The spiegel bestseller lists are important to publishers because they provide the most visibility for their books. This is particularly true for authors who write in different languages or who are published in countries where the market is less developed.
However, the spiegel bestseller is not without its critics. A number of media scholars have accused the magazine of distorting history and hiding crimes. A major example is the story of Der Spiegel’s early reports on the Reichstag fire, which were written by former SS officers who were also implicated in a major political scandal in 1962.
Another charge against the spiegel is that it has been overly biased in its reporting on the Nazis. Some eminent historians, including Lutz Hachmeister and Otto Kohler, have brought charges against Der Spiegel for its unrestrained snooping in the past and its hiring of insiders to write on Nazi topics.
The magazin is famous for its investigative journalism, which has played a key role in uncovering many political scandals. Its staff has a large number of reporters, most of whom work in-house.
But it has also been criticized for its language. In 1957, Hans Magnus Enzensberger wrote a book called Die Sprache des Spiegels, which was based on an interview with the editor and charged that Der Spiegel’s use of language was “pretended objectivity”. He referred to the magazine as the biggest mangler of German language.
In addition to its newspaper edition, Der Spiegel is now a news website. It has a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies and is considered one of the most influential in Europe.
Its articles are often controversial, and a number of its stories have been proven to be false. The spiegel has been the target of a variety of legal and media investigations, including the Spiegel affair in 1962 and the Flick affair in the 1980s.
Some of these scandals have tarnished the reputation of the spiegel, and its editors and readers have been embroiled in numerous legal proceedings. In a report for the Federal Commission on Consumer Protection, prosecutors said that the spiegel has been involved in shady practices such as bribery and corruption, which may have violated the consumer protection law.
