ARD Action Days for World Press Freedom Day at Radio Bremen: What can journalism achieve, and what must journalists accomplish and endure today?

As part of the ARD Action Days and the workshop “Wem glaubt Ihr?” (Who Do You Believe?), students of Communication and Media Studies (KMW) were invited to Radio Bremen’s broadcasting center on April 28, 2026.

The ARD Action Day for Press Freedom Day 2026 began for Communication and Media Studies students—both those majoring in the field and those taking it as a minor—along with ZeMKI member Dr. Philip Sinner, with a guided tour of the Radio Bremen building complex, including the studios of 3nach9 and buten un binnen, as well as a green screen test. In the Digital Garage, located on the top floor and featuring a rooftop terrace, the students were able to interact with young editors and the editorial office dog. This is where community management takes place, and the team oversees, among other things, WUMMS’s diverse and wide-reaching social media platforms, which have nearly 3 million followers. It quickly became clear just how exciting, diverse, and demanding the field of work is. But also how open and accessible an editorial department is to the outside world, and what opportunities exist for students to do an internship at Radio Bremen or transition into long-term employment through a student job.

The second part of the event marking World Press Freedom Day then focused on concrete issues that concern all journalists—but especially public broadcasting, with its license-fee funding and specific programming mandate—on a daily basis: What does good journalism look like today? Does journalism still have a place in society? Which platforms can, must, or should be used to reach diverse target audiences? Can public broadcasting hold its own against the logic of the platform society and algorithmicization? What does trust mean today, and how can it be maintained, gained, or regained? The students engaged in a dialogue with Frank Schulte (Deputy Editor-in-Chief), Thorsten Reinhold (Head of Online Editorial), and Lisa Börgerding (Head of Public Value) on these and many other topics, sharing their perspectives and ideas. It became clear that Radio Bremen and public broadcasting are doing a good job and are regarded as trustworthy sources. But there is also room for improvement: For instance, the students would like to see greater diversity in topics, increased representation of different perspectives, and, in particular, greater visibility for youth-related topics—not only on social media and online, but especially during prime time. Currently, the trend is clearly moving toward the media library, ARD Sounds, the website, and social media.

In addition, the students also stepped into the roles of journalists and community managers. The goal was to find out what kinds of news and comments staff members are confronted with in their work day in and day out, and how to handle such content. Especially since maintaining a dialogue with the audience—and, if possible, not shutting them out—is also part of the public service mandate. What is hate speech? Where does (criminal) defamation begin, and when does a violation of netiquette occur? When and how should one respond to comments and, in some cases, very personal attacks? And when must the comment function be disabled after all? The students did a really good job and provided well-considered reasoning for their decisions. At the same time, there was much to learn from the experts about handling comments on social media.

The session was scheduled to end at 4 p.m., but it actually wrapped up at 5 p.m. A clear sign of an all-around successful, informative, and engaging day at Radio Bremen.

For more information about the nationwide events marking World Press Freedom Day, visit the ARD website.