"Try to find out how to succeed in making a popular left of centre newspaper." That was the mission I was given before I left my German, also left of centre newspaper, Die Tageszeitung, or Taz, in November for three months at the Guardian as part of the George Weidenfeld exchange programme, writes Susanne Lang.
Being a German spy in England? This mission sounds like a good one, I thought. Not too dangerous any more. But still sort of an adventure.
So what are the main differences I have noticed so far in publishing a liberal newspaper in England compared to Germany?
The first one is the importance of not being ideological. At least in terms of selling the paper. Unlike Germany, where most papers rely on subscriptions, English papers need to sell day after day on the newsstand.
That means every issue seems to tell me in big type what supplements and cover-mounted giveaways will make me happy if I decide to buy that newspaper. Some days this leads to an amazing amount of newspaper, some of which even needs to be wrapped up in plastic so I don't lose the supplements.
This week the Guardian giveaway tops any other - the official British Army fitness programme, one part each day. My editors back home probably thought I'd gone completely nuts suggesting this for the Taz. But this might be something to do with fitness levels in the German army, which gets bad headlines from time to time.
The second big difference is the importance of celebrity in UK newspapers. The Diana and Dodi inquest is covered as widely in the news sections as talk of a possible marriage between Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, the incredible resurrected canoeist, or Gordon Brown's various reverses as prime minister. Gossip is seemingly given as much coverage as political news.
And why? Because people are interested in those stories, not just in political theory. On that point the English just are more honest than Germans.
The third big difference between UK and German media is the importance attached to lifestyle and consumer stories. In the English press you get all of the great "How to" issues: how to live to 150 years old, how to eat healthy, how to wrap up gifts, how to cook your fish, how to dress up for Christmas/ winter/ work/ parties, how to be an eco-friendly consumer, how to be a good parent...
Back home in Germany people either know about all of those things, or - and personally I prefer this explanation - maybe German journalists are just too arrogant in ignoring readers' everyday interests in favour of the intellectual. A classic leftie conundrum.
I have a fourth and final observation, but this is something that I recognise both at the Guardian and my own paper, the Taz: the importance of being independent. Colleagues from the Guardian, as well as my colleagues at the Taz, are lucky to work in an independent newspaper, not owned by a Murdoch or Montgomery. Although that does mean earning less money than journalists in other media organisations.
