Abstract
Germany's reunification has had enormous repercussions on GDR media. Initial efforts to establish autonomous structures with emphasis on the media's social responsibility were soon abandoned. The distribution of West German newspapers began at an early stage as did the acquisition of virtually all publishing and printing companies by West German companies. The governmentally established Treuhandanstalt acted in essence as a quasi-licensing authority, setting structural policy for the press through the sale of regional newspapers belonging to the former state party, the SED. In television and radio, the former State Broadcasting Institution will be dissolved by the end of 1991. West Germany's first and second stations, ARD and ZDF, have extended their operations into the East to fill the vacuum left by its demise. The first laws concerning the licensing of private broadcasting have been designed to achieve the greatest possible deregulation. Noticeably absent are approaches for paying particular regard to the cultural identity of East Germans or for ensuring that the `parents of the Revolution' can take part in broadcasting.
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