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Deutsche Welle

technology Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Deutsche Welle, or DW, is a huge news group from Germany.

Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)
Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)

It is a public service broadcaster that shares news with the whole world. The German government funds DW using federal tax money. This special way of paying for news helps the group show almost no ads. A law also helps keep the news independent. This means the government should not control what DW says. The group wants to share reliable news and help people learn the German language. It also hopes to help different people understand each other better.

DW uses many paths to send news to people. You can watch their shows on satellite television. You can also listen to them on the radio or through apps on digital players. They have a large news website that offers stories in many different ways. This website uses pictures, videos, and deep reports to tell stories.

Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)
Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)

They even have a special center called DW Akademie for media development. People can find information on many topics with easy navigation. This makes it simple to find the news you want.

The history of DW goes back a long way. A group with a similar name started in August 1924. That station was started by a man named Ernst Ludwig Voss in Berlin. However, the modern DW began its first shortwave radio broadcast on May 3, 1953.

Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)
Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)

That first broadcast was a speech by the West German President, Theodor Heuss. Later, the station moved its headquarters to the city of Bonn. When Germany became one country again in 1990, DW grew even more. It took over facilities and frequencies from another group called Radio Berlin International.

There are many important numbers and facts about DW. The service works in 32 different languages.

Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)
Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)

In 2020, the group had an average of 1,668 employees. In total, over 4,000 people work for DW in offices around the world. These workers come from more than 140 different nationalities. Most television shows are made in Berlin, but radio shows come from Bonn. The group's budget for the year 2016 was 301.8 million euros. These large numbers show how big the group really is.

You might recognize some of the ways DW works today. Many people use the internet to find news every single day. DW was the first German public broadcaster to have a website in September 1994.

Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)
Impressions June 24, 2015 (19109122045) (cropped)

If you use YouTube, you can also find DW programs there. They also use social media to share news updates quickly. Just like how you might use an app to check the weather, people use DW apps to stay informed. It is a modern way to connect the whole world through stories.

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