MA Placement Report Interning at Südwestrundfunk SWR2 Literature

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MA Placement Report

Interning at Südwestrundfunk

SWR2 Literature

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MA Literary Studies – Writing, Editing and Mediating

MA Placement

Sharon Hodge

S4072626

s.hodge@student.rug.nl

Supervising Lecturer: Dr. J.P.M. Jansen

Placement Supervisor: Frank Hertweck

Südwestrundfunk

Hans Bredow Straße

76530 Baden-Baden

Germany

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1. Introduction

When I started the MA Literary Studies program in September 2019, I did so with the prospect of working with language and literature in a dynamic setting, both as a UG student and hopefully in a future career. My studies have given me a fairly good idea of my strengths and weaknesses in regard to my writing, editing and mediating skills, but halfway through the program, I was still unsure about what kind of career would best allow me to pursue these interests. As this report shows, I found an internship opportunity that really helped me sharpen my career goals and that taught me that there is a place for literary theory and for the concerns of the humanities outside of academia. In this report, I will describe in detail my placement at a German public broadcasting organization called Südwestrundfunk, SWR for short, and hope to provide an accurate account not only of the work of the placement provider and my own responsibilities as an intern, but also of the learning outcome of this placement and its alignment with the curriculum of the WEM program.

I will first consider the search and application process, which I believe is a significant part of this overall reflection in that my choices in this phase contributed to the success of finding the right placement and show my reasons for choosing this placement. This section is also intended to possibly help other students in their consideration of an MA placement. In the subsequent chapter I will describe the placement providing organization and the work of the department that I was hired by. Then I will provide a detailed account of my personal tasks and responsibilities, and, most importantly, my learning outcome and how the placement relates to my studies at the University of Groningen. In this final section, I will also address the challenges that came with certain tasks and what I learned from them. Finally, I will draw a conclusion and consider the future outlook this placement leaves me with.

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2. Search and Application Process

As a student of the MA Literary Studies program Writing, Editing and Mediating, I was keen to put the skills and knowledge I gained during my studies into practice. Having completed two internships prior to starting the master’s program, I had certain expectations of what this internship should look like in order for me to benefit from another placement: It should closely match the contents of my study program, allow me to expand my knowledge beyond the academic sphere, and, in the best case-scenario, guide me towards a specific career. What I found is that these expectations were both realistic and helpful; in setting specific goals for myself and knowing what I was or was not looking for, I was able to increase the chances of finding a placement that would be a good fit in terms of both its relevance for my studies and its significance for my professional future.

2.1 Choosing a placement “abroad”

The first choice I was faced with was deciding what cities and, more importantly, what countries I should consider when searching for a placement. While I thoroughly enjoy studying in the Netherlands and can imagine myself working there in the future, in order to apply for a placement that matched my MA program’s emphasis on written communication, it was obvious to me that it needed to be in a language that I am fluent in. I quickly discovered that placements with English as their main working language are hard to come by in the Netherlands, so I expanded the search “abroad”, to my home country, Germany. Here, I was not limited to finding a position that had English as its main language and, moreover, I decided that it was important for me to explore what directions this degree would allow me to pursue in Germany. As I am close to graduating, this internship is a formidable opportunity for me to demonstrate to future employers that I am able to work well in different or changing language settings.

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2.2 Finding a placement provider

Considering the main components of Writing, Editing and Mediating, ideally, a placement should cover each of these three key areas and more specifically put the knowledge I gained in the specific course units into practice. Therefore, I focused on publishing houses as well as other institutions working with literature, such as cultural organizations or media companies. I first applied in the English division of a publishing house that focuses on learning materials such as textbooks for schools. I did not meet all of their requirements, which included being a student in teacher training, but I took a chance, nonetheless. I was right, for I never heard back from them. While I was searching for other internships in publishing, I also looked into a few media companies. I found a position in the literature division of SWR2, a German broadcasting station that is part of the largest public broadcasting network in Germany. I applied for the position and was soon invited for an interview.

2.3 The interview

I had about two weeks to prepare for the interview. During this time, I studied the requirements of the position thoroughly and read about SWR’s mission, their organizational structure, and the role of the literature department within this structure. Though I was no stranger to the SWR2 radio station, I still searched for recent publications and listened to their latest programs to get a feeling for their central themes and style.

I had three interview partners; the director of SWR2 Literature, Frank Hertweck, the assistant director of SWR2 Literature, Anja Brockert, and editorial assistant Birgit Blacker. Though I was somewhat nervous, from their questions I gathered that they had intensively studied my application documents and considered me a good addition to their team, which gave me confidence as it demonstrated their genuine interest in what I had to say. Apart from detailed questions about my studies, my MA thesis and my previous work experience, I noticed that it

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also was my international experience that put me in a unique position to bring a new perspective to their team. A few days later I received the good news and was offered the internship position.

3. The Placement Provider: Südwestrundfunk (SWR)

In this chapter I will give an overview of SWR and describe in more detail the literature department and its work. This aims to show that this corporation has a lot to offer in terms of career paths; before starting this placement, I would not necessarily have expected to find a position there. Therefore, I would highly encourage students that are generally interested in working in the media industry to pursue a placement here or at a similar corporation.

3.1 Organizational Structure

SWR was formed in 1998, when the two major stations producing programs in the German South (Süddeutscher Rundfunk – SDR) and Southwest (Südwestfunk – SWF) merged into one large public broadcasting corporation (SWR, “Zahlen” 7). As noted above, SWR is part of the ARD, Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der

Bundesrepublik Deutschland in full, which roughly translates as “working group of public

broadcasters in Germany.” Nine regional broadcasting organizations contribute to the ARD’s national programs. Providing 18.1% of these programs, SWR is the second largest contributor of content within the ARD cluster (SWR, “Zahlen” 7). For details on the nine member stations, see the “images” in the supplements section of this report. SWR is well-known for its wide range of productions serving all age groups and covering relevant themes and perspectives beyond its regional reporting. It distributes content across television, radio and social media. Its radio stations include Das Ding, SWR1, SWR2, SWR3, and SWR4, each of which has a different thematic focus and target audience. Together, these 5 major channels draw an audience of 6-7 million listeners in Germany per day (SWR, “Kennzahlen”). As for TV productions, SWR has its own channel, SWR Fernsehen, and produces content for several other ARD

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member stations. The three main divisions of SWR are located in the cities of Baden-Baden, Mainz and Stuttgart. SWR programs and operations are coordinated across all of these offices and programs are transmitted from each of these three locations, though every division has a different focus. The branch that I was working for in Baden-Baden produces 70% of SWR’s TV programs (SWR, “Zahlen” 49) and this is also where the directorates for culture, information, technology and production are situated. Apart from their main offices, SWR has 10 studios and 21 smaller regional offices in cities throughout the German Southwest.

3.2 SWR2 Literature

SWR2 is the radio station focused specifically on the production of cultural and educational content and transmits jazz and classical music. The station is split up into different departments including news, music, current culture, literature, knowledge, and more that together create SWR2’s diverse programs. The literature team has a headcount of approximately 20 employees, including several independent journalists that only work there parttime. SWR2 literature produces a variety of radio features and two tv shows, which together form the literature program called “lesenswert”– which means as much as “worth reading”. SWR2 Radio

The “Lesenswert Kritik” is a short daily review (approx. 5 min.) on a newly released book that airs every afternoon from Monday to Friday. Every Tuesday evening, the editors of the “Lesenswert Gespräch/Feature” presents one or more books on a certain topic. The “Lesenswert Magazin” is a 55-minute weekly radio “magazine” in which an editor of SWR2 Literature hosts book discussions, interviews with authors, critics and other experts, and discusses various other topics or news related to literature, such as literature festivals or literary prizes. This show is broadcast every Sunday afternoon. The SWR2 Bestenliste is a monthly “best of” list that is well-known among German press and publishers. Once a month, German

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literary critics vote for their top 10 new releases. Then, every first Tuesday of the month, SWR host Carsten Otte invites 3 of these critics to discuss the current “best of” list.

SWR Television

In “Lesenswert Quartett”, three literary critics are joined by an author and each presents a new book that is then thoroughly discussed. The show airs roughly 4 times a year. “Lesenswert mit Denis Scheck” is broadcast once a month. In the first part of the show, literary critic Denis Scheck interviews an author about their new book. In the second half, Scheck speaks with an influential person (there have been politicians, authors, scientists and others) about three books that have shaped their life in a meaningful way.

4. The Placement

My internship lasted from May 1 to August 15, 2020. During this time, I worked 39 hours per week. The workload and duration of the internship not only allowed me to get to know the work environment of SWR as a whole, but also to experience the full scope of work in an editorial office, from administrative duties and the work of editorial assistants to the many facets of working as an editor. In the following I will outline the tasks I was given and evaluate the learning outcome of the work I did.

4.1 Description of tasks, learning outcome and challenges

Daily Briefing

Every day, there is a dial-in meeting between all editorial offices of SWR2, in which one representative from each department briefs the others on their daily output. This is important to ensure that the same topic is not covered by two different departments and allows each department to communicate current developments and more. For me this meant that every day I had to report on the literature department’s programs, which I mentioned in section 2.1. So, for instance, before each meeting I had to read that day’s book review so I could summarize

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the content of the novel and the reviewer’s opinion of the book and share it with the other staff. Afterwards I would relay any important information from the meetings to my superiors. This task not only gave me an overview of the literature department’s programs, but also of the whole channel’s day-to-day coverage. Moreover, it was an opportunity to always be aware of new releases and gave me time to study the style of the different literary critics writing for SWR2. The meetings follow a tight agenda, meaning I had to learn to be as precise and informative as possible, which benefitted my communication skills.

Weekly Editors’ meeting

For a weekly videocall with the editors of the literature department, everyone had to listen to the previous week’s shows to be discussed in the meeting. This meant I had to pay close attention to the demands of a “listening” audience, rather than a “reading” audience, which was new to me. I also learned about the opinions of the individual editors. While it can be intimidating to voice your opinion on an experienced colleague’s show, I always felt that my opinion was welcome and that as a “young” listener I could bring an important perspective to the conversation. Thus, I was never afraid to make myself heard, even if my opinion differed from the others. Like the rest of the team I took turns taking meeting minutes.

Administrative and Assisting tasks

There were some tasks that were less content-oriented than others but that still taught me new skills and that are all part of working in an editorial office. These tasks included placing book orders for upcoming reviews with publishers and passing them on to editors or critics, keeping lists on scheduled book reviews in order to avoid overlaps between different editors, and preparing various types of communications, for instance invitations to be sent out to authors that were asked to come in for an interview or a book discussion. I also prepared visual materials such as collages of book covers and author portraits, in accordance with the SWR2 brand

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identity and needed for the presentation of content (book reviews, podcasts, etc.) online. For examples see the “supplements” section of this report. These duties required me to work with different software, some of it new to me, including SWR’s content management system, its planning tools and databases and image editing software like Adobe Photoshop. There was always a good balance between administrative and content-related tasks, so I never grew tired of doing either and could also refine my computer skills. Another task that I assisted the editors with was selecting music for the weekly “lesenswert” magazine. This was a rather relaxing job that does not relate much to literature as such, but that is nonetheless a significant part of the editors’ work – and a fun assignment that could lighten the mood at the end of a long day. It was one of the many small things I supported them with that taught me how much work goes into the production of a single segment or show. The music needs to be up to date, fit with the general identity of the radio station and should not divert too much attention from the program’s focus on literature – at best it could even emphasize the main themes of the show. It also needed to be from one album, but the individual songs should be as diverse as possible and the artist should not have been used in any recent shows. Moreover, I had to research whether the artists were available in our databases, to ensure we had the rights to use their music. Finally, I had to suggest where to place the songs in the one-hour show and what parts should be cut.

Writing Assignments

Throughout my internship I was given various writing assignments that ranged from short, descriptive passages for the SWR2 website or app to more demanding types of texts. Press releases and teasers are two examples of short texts that I was asked to write on a regular basis. For the “lesenswert” TV shows, I wrote press releases on the books that would be discussed and the guests that were invited. This involved researching authors’ biographies and their body of works and making sure that my facts were correct. The texts themselves had to be

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informative and appealing and needed to meet a strict character limit. I had to write several versions of the same text, each with a different word count (200 to 500) to meet the distinct requirements of the different platforms that they were published on. All of these releases were checked by the head of the department and I was always given feedback on my work. Writing teasers required more creativity because, above all, they should arouse the reader’s curiosity and get them to listen to the book reviews. The teasers appear on the website and on the different streaming platforms that offer SWR2 podcasts such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Greater responsibility came with writing book reviews. First, I need to explain the process of selecting a book to review. Twice a year, once publishers have sent out their spring and fall catalogues listing all of their new releases, the editors hold a meeting to discuss the titles they are interested in. Books that are highly anticipated are given precedence by being featured during the best airtime or discussed in the shows that draw the biggest audiences. Also, some books are discussed in a more dynamic setting than others, for instance in an author interview or in a show with room to provide additional context. Promising books are then usually featured in the magazine aired on Sundays rather than the daily book review. The reviews are sometimes written by the editors themselves, but most of the time they reach out to literary critics to write reviews for their programs. During my time at SWR, I got to write three book reviews. For the first review, an editor suggested two titles to me, of which I could choose one to review for her upcoming magazine show. Since this editor was one of the department’s independent journalists, who also worked for another one of ARD’s member stations, the first challenge in writing this review was coordinating meetings and deadlines from a distance and with very different work schedules, but we managed. For the review I chose a short nonfiction book called Julies Leben (2020) by French author Emmanuel Carrère. Having read many SWR2 book reviews for the daily briefings, I had a fairly good idea of the tone and style that was

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expected. Still, I asked some of the senior editors for advice before starting to write my own review, which was quite helpful. After handing in my first draft, receiving feedback and revising it, I moved on to producing the review: I had to arrange for one of SWR’s voice actors to record quotes from the book, book a studio, and record my text – the last part can be rather intimidating when you are working in an environment of professional radio show hosts who have had years of experience and vocal training, but with my editor there to guide me through the process, it was a very enriching experience and very different from anything else I have done before. The final step was cutting the recording. After receiving an hour-long training on the basics of cutting recordings from a sound technician, I was able to cut my own review. By being involved in every part of the production, receiving guidance where necessary, but also being trusted to work independently, I learned how to put together a radio segment from start to finish. For the following book review, I chose Ben Lerner’s novel The Topeka School (2019), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize this year, and Zora Neal Hurston’s Barracoon: The

Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” published in German in 2020 (in English in 2018), almost a

century after being written. These reviews taught me about the demands of a listening audience, rather than the reading audience that I was used to from writing in an academic context. It was a great opportunity to have several of my texts published during this internship, which will serve as great references in the future.

Interview

Towards the end of my first month at SWR2, one of my editors gave me a rather extraordinary task. She had intended to do an interview with the 2020 winners of the international Hermann-Hesse prize, which is awarded every two years by SWR and the Calwer Hermann Hesse Foundation. The prize honors a literary accomplishment of international significance and its translation (see supplements). Because of Covid-19, the usual award

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ceremony would be replaced with video statements of the author and the translator. Since the editor was caught up in other engagements, she needed someone with a good command of English and eager to do the interview. It was because of my language skills and my familiarity with the author and her novels that she thought of me. The work to be honored was Purple

Hibiscus (2003) and its German translation. I was going to interview Chimamanda Ngozi

Adichie and her translator Judith Schwaab in a video call and I was beyond excited about this tremendous opportunity. With the interview came great responsibility. I had to coordinate schedules with the Calwer Hermann Hesse Foundation, Ms. Schwaab and Ms. Adichie’s management, and the SWR studio. And I had to prepare the questions for each interview and discuss them with my editor and the head of the above-mentioned foundation. It was an intense couple of weeks that really put my ability to work well under pressure to the test.

When Ms. Adichie’s management failed to come through with a suggestion for an interview appointment, I felt that I was responsible for letting everyone down. I got the impression that some thought I had not been persistent enough with the management, but when I voiced my concerns to my editor, she reassured me that I had done everything I could. Only later did I learn how right she was – just two days after my initial contact with the management, Ms. Adichie’s father had suddenly passed away and for this reason she was unable to give any interviews. After learning from the foundation that if this interview did not take place, they would not want to do an interview with the translator either I was really disappointed. Trying to save some of the work I had put into the interview, I talked to my supervisor, who decided that I could go forward with the translator’s interview and that it would be broadcast in the “lesenswert” magazine. I also thought of a way to support the efforts of the foundation to make the most of their announcement – after noticing that despite this being an international prize, they did not have an English press release prepared, I offered to translate the German press

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release, which was gladly accepted. They then also found further ways for me to get involved. Even though I did not get to interview Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I learned a lot from the whole experience: About the trust that my team had in my ability to carry out such an important task, about communicating my plans in a clear and transparent way, about asking for help when I need it and finally about taking chances and making the most of a difficult situation.

Other tasks

I was given various other tasks during my internship that I cannot address in their entirety here, but I do want to point out one other project I was working on. As SWR is taking steps to improve diversity and gender equality in their organization, I was asked to collect data on the gender of editors, authors and reviewers that had been part of the SWR2 literature program over the past two years. After assembling this large set of data, I took the initiative to write an analysis of these findings, which was greatly appreciated. While this might not seem like a suitable task for a literature student, I actually felt quite the opposite and so did my supervisors. It allowed me not only to present the facts to the rest of the team, but also to voice my opinion on what I thought about the reasons for these shortcomings and to contribute ideas on how to change problematic dynamics. I want to emphasize that I was always aware that I could talk to my supervisors about any additional tasks that I might want to pursue or tasks that I did not think supported my learning goals. The doors were literally always open for me to ask questions or even just discuss an interesting book I had read – even if it meant talking from a corona-safe distance. That being said, I am really pleased with the supervision I received and the open, creative environment I encountered at SWR.

4.2 Alignment of tasks with the WEM program

During my first semester of the Writing, Editing, and Mediating program, I chose three course units: Modern Literature and Mediation, The Digital Text, and Modern English

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Language. I believe that each of these courses contributed to my ability to carry out the tasks described in the previous section in an efficient manner and to meet the high standards of the literature department. This not only reasserts my choice to become an intern at SWR2, but also really emphasizes how much the education I received at the UG, and more specifically, the WEM curriculum, ties in with professional practices and benefits my career goals.

Though the “Modern English Language” class was aimed at editing and proofing texts in English, the placement showed me that much of the content of the course unit also prepared me for editing texts in other languages. For instance, being aware of the editing continuum helped me to pursue the right level of editing, which ranged from mostly copy-editing and language-editing to more substantive editing in some cases. Other transferable skills include time management, being well-structured and knowing my own strengths and weaknesses as an editor. One issue that this course unit addressed and that is really important to keep in mind when editing any kind of text, is trying to improve the language and style of a text, without overriding the voice of the author. WEM II taught me to trust my own instincts and that there are certain approaches I can use, for instance considering what kind of audience a text is meant for, which was really helpful for my work at SWR2. I was able to make appropriate recommendations, even concerning the work of experienced writers, who sometimes missed their mark on hitting the right tone for a listening audience – something I had to learn as well, as mentioned earlier. I also learned a lot from being able to discuss my suggestions with different editors and hearing about their own suggestions.

I consider the learning outcomes of “Modern Literature and Mediation” most relevant for my placement at SWR2. Not only did I gain very tangible skills that I could apply during my placement, but I also felt that the placement answered some of the bigger questions raised in the class, such as: “How – in what different writing genres is academic knowledge about

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modern literature and literary theory carried over into society? What criteria play a role in this mediation?”, as posed in the course outline (WEM I Course Outline). As I have already pointed out in my description of tasks, I always had to work with great attention to the target audience – be it for music suggestions, selecting books for specific shows or writing in a way that would attract a wide range of readers and listeners. WEM I trained me to write texts appropriate for specific audiences and to consider the different ways in which literature is mediated to a wider readership. The learning outcome of this course unit thus perfectly aligns with the mission of the SWR2 “lesenswert” programs. When considering what aspects of the course unit specifically prepared me for this internship, many examples come to mind. For instance, writing reading guides for an older, educated audience, or creating a textbook for students in secondary school taught me about writing in a “voice” that could address these different readers in an appropriate manner. We also discussed the differences between academic and journalistic writing, the basics of conducting interviews and considered the arguments and structures of different book reviews. As my description of tasks above shows, these aspects of the course match the requirements of the placement very well.

I was not sure whether “The Digital Text” course unit would be at all significant to my work at SWR2, but in hindsight it gave me a better understanding of the publishing industry, of the future of books and the increasing digitalization of the world of literature. As SWR2 is investing in its digital portfolio, the question of how to best mediate literature in a digital environment is becoming ever-more important and the knowledge from the course allowed me to take part in these discussions.

The many peer reviews that were a significant part of all of my courses really helped me to embrace criticism or advice from my colleagues at SWR2 as a way to improve my own writing and communication skills. Overall, the WEM program prepared me for a wide range of

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tasks and situations that I encountered in the workplace and knowing the tools with which to start a writing, editing, or mediating process really helped make this a successful experience.

5. Conclusion

Having completed my placement, I can say with certainty that I could not have asked for a much better opportunity. Admittedly, when I started working at SWR, I was not sure how much I could gain from another internship position. However, it was a very different experience from my previous placements. As I was further along in my studies and much closer to graduation, I was highly motivated to get involved in as many ways as possible and to test my strengths and weaknesses. Before coming to Baden-Baden, I knew that I wanted to be writing and working with different languages, but I was not sure what that meant exactly and whether I would be able to pursue these passions in a professional setting. Interning at this large media corporation, succeeding at the tasks I was given and receiving positive feedback from my colleagues pointed me towards the possibility of pursuing a career in journalism, which I had not necessarily considered before. Moreover, in comparing this placement to my previous internships, I am now much more certain about what kind of organization I want to work for, and I can definitely see myself working for SWR at some point in the future. In fact, the internship went so well that I was able to stay on and work for my team for an additional month after the end of the placement period. I am currently also working on another book review and will possibly be able write further reviews for the SWR2 literature department in the time to come. I would like to conclude this report by stating that I thoroughly enjoyed being an intern at SWR as I have learned a lot about the relevance of my study program in a professional environment and I have been able to sharpen my own career goals.

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Bibliography

Sources

SWR. “Zahlen, Daten, Fakten.” SWR, 27 July 2020,

https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/organisation/veroeffentlichungen-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020. SWR. “Kennzahlen.” SWR, 5 May 2020, https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/organisation/kennzahlen-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020. Images

1)University of Groningen. “University of Groningen Logo Bar.” University of Groningen, 27 March 2020, https://www.rug.nl/about-ug/practical-matters/huisstijl/huisstijl-basiselementen/logo/logobalk/. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

2) SWR. “SWR2 Grafikelement.” SWR, 13 Nov. 2018, https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/kommunikation/service/logos-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020. 3) SWR. “SWR2 Lesenswert.” SWR, 13 Nov. 2018, https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/kommunikation/service/logos-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020. 4) SWR. “SWR Funkhäuser.” SWR, 2020, https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/organisation/standorte/standorte-bw-rp-102.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

5) SWR. “Landesrundfunkanstalten in der ARD.” SWR, 7 Sept. 2018,

https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/organisation/swr-und-ard-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

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6) SWR. “Fernsehvertragsschlüssel.” SWR, 27 July 2020,

https://www.swr.de/unternehmen/organisation/veroeffentlichungen-100.html. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

7) SWR2. “Lesenswert Kritik: Cristina Cattaneo.” SWR, 3 July 2020,

https://www.swr.de/swr2/literatur/cristina-cattaneo-namen-statt-nummern-auf-der-suche-nach-den-opfern-des-mittelmeers-swr2-lesenswert-kritik-2020-07-03-102.html. Accessed 29 Aug. 2020.

8) SWR2. “Lesenswert Kritik: Benjamin Lebert.” SWR, 25 May 2020,

https://www.swr.de/swr2/literatur/benjamin-lebert-im-zeichen-der-acht-swr2-lesenswert-kritik-2020-06-03-102.html. Accessed 29 Aug. 2020.

9) SWR2. “Lesenswert Kritik: Norbert Gstrein.” SWR, 28 July 2020,

https://www.swr.de/swr2/literatur/buch-der-woche-norbert-gstrein-als-ich-jung-war-102.html. Accessed 29 Aug. 2020.

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Supplements

Images

SWR Funkhäuser: Main Offices and Broadcasting Stations

4

Landesrundfunkanstalten in der ARD:

The nine ARD Broadcasting Corporations across Germany

5

Fernsehvertragsschlüssel:

Percentage of content each ARD member station is required to contribute

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Examples of collages

7

8

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Examples of texts and other publications

Please note that some of these attachments are in German. Nonetheless, they should demonstrate some of the published results of my placement.

1. Book Review: Emmanuel Carrère, Julies Leben

Link to recording

https://www.swr.de/swr2/literatur/emmanuel-carrere-julies-leben-100.html

Manuscript

SWR2 MANUSKRIPT

ESSAYS FEATURES KOMMENTARE VORTRÄGE

SWR2 lesenswert Magazin

Vom 05.07.2020 (17:05 – 18:00 Uhr)

Redaktion und Moderation: Theresa Hübner

Emmanuel Carrère: Julies Leben

Aus dem Französischen von Claudia Hamm Verlag Matthes und Seitz 59 Seiten

ISBN 978-3-95757-885-3 10 Euro

Rezension von Sharon Hodge Bitte beachten Sie:

Das Manuskript ist ausschließlich zum persönlichen, privaten Gebrauch bestimmt. Jede weitere Vervielfältigung und Verbreitung bedarf der ausdrücklichen

Genehmigung des Urhebers bzw. des SWR. Service:

SWR2 lesenswert Magazin können Sie auch als Live-Stream hören im SWR2 Webradio unter www.swr2.de oder als Podcast nachhören:

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Julie ist tot. Sie ist sechsunddreißig Jahre alt, als sie 2010 an einer AIDS-Erkrankung stirbt.

So geht „Julies Leben“ von Emmanuel Carrère zu Ende. Spoiler? Wohl kaum. Denn schon von der ersten Seite an bereitet Carrère seine Leserinnen und Leser auf diesen unausweichlichen Moment vor.

Auf knapp 60 Seiten skizziert der Autor den Kreislauf aus Armut, Drogen, Gewalt und Krankheit, dem Julie zu Lebzeiten nie entkommt. Seine dokumentarische Chronik basiert auf der Arbeit von Darcy Padilla, einer Fotografin, die Julie über achtzehn Jahre, also die Hälfte ihres kurzen Lebens, mit der Kamera begleitete. Was als Projekt über Armut in Amerika angedacht war, wurde schließlich zum Porträt einer einzelnen Person, Julie.

Das Buch führt die Leserinnen und Leser nach „Tenderloin“, ein berüchtigtes Viertel im San Francisco der 1990er Jahre. Und hin zu den erschütternden Schicksalen, die sich dort versammeln und die Darcy Padilla mit der Kamera festhält.

Zitat:

„Die Geschichten von Dorian, Diane, Steven und vielen anderen ähnelten sich: von Armut und Gewalt geprägte Familien, in zartem Alter erste Ausreißversuche, dann Drogen, Prostitution, ein Leben auf der Straße und schließlich die Krankheit, die sie befiel, in Klappergestelle voller Druckgeschwüre verwandelte und letztlich ins

schwarze Loch zog: ein düsteres Zimmer im Hotel Ambassador.“

Hier, im Hotel Ambassador, schießt Darcy Padilla ihr erstes Foto der damals 18- jährigen Julie. Eine Auswahl von Darcys Aufnahmen, die Carrère am Ende seines Textes präsentiert, zeigen Szenen der Verwahrlosung. Die Menschen wirken träge, manchmal aggressiv und oft gefangen in immer denselben miserablen Umständen. Dass die Bilder nicht beschriftet sind stört nicht – denn was sie dokumentieren ist symptomatisch für Julies gesamtes Leben. Sie zeigen eines der sechs Kinder, die Julie zur Welt gebracht hat und die fast alle in Obhut genommen wurden. Sie zeigen einen der Männer, mit dem sie einige dieser Kinder bekommen hat und mit dem sie ein paar Jahre ihres Lebens verbrachte, bevor er wieder daraus verschwand. Und sie zeigen einige wenige Momente von Zärtlichkeit, die neben den anderen wie ein seltener Lichtblick erscheinen.

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Carrères Text wirkt ebenso nackt und ungefiltert wie Darcy Padillas schwarz-weiß Fotografien. Er schockiert die Leser und Leserinnen auf fast beiläufige Art und Weise.

Zitat:

„Fast zur selben Zeit wie Darcy machte auch Julie eine neue Bekanntschaft.

Allerdings nicht auf einem Cocktailempfang der Soros Foundation, sondern in einer Rehaklinik für Drogenabhängige, wo sie und ein gewisser Jason in eine

Entzugsmaßnahme gekommen waren, die sie allerdings nie beendeten [...] Jason war als Jugendlicher aus Portland/Oregon abgehauen, wo seine Eltern wohnten, und hatte seither auf der Straße gelebt: Drogen, Prostitution, HIV-Infektion, die übliche Triade, zu der sich in seinem Fall noch ein sehr unterdurchschnittlicher IQ und manisch-depressive Anfälle gesellten, die ihn in den Genuss einer

Schwerbehindertenrente brachten.“

Mit dem Kontrast dieser unterschiedlichen Lebenslagen hält Carrère der Gesellschaft einen Spiegel vor. Denn wie bei Darcy und Julie, deren Leben sich meist in

Parallelwelten abspielen, stellt das Buch die unangenehme Frage, wie gehen wir mit den Schicksalen von Menschen außerhalb unserer eigenen Realität um? Nehmen wir uns ihrer Geschichte an, so wie Carrère es tut? Oder leben wir einfach an ihnen vorbei?

Carrère scheut sich nicht, über die Menschen in seinem Buch zu urteilen. So zum Beispiel, als er erfährt, dass Darcy sich mithilfe einer der Pflegemütter auf die Suche nach Julies Kindern machen will.

Zitat:

„Mit Karens Hilfe versucht Darcy heute, sie und die anderen wiederzufinden und ihnen, wenn sie es wollen, die Geschichte ihrer Mutter zu erzählen. Als sie mir dieses Vorhaben schilderte, war ich mir nicht sicher, ob ich es für eine wirklich gute Idee halten sollte, und ich gebe zu, dass ich sogar dachte, niemand auf dieser Welt würde je irgendeinen Halt aus dem Wissen beziehen können, aus Julies Bauch gekrochen zu sein.“

Solche Sätze klingen hart, geht es hier schließlich nicht um fiktive Charaktere, sondern um reale Personen. Doch indem Carrère seine eigene Sichtweise offen hinterfragt, erlaubt er seinen Leserinnen und Lesern auch, sich davon abzugrenzen und ihr eigenes Urteil zu fällen.

Mit seiner kurzen Form und den nüchternen Beschreibungen spiegelt sich auch in der Struktur des Buches Julies Lebensgeschichte wider, die wie das Leseerlebnis ein frühes und wenig erfülltes Ende findet. Unvollständig ist das Buch aber nicht – denn es nimmt sich nicht vor, seine Leserinnen und Leser zu retten. Vielmehr zwingt es sie hinzusehen, Zeuge eines Lebens zu werden, dass ohne Darcy Padilla geräuschlos vorbeigezogen wäre.

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Zitat:

„Diese Leute, die damals zwanzig oder dreißig Jahre alt waren, sind inzwischen tot, und niemand erinnert sich mehr an sie außer Darcy, die von jedem von ihnen, in Schachteln mit ihren Namen darauf, Hunderte von Fotos aufbewahrt. Diese

Schwarzweißabzüge, auf denen man sie lachen, weinen und ihre Wunden, Ängste und Nöte ausstellen sieht, sind die einzigen Spuren, die von ihrem Erdendasein übrig sind.“

Und dank Schriftstellern wie Emmanuel Carrère können wir nun auch von ihnen lesen.

2. Interview with Translator Judith Schwaab

Link to recording:

https://www.swr.de/swr2/literatur/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-blauer-hibiskus-100.html

3. Translation of the press release on the International Hermann Hesse Prize 2020

„Internationaler Hermann-Hesse-Preis 2020“ awarded to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Judith Schwaab

The 2020 International Herman Hesse Prize is being presented to Nigerian-born author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her translator Judith Schwaab (“Internationaler Hesse Preis 2020), as announced by the Calwer Hesse-Stiftung (Calwer Hermann-Hesse Foundation). Endowed with 20,000.- Euro, the prize is considered one of the most prestigious German literary awards. According to the Foundation’s statutes, the prize is presented biannually for a literary accomplishment of international significance, alongside its translation, in honor of a work that has not received the recognition the jury feels it is due. The state of Baden Württemberg also supports the award.

This year’s recipient is “Purple Hibiscus,” Adichie’s debut novel, originally published in English in 2003. Born in 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria, Adichie left to study in the United States at the age of 19. Currently she divides her time between Nigeria and the US. She writes in English. In announcing the award, the jury states:

“Adichie portrays the characters in her novel so sensitively that readers empathize with and fully experience the perspectives of even incidental characters. Her descriptions are so vivid that the reader becomes fully immersed in the culture and natural setting of Nigeria, its diverse languages, foods and customs.

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“Only rarely have we read a novel so thrilling and well thought-out that everything felt right – from the quality of language to the tight plotting, the excitement that grips from the first to the last page, and the psychological development of the characters. With ‘Purple Hibiscus’ we have gained a piece of literature that touches us and leaves us in awe of its author.

“Judith Schwaab’s translation ‘Blauer Hibiskus’ recaptures the power of the original and preserves the spirit of the novel. Her reworking of Adichie’s book is sensitive and respectful towards the culture of the author, a factor which is highly important to us. This is why she is equally deserving of this prize.”

Members of the jury: Katharina Borchardt, Susanne Goumegou, Mirjam Nuenning, Stefanie Schäfer and Stefan Weidner.

MA Placement Report Interning at Südwestrundfunk SWR2 Literature