1. The positioning of the German newspaper
“Die Zeit” towards the Crimean crisis
Advertising & Public Relations Lab
“Crisis Management”
Professors: Tsakarestou Betty, Xenou Mania, Politis Giannis
Case presented by:
Charokopou Iro
Karamaria Lydia
Kontolatou Marianna
Perperidou Semina
Sabani Ioanna
2. The Crimean Crisis in 2014
• Takes place in Crimea, Ukraine
• Comes as an aftermath of the Ukraine Revolution in 2014
(Victor Janukowitch’s government overthrown)
• Group demonstrations (supporters of Russia) in order to
achieve: tighter bonds & integration with Russia
• Group demonstrations supporting the revolution Ukrainians,
Tartars of Crimea & other minor groups
• Russian government: Bestows Vladimir Putin the power to use
military force in Ukraine
• The US condemn the Russian invasion in Ukraine and ask
Moscow to withdraw its plan
• March 6th 2014: Board of Crimea asks for reunion with Russia
• March 16th 2014: Russia organizes a referendum
• Ukraine government: Disapproves the Board’s management
4. International Reactions
• USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, EU
reprobate Russia for violent infringement of the
international law and the Ukraine property.
• March 27th 2014: The United Nations activated a no-
committing referendum for the annexation of Crimea
in Russia.
Final decision: 100 supporting votes, 11 disapproving
votes, 58 abstentions
5.
6. Newspaper info
• Die Zeit: German national weekly newspaper, well
regarded for its journalistic quality
• Political direction: mostly centrist and socio-liberal
• Known for its large paper format and its long and
detailed articles
• Lucian Kim: Swiss-Korean journalist (based in
Moscow and Berlin).He has been reporting since
1996
7. About the article
• Title in German: Der Russische Fruhling Von Donetzk
• Donetzk: industrial city in eastern Ukraine
• Economy: The workforce is mostly involved with heavy
industry, especially coal mining
• A first-page article featured on Zeit’s website on 25/03/14,
spotted time 17.18
• Main subject on top of the page, featuring a bigger picture
than the rest of the articles, showing protestants in Donetzk,
waving the flag of Russia
• Subject: Donetzk: Demonstrations supporting the annexation
of the city to Russia. The public demands Janukowitch back
8. • The journalist attended the demonstration and quoted
opinions both of politicians and of demonstrators
• He actually quoted opinions given by the political elite of the
country, the entrepreneurs and the public as well
• All the information is given objectively. The journalist is not
supporting any side, on the contrary, he is only collecting
opinions of others
• Important cause of demonstration: Young man got stabbed
because he was supporting Ukraine
• Historical clue: On the title, the Russian Spring is being openly
referred to (implicit reference to the Velvet Revolution of
Czech Republic, the one which achieved to beat communism)
9. • The term “Russian Spring” is being used as a synonym to
these demonstrations
• Emotional clue: The article’s phrase “ sad demonstrators,
figures of pure poverty”
• Clue that proves objectivity: Usage of indirect speech. The
words of the others are being quoted
• Headline fact: Janukowitch gets deported subsequently due to
the demonstrations in Donetzk
• In the article, we read about the reasons why Janukowitch
has to stay away
• Conclusion: This article is given objectively. All sides opinions
are being presented. The journalist is not partial or influenced
by national origin discriminations
10. Lucian Kim – The journalist
Overview
• Born in Charleston, Illinois, in 1970
• Studied Journalism at the University of California in Berkley
• Master’s degree in: Nationalism Studies at the Central
European University, Budapest
• He is fluent in a number of foreign languages, mainly English,
German & Russian
• He has major work experience as a journalist. He has worked
in different, famous Journalism Companies, such as
nytimes.com, cnn.com, Deutsche Welle TV, The Moscow
Times, die Zeit, Bloomberg News etc.
11. • He is also an author, as he has written a book titled: “We were
victims too: The rediscovery of German Civilian suffering in
World War II”
• Nowadays he is working in Berlin as an independent journalist
on his personal website or medium.com
• He has received honours and awards
Most of his articles and reports concern
• Russian and German politics, especially Russian
• Eastern Europe, Soviet Union and the Balkans
Lucian Kim has been quoted to say: “I consider myself a
Eurasian journalist not only because of my Swiss and Korean
roots, but also because I have spent most of my life studying
Russia and the former colonies of the Soviet empire stretching
from Prague to Pyongyang.”
12. How does Lucian Kim appear through
his article about Crimea?
According to Lucian Kim’s bio, he is a person who has devoted
the biggest part of his professional career in studying Russia’s
and Eastern Europe’s central politics. He has covered all the
important incidents and events that have taken place in this
domain, during the last 20 years.
Lucian Kim declares to be politically independent and is
known for his pure objectivity and total both-side
presentation of crucial events. In the burning issue of Crimea,
he shows a true record of actuality and no partiality.
13. • Independent journalist
• Objectivity & timeliness
• Presents all sides of the
serious problem in
Crimea
• Presents facts in real
time
• No partiality
