Apart from Former Activists, historians, and writers, the media have the most vested interest in keeping “1968” at the forefront of public awareness in Germany. There are three main reasons for this: Firstly, the baby boom generation represents a large and educated audience with disposable income, and therefore a lucrative market for publishers and their advertisers. Secondly, many former 68ers on their march through the institutions found an influential job in the media and were therefore more likely to run stories about “1968” (Stefan Aust was editor in chief of Der Spiegel from 1994 to 2008; Thomas Schmid was editor in chief of Die Welt from 2008 to 2014; Christian Semler wrote for the taz until his death in 2013). Last but not least, “1968” is still a reliable trigger to mobilize public opinion on issues as diverse as military engagements, education, terrorism, equality, sexuality, town planning, multiculturalism, and academic freedom. German tabloids still feed the hunger of their readers for drama and sensation with scandalous tales of free love, anarchy, and subversion, while the liberal press continues to employ “1968” to criticize its conservative competition. Both happily engaged in “68er-bashing” in recent years, but, as long as the 68ers maintain their sociocultural capital, the media grudgingly acknowledge their historic contribution and rely on them for soundbites.

In this chapter, I look at the fourth estate's continuing fascination with “1968” and then focus on the press as the most reliable indicator of how the era, its activists, and its ideas have been, and continue to be, depicted in print. I analyze the ongoing discourse on “1968” in the Springer press, the news magazine Der Spiegel, (and the rivalry between them) but also the publications of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, a German federal government agency responsible for promoting civic education. Recognizing that the media encompasses radio, television, and the Internet, and that much of the material available in these formats is scripted, I include samples from public broadcasting channels Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Deutsche Welle, and Deutschlandradio. The discussion will show that the media plays a significant and often contradictory role in the construction of “1968.”