What’s happening at Publix?
Since April 2026, Benjamin Nick has joined Maria Exner as Co-Managing Director of Publix, bringing his extensive experience in building and scaling organizations to further develop the house both strategically and operationally.
We need to talk about German public administration: in the fight against right-wing populists and anti-democratic tech futurists, reforming the administrative apparatus is one of the most effective weapons.
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce a person or organisation that works in the Publix building. This time: freelance investigative journalist Jessica Bateman, recipient of the European Press Prize 2025.
The jury has selected ten journalists, editors and media professionals who want to take an in-depth look at the German school system. Since 2024, Publix has been awarding the “Nina Grunenberg Fellowship”, thereby creating opportunities for in-depth research and new perspectives on the German education system and the media coverage of it.
The media sector, as a pillar of democracy, has become fragile. To repair it, we need a clear definition of its remit. The first Publix white paper provides one.
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce an organisation that works in the Publix building. Michael Schulte is a journalist and founder of Klexikon.de, the "Wikipedia for children".
The Publix Tech Journalism Fellowship is launching its first cohort: An independent jury has selected five journalists to take part in this professional development program, where they will gain in-depth insights into technology and technology policy. The first cohort will focus on the theme “Ethical AI”—the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence.
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce one of the organisations based at the Publix House. This time: Robin Markwica, Managing Director of the online magazine “The Conversation”, which will launch in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2026.
… and how it can still avert its own downfall: A task that can no longer be postponed, and will only be effectively tackled by scholars, politicians, and civil society together.
For graduates of the Nina Grunenberg Fellowship for Education Journalism, Publix will once again award two to four research fellowships in 2026, ranging from €1,500 to €5,000, in cooperation with »Netzwerk Recherche«. The application phase for 2026 is closed.
This year, Publix is once again awarding the Nina Grunenberg Fellowship, a professional development scholarship for journalists that offers insight into the German school system. The application phase for 2026 is closed.
With "Reporting the Machines“, Publix has created a platform where experts from journalism, academia, civil society, politics, and technology come together to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming our lives, the public sphere, and democratic processes, as well as the responsibilities journalists bear in this change.
It’s easy to write scandalous stories about the education system. But what does it take to provide nuanced reporting on schools – and why is it so difficult?
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce one of the organisations working inside the Publix building. This time: Marcus Pfeil, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vertical52.
Starting February 2026, new offices will be available at Publix. Take this opportunity to become part of Publix! Get in touch at: jasper.silbernagel@publix.de.
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce one of the organisations based at the Publix House. This time: Julia Kloiber, co-founder of the feminist organisation SUPERRR
No comment without calculation: social media has made strategists of us all. And yet our communication can still be politically manipulated.
In 2023, the Schöpflin family and the advisory board of the Schöpflin Foundation commissioned an independent academic study on the history of the Schöpflin entrepreneurial family during the National Socialist era. The results, as well as responses from Hans W. Schöpflin and the board of the Schöpflin Foundation, can now be read on the website of the Schöpflin Foundation.
Journalism is under pressure: loss of trust, disinformation, platform dependency, and a shortage of young talent are shaping the industry. No media organization can tackle these challenges alone. At BEYOND NEWS, a conference for emerging media professionals, space is created for new alliances and fresh ideas to shape the journalism of the future.
This year, Publix is awarding the Publix Tech Journalism Fellowship for the first time, a unique continuing education programme that gives journalists the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the fields of technology and technology policy. The main topic of the first year, ‘Ethical AI’, focuses on the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence systems. Applications for one of the five places in the first year can be submitted until 15 November 2025. The application phase is now closed.
A media crisis is nothing new. But tech companies are now seizing control even over the flow of information. This is a clear demonstration of what is needed to sustain journalism in the future: direct, human connection with its audience.
In every edition of our newsletter, we introduce an organisation based at the Publix building. Julia Friedrichs is an author and co-founder of the film production company tell me why. Their ZDF format “Die Wahrheit über unsere Rente“ was partly filmed at Publix. The team around Julia Friedrichs and Jochen Breyer has been working under our roof for the past year.
The event on September 25th with Signal President Meredith Whittaker at Publix is already sold out. Due to high demand, we are offering a YouTube livestream, exclusively for newsletter subscribers.
The development of AI must not be left solely in the hands of the big tech corporations. To harness its potential in complex and divided democracies, we rely on vigilant journalists.
In each newsletter issue, we present an organisation that works at Publix. This time: Luisa Seeling, Lead Writing, Editing & Publishing at interface.
Publix’s 2nd annual Open House on June 29 2025
Can the Middle East conflict really be resolved without violence? This was the topic of a stage discussion at Publix between Palestinian peace activist, Issa Amro, recipient of the Right Livelihood Award (“Alternative Nobel”), and Stephan Detjen, chief correspondent for Deutschlandradio.
In each newsletter issue, we present an organisation that works at Publix. This time: Sabrina Faramarzi, Managing Director of Are We Europe. They just launched the Full Stack Journalism Podcast.
Everyone should “speak fluent tech” in order to understand what companies do with our data. Tactical Tech teaches this digital fluency worldwide. The founding duo Stephanie Hankey and Marek Tuszynski explain how this works. Maria Exner, director of Publix, gave the interview.
In each newsletter issue, we present an organisation that works at Publix. This time: Isa Bohrmann, Head of Events at Buckel & Partner, who run our Publix canteen.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is fundamental for investigative journalism in Germany. Coalition members from the CDU and CSU recently sought to abolish it, but were prevented from doing so by broad public resistance. Guest contribution by Daniel Drepper, chair of Netzwerk Recherche
In each newsletter issue, we present an organisation that works in Publix House. This time: Wikimedia.
In each issue of our newsletter, we introduce an organisation that works at Publix House. This time: Valentin Toth, spokesperson for ‘Liberties’ or ‘Civil Liberties Union for Europe’
The Nina Grunenberg Fellowship enters its third round! Our independent jury has selected ten journalists, editors, and media professionals to participate in this training programme, offering them insight into the German educational system.
The crisis of democracy and the media change how we perceive reality. Where previously reporters looked for truth, we now have images generated by artificial intelligence. Photojournalism, as such, has never been so important.A guest article by Sven Ehmann of the laif foundation
As of March 1st, Florian Rösnick will assume the role of Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Publix.
After three years of war in Ukraine, writer, Katja Petrowskaja, talks about her book “As If It Were Over” at Publix. The book presents photographs and stories from her homeland, a country in a state of emergency.
Three academics spoke at Publix about disinformation as a symptom of democratic disintegration. What responsibilities do social media and formal politics have in this situation? And how should journalists deal with X, the Meta Group, and European digital legislation?
In each newsletter issue, we introduce an organisation that works at Publix House. This time: Anja Dilk, Head of Service at Good Impact, and Bianca Kriel, Editor at Good News & Good Impact.
In cooperation with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Publix is now accepting applications for the Publix Fellowship for Media Entrepreneurs, another training programme which strengthens the innovation and leadership skills of journalists from Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The application deadline is February 13, 2025 (23:59 GMT).
For the longest time, I hoped that Twitter could survive the likes of Elon Musk… but he managed to destroy it. So, what can we do to counteract hatred and right-wing disinformation campaigns on X? Leave the platform, all together.By writer, Anne Rabe
In each newsletter issue, we introduce one of the organizations working in the Publix building. This time: Martin Kotynek, Founding Director of Media Forward Fund.
False information is booming during election campaigns. That's why Correctiv wants to make society resistant to it right now: with a new user platform called “Faktenforum”.By Anna Süß und Caroline Lindekamp, Correctiv
In each issue of the newsletter, we present an organisation that has its office in the Publix building. This time: Headliner
In 2025, Publix is offering two to four research grants between €1,500 and €5,000 for graduates of the Nina-Grunenberg-Fellowship for Educational Journalism in cooperation with ‘Netzwerk Recherche’
This year, Publix is once again granting the Nina-Grunenberg-Fellowship, a further education scholarship for journalists that provides an insight into the German school system. Journalists and media professionals who have already completed the program can also apply for a research fellowship on the topic of education. The closing date for applications is 9 February 2025.The Nina-Grunenberg-Fellowship and the application process is therefore conducted in German.
In each newsletter issue, we introduce one of the organizations working in the Publix building. This time: Gesunde Erde Gesunde Menschen.
Donald Trump, of all people, has managed to win over the very immigrants that his democratic opponents neglected. With new elections in Germany not far off, it is imperative for its political actors to strengthen social cohesion as well as trust in formal institutions. By Laura-Kristine Krause
The new series of events in the building kicked off with an important premiere: virologist Christian Drosten and journalist Georg Mascolo presented their book on the coronavirus pandemic. The series now continues with free events every Thursday.
Meetings and discussions provided the perfect start to the collaboration, as neighbours and visitors from all over the city came to the open day and demonstrated how journalism and the public go hand in hand.
‘Come and make this house your own!’ said Publix Director Maria Exner in her opening speech on the evening of September 13th. The opening event welcomed 700 guests from the media, politics and civil society, including the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, and the founder Hans Schöpflin.
The opening week began with a conference, where the Publix network debated with 150 experts from the media and society. The first Publix projects were also presented.
Publix is an initiative of the Lörrach-based Schöpflin Foundation. Founder, Hans Schöpflin, tells Maria Exner how protesting in the USA turned him into a philanthropist, and why he invests in journalism.
An open and safe space to work together and defend democracy. Architect, Ulrike Dix, speaks to Publix founding director, Maria Exner, about the new Publix building: its conception, its construction, and its connection to her love of football.
We are introducing the organizations that are part of the Publix community.Featured this time is the team of Tactical Tech.
The Allianz Foundation and Publix, the new house for journalism and the public sphere, are joining forces to support promising actors in journalism for the common good. As part of the cooperation, the Kurdish journalist and political scientist Nalan Sipar is being funded as the first "Civic Journalism Fellow" this year.
In each issue of our newsletter, we introduce people who are moving into their offices at Publix House. This time: Nalan Sipar, founder of MedyaN and the first "Civic Journalism Fellow" of the Allianz Foundation and Publix.
Journalism should do more than informing and putting a mirror to society. Now more than ever, it needs to make society stronger. Written exclusively for Publix, the following article by sociologist, Dieter Rucht, outlines five measures for media workers.
In each newsletter, we will introduce an organisation that is moving into the Publix building. In this issue: Lie Detectors.
In German slang, the word “checker” means someone who gets it, someone who’s in the know. And Checker Tobi, who hosts a show of the same name on the public broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk, is all that. For more than 10 years now, his shows have been delighting elementary school children from many different social backgrounds. How does he teach his audience about democracy?
We are introducing the organisations that are moving into the Publix building. Featured this time is the team of More in Common.
So forcefully, so deafening, so entrenched: Do German debates have a specifically destructive energy? Established media outlets must be careful not to become activist opinion shapers themselves. A guest contribution by Tobias Haberkorn
The Publix Technology Journalism Fellowship is one of five projects selected for funding as part of the federal government's funding programme for the protection and structural support of journalistic work in Germany.
Are you looking for a crash course in education journalism? Want to finally get a better understanding of the practical realities of the federal school system so you can discuss it with decisions-makers? The first Nina Grunenberg Fellows focused intently on education issues in 2023. Freelance journalist Birte Gernhardt of Cologne was one of those fellowship recipients. In an interview, she discusses her experiences, from the shocking and interesting to the profoundly gratifying.
As a member of the Future Council, Maria Exner, founding director of Publix, has been working intensively on the future of public service broadcasting in Germany since March 2023. The committee has now presented its report.
War reporting is by far the most dangerous work there is for journalists. But what can it still achieve? The role played by social media in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East is putting journalism to a serious test.
In each newsletter, we are introducing the organisations that are moving into the Publix building. Featured this time is Reporters Without Borders.We spoke with Katja Heineman, head of assistance and fellowships.
Starting in 2024, Publix will be awarding the Nina Grunenberg Fellowship for education journalism. The grant provides funding for journalists and media professionals interested in conducting in-depth reporting on schools and the education system in Germany.
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