Karin Assmann

Der Spiegel — Zwölf Jahre in der Todeszelle und insgesamt 38 Jahre hinter Gittern. Joe Giarratano hat sein halbes Leben unschuldig im Gefängnis verbracht, für einen Doppelmord, den er nie begangen hat. Ein verheerender Justizirrtum - und das in mehrfacher Hinsicht. (20.08.2018)

Der Spiegel — In Louisville Kentucky spielt sich vor einer Praxis fast täglich ein merkwürdiges Schauspiel ab: Frauen, die ihre Schwangerschaft abbrechen möchten, müssen vor aggressiven Abtreibungsgegnern geschützt werden. (18.03.2018)

Der Spiegel — In den USA gelten rund 3,5 Millionen Menschen als obdachlos. Viele davon sind Kinder. Manche leben mit ihren Familien in Billighotels am Stadtrand - unter katastrophalen Umständen. Ein Film von Karin Assmann.

Der Spiegel — Ein abgelegenes Gelände irgendwo im Osten der USA. Ein vorbestrafter Sexualverbrecher. Eine junge Frau eingesperrt in einem Container. Als sie befreit wird, ist sie am Hals angekettet wie ein Hund. Nichts an dieser Geschichte ist vorstellbar und doch ist sie passiert. (02.07.2017)

Der Spiegel — Die Drogenszene in den USA gerät offenbar außer Kontrolle. Das Land erlebt ein regelrechtes Comeback des Heroins. Betroffen ist vor allem der weiße Nachwuchs der Mittelschicht - Vorstadtkinder, die nicht wissen, was sie tun, und daran zu Hunderten sterben. (09.10.2016)

Der Spiegel — Willi Voss started as a petty criminal in Germany's industrial Ruhr Valley. Before long, though, he found himself helping the PLO, even playing a minor role in the 1972 Munich Olympics attack. He went on to become a valuable CIA informant, and has now written a book about his life in the shadows.

Journalism — This study analyzes the potential impact on work culture and conditions in German newsrooms following a call for voluntary gender quotas in newsroom leadership. In-depth interviews with 53 journalists in 21 leading newsrooms in Germany find positive changes in work culture and conditions for all journalists in all newsrooms that reached or approached critical mass of women in leadership. Through the eyes of women and men working in these national newsrooms, an increase in women in newsrooms that came near or superseded the voluntary quota in leadership positions helped boost ongoing institutional support regarding paid parental leave and childcare options and augmented transparency around opportunities for mentoring, coaching, and hiring through more institutionalized processes. We recommend a continued implementation of voluntary quotas and further research to document and analyze long-term structural and systemic changes that more women in newsroom leadership could bring.

Journalism & Communication Monographs — Precarious economic conditions, low pay, layoffs, and dwindling job security motivated journalists to organize in record numbers in the 2010s and 2020s. Cohen and De Peuter’s 2020 research on newsworkers’ motives and organizing strategies in digital newsrooms finds that economic, political, and cultural factors play a role. Pay equity, a more diverse and inclusive newsroom, and a voice in editorial and strategic decision-making are often cited as arguments for union membership. This monograph asks how newsworkers assess the effect of unionization and guild membership on their work, working conditions, and culture. Interviews with 45 journalists in 16 U.S. newsrooms with unions, both established and recently organized, suggest that several goals, such as pay equity, diversity, and inclusion, have not been achieved. Nevertheless, the act of organizing and the managerial work accomplished by union leadership in the newsroom is creating both institutional change and opportunity. A parallel organizational culture is emerging that mitigates poor leadership and human resource management and serves as training ground for a new class of journalists.