleagues before me have already said everything and I can add little new to that. For me it was the first time ever in the USA and as a native of East Germany I had to pinch myself sometimes: Capitol, White House, NASA, The New York Times, Empire State Building, church service in the Abyssinian Church. It was three weeks of superlatives … And of insights, experiences and knowledge. I saw some differences between the USA and Germany, that didn’t surprise me. That there are so many similarities, unfortunately also the not so beautiful ones, I had not expected. I think I understand some things better now, which often left me helpless and without understanding for many years. I was most impressed by the Americans themselves: the mother with cancer who found her healing and calling in healthy food in the Bronx, the colleague at Stationweek who took in two children of a Native American with drug addiction, and especially Gordon Huie, who narrowly survived 9/11 but lost his sister, who is forever scarred but not bitter. It was a tight program which challenged me physically and also emotionally and I am very grateful to the RIAS Commission for allowing me to have these encounters. I am glad to have dared to take on this challenge and to have left my comfort zone, because I was rewarded with many insights, I feel inspired to think beyond borders, I can sleep in at home. I would also like to thank Erik and Pam and of course my dear colleagues for this great joint adventure, which connects us forever.Katja Losch, WELT TV, BerlinStill in the USA, looking out of the window to Boston trees in red and gold, it’s difficult to summarize the last three weeks, as nearly every day seemed as packed as a whole week! It was great to see all the places in real whose pictures are so often part of our TV shows in Germany: Congress (the day after the speaker stepped down), the Press Briefing Room in the White House (+ boasting home with selfies in front of the WH), the UN Skyscraper… But even more impressive was to encounter so many different people and cultures. First and most intense, our wonderful core group: from very different places and backgrounds, and all very curious and engaged to look after and help each other. Then, to talk with German correspondents about the differences between the two countries. The honor of being invited to the service at Abyssinian Church on Sunday. To feel the pride and passion of journalists in legendary institutions like the Washington Post, Bloomberg, NYT and NBC – and their struggle for the future, which we know as well. Strolling through and tasting orthodox Williamsburg. Enjoy cultural pillars like Apollo Theater and a musical. Having breakfast with a black activist. Experience the still present trauma of 9/11 by a touching encounter with someone who survived physically – but lost part of his family and his peace of mind forever. And the important and heroic fight of the Anti-Defamation League against hate – which rises not only in Social Media, but also in real life against Jews + other minorities and liberal, democratic values ​​and human dignity in general.Kind of a cultural shock then arriving for the station week in Texas, greeted by cowboy hats already at the airport. The landscape: mostly multi-lane roads with gigantic cars on it. Buzzing motors even when the driver is out for a coffee, to keep the chill inside when coming back. And while the entire US history is made by immigrants, in San Antonio it is more present than in any other place I’ve been. Mexican and Latin-American influences everywhere. I met a housemaid who has lived 20 years in SA without speaking English…. But not only this – on the way to my accommodation I crossed Wurzbach Road and passed a huge announcement of a concert for the “Beethoven Male Choir, Oktoberfest”. Finally, my wonderful host Yami Virgin who is originally from Panama, covers immigration and one core point of it – the border to Mexico. We went to the 3.5m high fence which doesn’t stop immigration at all. Dozens of tissue rags in the barbed wire on its top prove that hope for a better future overcomes every fence. At the same time, the higher the fence, the higher the price for being smuggled over the border…It was great seeing Yami in action, to learn how a regional station runs and how hard the competition is. Somehow shocking, that sometimes journalists are only as free as advertisers allow. Astonishing, that in Texas judges are elected and therefore must campaign. And that apparently lawyers make the most money in the US as they live in the biggest houses in the nicest areas. Last but not least: I will always remember the Alamo! I am very grateful that I could participate in this horizon-widening adventure – thank you Erik, Pam and Adam for making this possible!Julia Lange, Der Spiegel, HamburgThe RIAS program provided me with the incredible opportunity to meet lots of inspiring people with diverse backgrounds that definitely enriched my understanding of the United States in the year 2023. The personal connections that I established with colleagues from both sides of the Atlantic and the manifesto new impressions that I gained during the three-week program will undoubtedly prove to be of great value to my future work. Ranging from immigration to environmental law, from the intricate dynamics of national to local politics, and from the continuing concerns of Black Lives Matter leaders in NYC to the current state of transatlantic relations, the program covered a wide range of topics, deeply informed and widened my perspective on multiple issues and, perhaps most importantly, forged connections between people and institutions that did not exist before. I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to spend my station week at the “Texas Tribune” in Austin, Texas with Ayan Mittra and his wonderful colleagues. I have never been to Texas before and the RIAS program provided me with the unique opportunity to acquaint myself with the specifics of Texan politics and culture. Last but not least, a big thank you to Erik Kirschbaum and Pam Ortega without whom the program would never have been as inspiring, enlightening and well organized as it was. Thomas Kempe, BR, ARD, MunichHow many incredible, touching and inspiring encounters can you experience in three weeks? If you take the RIAS Autumn Program 2023 as a yardstick, then in any case much more than you can normally process in three weeks! For example, the touching story of New Yorker Gordon Hui, a 9/11 survivor. He lost his sister in the Twin Towers and was a first responder on the day of the terrorist attack. Or, for example, breakfast with CNN star journalist Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Visits to the White House, the US Congress and pretty much all the big-name media – NBC, ABC, Washington Post, New York Times and, of course, the German colleagues – all garnished with fantastic interlocutors. Two weeks of “group travel” in Washington and New York made heads and hearts full – an incredibly profitable and exciting insight into the inner workings of politics, media, society and culture in the USA. The subsequent “Station-Week” took me on to Dallas and here it continued, with the experience and incredible encounters “intensive marathon”. In just one day: the story of a cabinet from Silesia, with a secret compartment, secret letters and a Jewish-German family tragedy. 2. lunch with one of the first Secret Service agents in the USA. 3. introduction to operating an AK47 including discussion of the sense and nonsense of US gun laws – with very convinced Texas gun owners. 4. dinner with our hosts, RIAS alumni and journalist colleagues in “typical local” Mexican ambience. Without words.Last but not least: sharing the experience of the trip with colleagues from all different parts of Germany and backgrounds makes RIAS something really very special. A fantastic group with so many smart personalities made the trip even better. Icing on the cake, I guess that’s what they say. In this sense: Thanks a ton. Keep up the amazing work! ... Read MoreRead Less

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