Ines Pohl, editor-in-chief: 'DW is idealism brought to life'

Since its launch in 1953, DW has witnessed enormous changes. We have evolved from a shortwave radio station for Germans abroad into one of the leading international multimedia broadcasters.

Every day we feel the privilege and the accompanying responsibility as Germany’s voice among international media. DW has become a reliable source of information for a consistently growing number of users all over the world. In our work, we push back against the crackdown on freedom of expression with a type of journalism that is without exception impartial and objective in its nature. The appreciation we receive for this work is a wonderful source of motivation.

Our transmission signals continue to be blocked by many regimes around the world and yet people living under dictatorships still find ways to read our content and to share it with others. For us, this means that we must always maintain the highest technological standards, for instance utilizing special software to bypass censorship. Our goal is to help people understand the greater context and to form their own opinions. Digitization has opened new horizons for us, allowing us to offer significantly more people a voice and have them participate in the global dialogue, many more than the founding fathers would have ever dreamed of.

Every day I work with highly motivated colleagues from 60 nations to make the world a better place, a world in which one’s individual opinion counts. DW is idealism brought to life. Of course this idealism has its limits but we persevere. Nothing and no one will prevent us from telling the truth.

Looking back on these 65 years is not a moment of mere contemplation. It is rather an opportunity of encouragement to meet our users’ high expectations, to accompany and inspire them. We must build upon the foundations of responsible journalism seen in our long history which has become part of how we perceive ourselves. DW is the foreign broadcaster of one of the strongest democracies in the world but we understand that we are not without imperfections.

 Encouragement and inspiration are the main topics of our anniversary celebration. We prefer not to look back but rather to focus on the challenges we will continue to face now and in the future – as Germany’s international broadcaster.