News

At the heart of ARTE

July 3, 2025

Do you know how the German-French cultural channel ARTE came into being in 1992? What does the acronym (beginning with Association…) stand for? How has ARTE developed to date and what is on the agenda for the coming years with regard to Europe? Students at Media University in Frankfurt am Main learned all this and much more when they accepted an invitation from the Frankfurt Press Club to visit Strasbourg with their professor, Dr. Sabine Schiffer.

Arrival at ARTE: MU students, FPC members, management inform

On Monday, 16 June, they welcomed Elke Blocker, communications officer at the General Secretariat, to greet the Frankfurt visitors in the atrium of the media house. Maria Flügel, head of the press department, provided information not only about the tasks of ARTE and its headquarters in Strasbourg, but also about the work in press and marketing, which poses a particular challenge due to its intercultural and international nature. After providing information about the programme offering, market shares and the structure of this special channel by means of an image film and a question and answer session, Lena Morel, the responsible coordinator, went into more detail about the daily challenges and planning involved in providing European information in several languages.

In addition to the ARTE G.E.I.E. headquarters in Strasbourg, Paris on the French side and Baden-Baden on the German side are the reference editorial offices for a large part of the production. The choice of location alone says a lot about Franco-German relations: in France, everything is concentrated in Paris, while in Germany, decentralisation has led to Baden-Baden being chosen in this specific case. The different times for the main news programmes also provide intercultural information: 7.20 p.m. for Germany and 7.45 p.m. for France – the formats are partly adapted to the respective viewing habits, partly an effort to promote their own brand. The studios and the heart of the entire ARTE planning and broadcasting operations were then open for viewing.

Coordination studio for German or French programmes currently being broadcast in parallel

In view of the dramatic escalation in the Middle East, the planned discussion with the news editorial team of ARTE Journal was shorter than expected – but Andreas Jörger was still able to answer the many interested questions in the middle of the news desks. In the evening, the topics discussed were featured in the news, including interviews with Iranians living in Israel. Media University would like to express its sincere thanks to both the FPC and ARTE for their excellent organisation, including the delicious lunch in the open canteen.

Media professionals among themselves: students ask questions and take a tour

Finally, Prof. Schiffer asked about internship and career opportunities at ARTE. It was important for interested students to learn that German and French are minimum language requirements for working at ARTE. Other languages are welcome; the broadcaster puts a lot of effort into translation, which always means ‘restating what is meant’ (cf. Franz-Josef Hausmann) – this also applies to news production for Spain, Poland, the Scandinavian countries and others, where not only the spoken language is translated, but the entire message is different in each case. The effort is worthwhile in order to meet people where the country-specific discourse is at. ARTE greatly impressed our colourful tour group.

Similar articles