Much of the internet facilitated cross border media expansion of recent years has come from english language publications tapping english speakers in foreign markets or launching localised versions of their operations with the help of local partners. However, recent steps by german publishers suggest a move in the other direction, reflected by german daily die zeit's launch of english language versions of its online articles. Die zeit's circulation figures and estimated readership grew overall in 2013, an impressive enough feat for a print publication, even for germany's best selling newspaper. But as a german language newspaper, its readership has a hard cap that simply doesn't exist for its english language equivalents.

Mdash wolfgang blau @wblau september 2, 2014 are die zeit and co making a play for the global english speaking audiences and ad revenue being chased by english language legacy and new media alike? the increasingly global outlook of publications ranging from newspapers such as the guardian, washington post and daily mail to digital players including the huffington post and quartz is driven by a combination of opportunity and need. Digital readers are at least when it comes to advertising worth much less, but it is possible to reach a lot, lot more of them by breaking out of national boundaries. Said last year , ldquo at the moment, i believe we could not survive in the u.k. For english language media, competiton is especially fierce, and if advertising is your main revenue stream, building scale is a necessity. Going after english speakers, and foreign markets where the advantages of english will have already helped build a little brand recognition, makes a lot of sense.

It is more being understood as a journalistic necessity to take part and be heard in conversations in many topics that are actually global, if not at least transnational conversations, such as debates over europe's proper response to russian invasion into the ukraine, issues over the reform of european institutions or more general issues such as climate change. Blau says the main business benefit for most publications is an indirect one: there is an indirect business benefit, for instance interview acqusition around the world. That's often the rationale for an english edition as far as i know it's the rationale for der spiegel online's english edition. It really helped speigel be more known around the world, especially as foreign language skills appear to be decreasing around the world.

But my perception is that this is not business interests or additional ad revenue. The one exception, says blau, is business focused title handelsblatt which, with content more similar to that provided by the financial times or the wall street journal, could convince english speakers to pay up for a different view: for handelsblatt there is a commercial hope. Because it is a business daily and there is an appetite for getting a different perspective on the eurozone's policies, economical coverage more than business policies there's an appetite that could make it worthwhile if they're nimble. It looks like english language publications shouldn't worry about a new wave of competiton from foreign language publications muscling into english turf quite yet. Apart from anything else, making serious money in new ad markets takes a lot more investment than just setting up in the right language or location.

As uk and us publications have found trying to tap other english speaking markets. Nevertheless, it's an interesting reflection of the increasingly globalised world that publications in germany an economic powerhouse where media has to some extent been protected from the full force of the web by dint of of having a slightly more exclusive mother tongue feel the need to publish in the world's closest thing to a lingua franca. Die zeit, wolfgang blau, der speigel, financial times, wall street journal, süddeutsche zeitung by hyde flippo. german news in english der spiegel, along with focus, is one of the two largest circulation news magazines published in germany. Der spiegel is germany 39 s oldest news magazine, founded in 1946 as an obvious imitation of america 39 s time and newsweek magazines. A regular subscription in north america for just six months of the print edition of der spiegel runs into the hundreds of dollars. While a single copy of der spiegel in germany costs only four euros $4.50 in germany, a copy purchased at a newsstand in the us costs almost $10.00.

Continue reading below as i write this, the web edition of der spiegel international features articles with these titles: 34 was katrina colorblind?, 34 34 scientists give new orleans one more chance, 34 34 berlin, meet william timken 34 the new us ambassador , 34 was the chancellor debate a snore fest?, 34 and 34 conspiracy in beirut. 34 what are the stories this week? if you subscribe to the free spiegel english newsletter, you can keep up with german, european, and world events, as seen from a german perspective. The spiegel online site also offers an rss feed, for people into news blogs and such.

By the way, if you 39 d prefer to subscribe to a german newsletter auf deutsch. From time to time, spiegel also publishes special print editions on certain topics. 34 it 39 s 34 a survey of germany 60 years after world war ii 34 and can be ordered online with a credit card from the spiegel online site.

Give spiegel 39 s english edition a try! 2 july 2013 image caption mrs merkel used the term at a public meeting germany's standard dictionary has included a vulgar english term, used by chancellor angela merkel among others, as an acceptable german word. Duden, the equivalent of the oxford english dictionary in the uk, said it was reflecting the common use of the word shitstorm among germans. The word, which is used in german to denote a public outcry, seems to have caught on during the eurozone crisis. Clearly different in kind and degree from what could be expected in the past in response to a statement or action.

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In the past there have been controversies over german usage of words like download , job hopping or eye catcher , the bbc's steve evans reports from berlin. The new word has crept into the language, imported by people who heard its use primarily in american english, he says. It is used by the highest and lowest in the land and when chancellor merkel used it at a public meeting, nobody batted an eyelid, our correspondent adds. The local 13 feb 2012, 1 published: 13 feb 2012 1 gmt+0 germany needed shitstorm, according to a group of language experts who elected the word as the top english contribution to the german language last year. the anglicism of the year jury defined shitstorm as a public outcry, primarily on the internet, in which arguments mix with threats and insults to reach a critical mass, forcing a reaction.

This new kind of protest is clearly different in kind and degree from what could be expected in the past in response to a statement or action, said jury member michael mann, who runs a language website called lexikographieblog. The jury said in a statement on monday: shitstorm fills a gap in the german vocabulary that has become apparent through changes in the culture of public debate. It added that established german words, such as kritik criticism , were simply not descriptive enough. Shitstorm came into widespread use last year in connection with the financial crisis in greece and the plagiarism scandal which forced the then defence minister karl theodor zu guttenberg to resign.