Public TV channels: ARD, ZDF, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Bayerischer Rundfunk
Popular soap operas: Lindenstraße, Gute Zeiten schlechte Zeiten
Written press: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bild-Zeitung, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit

German Television and Radio

There are a wide variety of public and commercial channels available on German television. Das Erste (ARD) is the country's traditional publicly owned broadcasting organisation, financed largely by licence fees. Its members are seven regionally located television stations, such as Norddeutscher Rundfunk in the northern part of Germany or Bayerischer Rundfunk in Bavaria. This station broadcasts some of the most popular shows including Tagesschau, a daily news bulletin with an audience of around 10 million people, the soap opera Lindenstraβe and the children's show Die Sendung mit der Maus.

The country’s second public service channel service is called Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), which means 'Second German Television' in English. Other popular channels include RTL, Pro7, Vox and Sat1, which are all commercial television channels. It is common among German channels to import shows like The Simpsons and CSI, dubbed into German, of course.

The German national radio station is Deutsche Welle, but many other radio stations are available, most of which are also available online.

Written press

The main press agency in Germany is the Deutsche Presse Agentur. Like in Britain, newspapers can be divided into broadsheets, such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) and Süddeutsche Zeitung and tabloids (known as Boulevardpresse in German), which include dailies, such as the Bild-Zeitung. Newspapers are available not just from kiosks and shops but also from vending machines on the street. The most widely read German newspaper is Bild.