Handelsblatt
German business newspaper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Handelsblatt (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt.[1]
| |
 Handelsblatt front page of the first issue | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner | Handelsblatt Media Group |
| Editor | Sebastian Matthes |
| Founded | 16 May 1946 |
Political alignment | Economic liberalism |
| Language | German |
| Headquarters | Düsseldorf |
| Circulation | 127,546 (Print, 2018) 42,000 (Digital, 2018) |
| ISSN | 0017-7296 |
| Website | www.handelsblatt.com |
History and profile
Handelsblatt was established in 1946 by journalist Herbert Gross, but after some months Friedrich Vogel (1902–1976) became publisher.[2][3] In 1969, Georg von Holtzbrinck became partner of Friedrich Vogel. Since 2021, its editor-in-chief is Sebastian Matthes.[4] Its publisher, Handelsblatt Media Group, also publishes the weekly business magazine Wirtschaftswoche,[5] of which the editor-in-chief is Beat Balzli.[6] Handelsblatt's headquarters are in Düsseldorf.[7] In 2009, Dieter von Holtzbrinck bought Der Tagesspiegel, Handelsblatt, and Wirtschaftswoche from the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.[citation needed] Handelsblatt had a circulation of 127,546 daily copies in 2018.[8]
Handelsblatt Today
An English-language digital edition was launched in 2014, called Handelsblatt Global Edition, which aimed to reach an international audience interested in German business and finance news. It was published five days a week from its editorial office in Berlin with editor-in-chief, Kevin O'Brien at the helm.[9] In 2017, under a new editor-in-chief, Andreas Kluth, the publication avoided the direct translation of German-language articles and instead worked through differences between German and Anglophone journalistic traditions to add details that English readers were accustomed to.[10] The site was renamed Handelsblatt Today in 2018, but, unable to create a business model and reach a substantial audience to generate revenue, Kluth announced that publication would cease on 27 February 2019.[11]
Anti-vaccine controversy
On 25 January 2021, Handelsblatt published an unsourced story falsely claiming that the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was only 8% effective in people over 65 years old. AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford issued statements denying these claims.[12][13] This story was refuted by the German Health Ministry, which clarified that the 8% actually referred to the number of people in the study who were between 56 and 69 years old.[14][15][16] Markus Lehmkuhl, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's Professor for Science Communication, stated that Handelsblatt "turned the matter into a 'he says, she says' story to absolve itself of responsibility for spreading stupid stuff."[17]
Editors-in-chief
- Herbert Gross (1946 for some months)
- Friedrich Vogel
- Hans Mundorf
- Thomas Knipp (2002–2004) and Bernd Ziesemer (2002–2010)
- Gabor Steingart (2010–2013)
- Hans-Jürgen Jakobs (2013–2016)
- Sven Afhüppe (2016–2020)
- Sebastian Matthes (since 2020)
