Journalists in conversation with FOCUS

FOCUS Online and FOCUS Magazine co-hosted the second industry leaders’ meeting of their new event series “FOCUS Dinner Talk” in Munich. The event for customers and colleagues was moderated by Susann Atwell. BurdaForward’s COO Daniel Steil, FOCUS Online’s chief editor Florian Festl and FOCUS Magazine’s deputy editor Markus Krischer discussed the future of journalism, changes in editorial work and the consumption of news.

Journalism in transition

Journalism has been affected by change for many years – whether through the so-called “shift to mobile”, the dominance of American tech giants like Google and Facebook, or the formation of bubbles of like-minded opinions on social media. According to Florian Festl, the work processes in newsrooms have changed dramatically, with numerous technical components now dictating the daily work lives of editorial teams. So what, if anything remains unchanged? For Festl, it is the journalist’s urge to hunt down a good story – and tell it in a way that is meaningful for the life of the reader.

The editor-in-chief was answering the guests' questions

Florian Festl has been editor-in-chief of FOCUS Online since September

Susan Atwell hosting the evening

Das Dinner fand im Heart House München statt

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Emotions count

There are significant differences between print and digital content in today’s age due to the difference in speed between video news and traditional media. Markus Krischer is excited by the tools of online journalism, but also values the longer attention span that readers of print publications have. The three hosts agree that journalism is about human emotions, whether in online or print. Despite rapidly advancing technological automation, no machine can express human emotions, adds Steil. That is one key duty for journalists.

Journalists should avoid narrow-minded writing

Markus Krischer describes our era as a point of transition where journalism has a special responsibility: to be critical and independent. Steil also emphasizes how important it is to be objective. According to him, the biggest mistake a journalist can make is to have a narrow approach to a story and omit important details. Instead, the entire picture must be shown – without borders.

Sara Kiesler

BurdaForward Communications

My heart beats for the media world because it is constantly reinventing itself and it is guaranteed never to get boring. I particularly enjoy making stories shine with a great deal of attention to detail. When I'm not in the office, you can find me on horseback most often - or in my beloved home, the beautiful Black Forest.