Berlin

The Tagesspiegel has an outstanding motto: rerum cognoscere causas or “getting to the bottom of things.” I experience my second case of culture shock at the arts desk, this time a professional one.

I had a feeling it may be so, but to see it with one’s own eyes and hear it is more impressive. Eleven critics are presently working for the arts desk of the Tagesspiegel: art historians, musicologists, historians, theatre and film critics. At the Diena we have half as many, and half of them are also busy with editorial work. They collaborate with freelance writers. On average, each of them writes one article per week for the daily newspaper. One of the art critics tells me that “the people have different writing speeds,” which is respected. At the Diena the Internet is certainly faster and the computers are more up-to-date, but to have the luxury of working on one article a week is sadly unimaginable for any of the writers.

The Tagesspiegel does not have a separate arts section; the arts journalists at the Diena also produce the contents of the weekly supplement KDi. Meanwhile, the local intellectual potential of the Tagesspiegel is employed for articles in the daily pages of the newspaper. The office pleasantly surprises me with an unusual silence. There are long moments when one can only hear the united choir of the keyboards tapping, and some co-workers only communicate in a whisper. I recognize that at the Diena we greatly exaggerated the principle of the open office. Here, each department can shut a door behind them and be open within the confines of their room. The arts desk of the Tagesspiegel convinces me that the first item on the human rights of journalists ought to be the right to silence.




More entries from Undīne Adamaite’s Berlin Journal:

Berlin, 5.1.2013: Neither a False Tourist Nor Truly a Local
Berlin, 6.1.2013: Sunday Rest in the City
Berlin, 7.1.2013: The Berliners’ Lightness of Being
Berlin, 9.1.2013: A Monthly Portion of Courtesy
Berlin, 10.1.2013: A Play in a Foreign Language Remains a Façade
Berlin, 12.1.2013: At the Theatre in Knitted Caps
Berlin, 13.1.2013: An Intermediate Summary
Berlin, 16.1.2013: Fired with Premium Fuel
Berlin, 19.1.2013: Blind Date
Berlin, 21.1.2013: Old Fashioned and In Demand
Berlin, 26.1.2013: Čus, Berlin!