Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊʁtɐ ʔalɡəˈmaɪnə ˈtsaɪtʊŋ]; FAZ; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt.[6] Its Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (pronounced [- ˈzɔntaːksˌtsaɪtʊŋ]; FAS).
Type
Fazit-Stiftung
Carsten Knop
Berthold Kohler
Jürgen Kaube
Gerald Braunberger
1 November 1949
German
Frankfurt, Germany
201,408 (Print, 2021)
56,000 (Digital, 2020)
The paper runs its own network of correspondents. Its editorial policy is not determined by a single editor, but cooperatively by four editors.
Ownership[edit]
The company has the legal form of a GmbH (company with limited liability); the independent Fazit-Stiftung Gemeinnützige Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (Fazit-Foundation) is its majority shareholder, holding 93.7% of shares.[19] The FAZIT-Stiftung was created in 1959 by the transformation of the then FAZ owner German: Allgemeine Verlagsgesellschaft mbH into a private foundation. It is 'owned' by up to nine persons who can't sell or buy their share but have to transmit it free of charge to a successor which is co-opted by the remaining shareholders. The foundations statute prescribes that only such persons shall be co-opted as new member, who "by their standing and personality" can guarantee the "independence" of the FAZ. The current group of seven is composed of active or former CEOs, company owners, board members, and corporate lawyers. The foundation also owns more than 90% of the shares of the company 'Frankfurter Societät' which in turn is owner of the printing enterprise 'Frankfurter Societätsdruckerei' and the regional paper Frankfurter Neue Presse.
Bans[edit]
In 2006, the FAZ was banned in Egypt for publishing articles which were deemed as "insulting Islam".[25] In February 2008, the paper was again banned in Egypt due to the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad.[26]
In November 2012, the paper provoked strong criticism in Spain because of its stance against Spanish immigration to Germany during the economic crisis.[27]
In July 2019, the FAZ website, along with other major German media, including Spiegel Online, was blocked by China's Great Firewall. The reasons for the ban remain unclear, but FAZ believed it was possibly due to its reporting on the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.[28][29]
(in German)
