Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst
Encyclopedia
The Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst (ADN), German
for General German News Service, was the state news agency
in the German Democratic Republic
(GDR). It supplied news content to GDR newspapers and news broadcasters.
. In 1953, the GDR's ruling Socialist Unity Party
(SED) ordered ADN GmbH dissolved and converted into a government agency with a monopoly on national and international news coverage. Although the ADN was officially subordinate to the Council of Ministers
, the SED maintained a careful watch over it as the most important means of disseminating news to the public. In 1956, ADN assumed control over formerly independent photographic agencies in Berlin
under the name ADN Zentralbild (ADN-ZB - German: Central Picture).
According to the ADN statute of 1966, its task was to report news in light of the ruling party's program, resolutions of the party's Central Committee and regulations issued by the GDR Council of State and Council of Ministers. Until the end of the 1970s, ADN compiled and distributed news via teleprinter
s. The ADN began converting to electronic text processing and transmission in 1979, using technology purchased from the Kyoto
-based Omron
Corporation.
Up to 1989, ADN employed approximately 1,400 people. It did not survive for long after German reunification in 1990. In May 1992, reduced to a staff of 254 and unable to compete with West German news services, the firm was sold to the Deutsche Depeschendienst (German Telegraphic Service). The collection of approximately one million historical photos preserved by ADN Zentralbild, some dating back to the earliest years of photography
, were acquired by the German Federal Archives in Koblenz
.
over the wire-service business in the GDR, supplying news dispatches, reports, articles and photograph
s to nearly all newspaper
s and radio
and television
broadcasters in the GDR. While newspapers and other periodicals also maintained their own staffs of reporters and editors, ADN set the overall standards for media in the GDR.
Coverage was divided into two categories, Inland (domestic) and Ausland (foreign). Ausland coverage included the political and economic situations in other countries, including the Federal Republic of Germany. All other areas, including politics
, the economy
. culture
, education
, science
and sports, were considered Inland. There was a separate reporting service for news related to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
, the economic community of socialist states.
ADN maintained domestic bureaus in each of the GDR's fifteen governmental districts, or Bezirke, including East Berlin
, as well as a network of foreign offices in socialist and capitalist states. The ADN's foreign correspondents not only covered international news but also supplied the GDR government with confidential reports and news analysis from the countries to which they were assigned.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for General German News Service, was the state news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR). It supplied news content to GDR newspapers and news broadcasters.
History
The ADN was established in October 1946 as a GmbH (limited liability company) with the support of the Soviet Military Administration in GermanyAllied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
. In 1953, the GDR's ruling Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED) ordered ADN GmbH dissolved and converted into a government agency with a monopoly on national and international news coverage. Although the ADN was officially subordinate to the Council of Ministers
Ministerrat
The Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic was the chief executive body of East Germany from November 1950 until the GDR was unified with the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990...
, the SED maintained a careful watch over it as the most important means of disseminating news to the public. In 1956, ADN assumed control over formerly independent photographic agencies in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
under the name ADN Zentralbild (ADN-ZB - German: Central Picture).
According to the ADN statute of 1966, its task was to report news in light of the ruling party's program, resolutions of the party's Central Committee and regulations issued by the GDR Council of State and Council of Ministers. Until the end of the 1970s, ADN compiled and distributed news via teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
s. The ADN began converting to electronic text processing and transmission in 1979, using technology purchased from the Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
-based Omron
OMRON
is a Japanese electronics company based in Kyoto.Omron was established by Kazuma Tateishi in 1933 and incorporated in 1948. Omron's primary business is the manufacture and sale of automation components, equipment and systems, but it is generally known for medical equipment such as digital...
Corporation.
Up to 1989, ADN employed approximately 1,400 people. It did not survive for long after German reunification in 1990. In May 1992, reduced to a staff of 254 and unable to compete with West German news services, the firm was sold to the Deutsche Depeschendienst (German Telegraphic Service). The collection of approximately one million historical photos preserved by ADN Zentralbild, some dating back to the earliest years of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, were acquired by the German Federal Archives in Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
.
Coverage
The ADN exercised a monopolyMonopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
over the wire-service business in the GDR, supplying news dispatches, reports, articles and photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s to nearly all newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcasters in the GDR. While newspapers and other periodicals also maintained their own staffs of reporters and editors, ADN set the overall standards for media in the GDR.
Coverage was divided into two categories, Inland (domestic) and Ausland (foreign). Ausland coverage included the political and economic situations in other countries, including the Federal Republic of Germany. All other areas, including politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and sports, were considered Inland. There was a separate reporting service for news related to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
, the economic community of socialist states.
ADN maintained domestic bureaus in each of the GDR's fifteen governmental districts, or Bezirke, including East Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, as well as a network of foreign offices in socialist and capitalist states. The ADN's foreign correspondents not only covered international news but also supplied the GDR government with confidential reports and news analysis from the countries to which they were assigned.