Germany's top ten 'forgotten stories' of 2017

The exclusion of disabled people from the workplace, Portugal's economic recovery and a deadly monsoon in South Asia were not adequately covered by German media in 2017, according to a new report released Monday.

Cologne-based media watchdog Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung's (INA) published its annual "Top 10 Forgotten Stories," which also found that German media failed to report on expensive life-saving drugs in developing countries and the humanitarian crisis in Chad.

Read more: Activists angry as Germany passes contentious disability law

Which stories were in the top 10?

1. Exclusion of disabled people from the workplace and the high unemployment rate among disabled people
2. Portugal's earlier-than-expected recovery from the financial crisis despite its refusal to enact austerity policies
3. The lack of press coverage of the 2017 monsoon in South Asia compared to the extensive coverage of the hurricane in Texas
4. Precarious work conditions on container ships
5. High prices for life-saving drugs in developing countries when many pharmaceutical companies are posting large profits
6. Inadequate civil protection bunkers in Germany in the event of a major nuclear disaster
7. Health risks associated with shift work and the lack of regulation of shift work
8. Increasing rate of violent incidents against health workers in German psychiatric institutions
9. The Czech Republic's refusal to compensate Roma women who were forcibly sterilized until 2007
10. Humanitarian crisis in Chad in central Africa

Read more: Monsoon floods wreak havoc in South Asia leaving more than a hundred dead

Call to action: The watchdog's director, Prof. Dr. Hektor Haarkötter, said the German media had a "responsibility to society" to ensure that "prejudices against people with disabilities are overcome."

Who decides which stories make the list: The public propose stories from the previous year that they think the media under-reported or ignored. Students from multiple German universities analyze press coverage to check whether the suggestions are accurate. A jury made up of media academics and journalists finally decides which stories make the top ten.

Read more: Chad: The unexpected migration debate

DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.