JmS began in 2019 as an initiative of volunteer reporters and became a registered non‑profit association in 2022. Its mission is to send professional journalists into classrooms, provide lesson kits and train teachers so pupils “recognize fake news, filter bubbles and manipulative algorithms.” Board members include the Media Authority Berlin‑Brandenburg (MABB), CORRECTIV’s Reporterfabrik, ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius and Neue Deutsche Medienmacher*innen. Core funding in 2024 came from ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius and the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM). JmS arranged roughly 2 200 school visits reaching 57,000 pupils in 2024. Its strategic plan aims to establish coordination offices in all 16 federal states by 2028 and to craft “a sustainable financing concept independent of third‑party grants.” MABB actively promotes the scheme to teachers in Berlin‑Brandenburg.
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Journalismus macht Schule (JmS)
Zeit Stiftung Bucerius, German Federal Commissioner for Culture and the...See all
Zeit Stiftung Bucerius, German Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media [Bundesbeauftragter für Kultur und Medien (BKM)] See less
Media Authority Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb), CORRECTIV, Zeit Stiftung Bucerius, New German...See all
Media Authority Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb), CORRECTIV, Zeit Stiftung Bucerius, New German Media Makers [Neue deutsche Medienmacher*innen e.V.] See less
Commentary:
Framed as "news literacy," JmS embeds mainstream media outlets directly in German classrooms. Workshops showcase public broadcasters, ZEIT or Süddeutsche Zeitung while presenting CORRECTIV and #UseTheNews as default fact‑checking references, implicitly steering pupils toward approved sources and away from alternatives. Oversight by a media regulator (MABB) blurs the line between civic education and state‑supported messaging; meanwhile, the program’s own annual report omits any financial breakdown, leaving its dependence on BKM and philanthropic patrons opaque. JmS aspires to permanent offices in every Land, effectively building a nationwide editorial infrastructure that operates inside schools yet outside regular curricula. Because the association vets journalists before "matching" them with classes, dissenting or independent voices can be filtered out. The model therefore risks enforcing a hierarchy of information – mainstream outlets teach, students absorb – rather than cultivating critical inquiry of a wide range of sources.
Framed as "news literacy," JmS embeds mainstream media outlets directly in German classrooms. Workshops showcase public broadcasters, ZEIT or Süddeutsche Zeitung while presenting CORRECTIV and #UseTheNews as default fact‑checking references, implicitly steering pupils toward approved sources and away from alternatives. Oversight by a media regulator (MABB) blurs the line between civic education and state‑supported messaging; meanwhile, the program’s own annual report omits any financial breakdown, leaving its dependence on BKM and philanthropic patrons opaque. JmS aspires to permanent offices in every Land, effectively building a nationwide editorial infrastructure that operates inside schools yet outside regular curricula. Because the association vets journalists before "matching" them with classes, dissenting or independent voices can be filtered out. The model therefore risks enforcing a hierarchy of information – mainstream outlets teach, students absorb – rather than cultivating critical inquiry of a wide range of sources.
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