Institute of Journalism Celebrates 50 Years of Facts

Under the motto “Celebrating Facts”, the Institute of Journalism (IJ) at TU Dortmund University invited guests to the German Football Museum on Friday, 20 March. Around 500 people came together to celebrate 50 years of journalism in Dortmund, among them many current and former members as well as representatives from politics, professional practice, and academia. They not only looked back at the institute’s beginnings and development, but – against the backdrop of current global upheavals – also emphasized the outstanding importance of journalism for democracy.

In 1976, the first journalism degree program in Germany was launched – initially accompanied by some doubts and resistance from the industry: Could theory and practice truly be combined in journalism education? The program found its home under the leadership of Prof. Kurt Koszyk and with the support of Johannes Rau, then Minister of Science of North Rhine‑Westphalia, at the Ruhr University of Education (Pädagogische Hochschule Ruhr), which was integrated into the University of Dortmund in 1980. Since then, more than 2,000 graduates have successfully completed their studies at the IJ, which to this day is characterized by its close interlinking of theory and practice, an integrated traineeship, and training in the multimedia teaching newsroom.

Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal, and European, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine‑Westphalia, emphasized in his address how important well‑trained journalists are for society. He pointed out that the media landscape has changed significantly – not least due to digital platforms on which anyone can send and receive content at any time, where sharpness is rewarded and polarization is driven forward. Added to this is the simultaneity of crises, which overwhelms people and leads them to seek stability and simplification. Free journalism, he said, is therefore also a service to democracy, and the two are mutually dependent. The minister thanked the IJ members and alumni present for their good craftsmanship and their democratic stance. Mayor Britta Gövert likewise praised, at what she called Dortmund’s “largest class reunion”, the efforts of established and aspiring journalists to classify reality and make it comprehensible.

Alumni Participate in Shaping Public Discourse

TU President Prof. Manfred Bayer said in his address: “Fifty years of journalism in Dortmund mark a special moment and a remarkable success. Many generations of students have already learned their important and multifaceted craft with us – and today they play a decisive role in shaping public discourse.” Among the best‑known journalists who studied in Dortmund are WDR Program Director Jörg Schönenborn, ARD Washington Correspondent Gudrun Engel, heute journal presenter Hanna Zimmermann, presenter Mona Ameziane, as well as Maximilian Doeckel and Jonathan Focke of the podcast Quarks Science Cops. Andrea Schafarczyk, WDR Program Director and alumna, also confirmed in her address that one encounters IJ graduates in media organizations across the country, where they are highly valued for their excellent training.

The Institute of Journalism, with its eight professorships, receives more applications each year than it has places. It currently has around 500 students enrolled in the four study tracks Journalism, Science Journalism, Music Journalism, and Economic‑Policy Journalism. Having begun with six tape recorders and 30 typewriters, the IJ has developed enormously over the past decades, as Managing Director Prof. Christina Elmer explained in her speech. Since 1999, the campus radio station eldoradio*, based at the institute, has been broadcasting in Dortmund. Ten years later, the TV training channel NRWision – developed and still operated by the IJ – went on air. The teaching newsrooms, which were consolidated under the umbrella brand KURT in 2017, are also a permanent component.

Conference of Academic Experts at TU Dortmund University

The Dortmund institute also sets important impulses in research, including in the fields of science communication and data journalism/AI, as well as through a long‑term study on “Journalism and Democracy”. The Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism, founded in 1991, supports high‑quality journalism education worldwide through numerous projects and analyzes, among other things, communication on conflict‑related topics such as migration. At the invitation of the IJ, the annual conference of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (DGPuK, German Communication Association) was held at TU Dortmund University from 18 to 20 March. Around 360 researchers from across Germany came together to examine, against the backdrop of democracy under pressure in many places, the interplay between academia and media‑mediated communication.

More about the Institute of Journalism

Impressions from the anniversary celebration:

The addresses were delivered by NRW Media Minister Nathanael Liminski, …
TU President Prof. Manfred Bayer, …
WDR Program Director Andrea Schafarczyk (photo) and Mayor Britta Gövert.
Numerous alumni enjoyed reconnecting at the anniversary celebration.
The event was moderated by Managing Director Prof. Christina Elmer and Institute Manager Dr. Markus Kreutler.
Musical entertainment was provided by the United Harriet Colliery Band.
In a panel discussion with Prof. Christina Elmer (right), former and current IJ members (from right to left: Prof. Siegfried Weischenberg, Gabi Ludwig, Julia Friedrichs, Prof. Holger Wormer, Dr. Susanne Wegner, and Richard Brandt) reviewed the institute’s development – from its beginnings through the 2000s to the present day.
In a Reporter Slam, students Amelie Borggrefe (left) and Lukas Pazzini (right) narrowly prevailed over Prof. Wiebke Möhring, Steffen Grimberg, and Sebastian Quillmann.