The Greens are represented among journalists in about four times the proportion compared to their support within the population.
German journalists have a huge bias towards left-wing and green political parties, according to a recent study referenced by nius.de. The study, conducted by the Technical University of Dortmund, revealed that 63% of the surveyed journalists – nearly two-thirds – said they fundamentally support the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, or the Left. Among them, the Greens, with 41%, are the most popular party among journalists, and they are represented in about four times the proportion compared to their support within the population.
Looking at only those journalists who have a party preference – 23% said they do not have one – nearly 82% lean towards left-wing and green parties politically. The far-right AfD, which enjoys support of 15-20% among the population, is not present in the preferences of journalists.
525 journalists were surveyed for the study between March and June 2024. 40% of the respondents work in public service, and 60% work in private media. 54% of the respondents were male, 45% female, and 1% identified as “diverse.”
The study also asked all journalists about their expectations regarding the party preferences of their colleagues in the industry. The Greens were the strongest party expectation at 30%.
While the majority of surveyed journalists – 36% – believed that their party preferences do not influence their writing or reporting, only 27% thought that their party preference does indeed affect their reporting.
