Journalists usually report on others – at our MENT MasterClasses, we gave them a chance to have their say. Sebastian Scholz (DJV Thuringia), Julia Reinard (freelance journalist), Michael Tallai (FUNKE Medien Thuringia) and Susann Seifert (GÜNTHER) talked about working as a journalist in Thuringia, new distribution channels and alternative financing models.

New media – opportunity or risk?

When they hear the term ‘local journalism’, many people still think of the traditional daily newspaper. But that could change soon. Michael Tallai pointed to the steadily rising average age of newspaper subscribers. Currently, this is around 70 years old for the Thüringer Allgemeine. Added to this are high costs for paper, printing and delivery. That is why he and FUNKE Medien Thüringen believe that digital offerings are the future. The company plans to gradually switch to e-paper and also prepare its reporting for social media and podcasts. Julia Reinard, on the other hand, sees brand loyalty as an important asset for local newspapers – whereas on social media, everything immediately becomes public domain. As a freelance journalist, she would like to see fair pay and reliable agreements above all else.

Citizen journalism: What to consider when it comes to financing

Unlike the others, Susann Seifert is not a journalist herself – but she is the founder of the citizen magazine ‘GÜNTHER’ for the Altenburg area. She brought ideas from community-centred and constructive local journalism to the discussion at our Master Class. One key to implementation, she said, is diversified business models so as not to become dependent on financial backers. In addition, she and her team completely dispensed with advertisements in their magazine so as not to unintentionally promote companies with politically opposing views.

Good journalism comes at a price

For Sebastian Scholz, two things were particularly important. ‘Journalism needs brains, especially local journalism – so you have to be on the ground to know what's going on.’ In addition, he said, society needs to be made more aware again ‘that journalism and thus safeguarding democracy must also be allowed to cost us something’. This is already working well in community-run projects – now it is up to the established media to make this clearer again. ‘We spend a lot of money on sustainably produced clothing, on sustainably produced food – and rightly so. But we also have to spend money on sustainable democracy.’

Film production, games or media education: in our newsroom, you can also find reviews of the other panels of the MENT MasterClasses, which took place as part of the Medien BarCamp Erfurt in October 2025. You can also read more about our media policy position here.