In our "Talk & Music" series, Julia Hemmerling from MDR Kultur moderates a discussion on music journalism in the GDR and the post-reunification era. The conversation covers restricted access, creative freedom, the importance of radio, and how music from the West was handled. Personal experiences, anecdotes, and favorite songs bring this eventful history of media and music to life.

We’re all familiar with the usual scenario: Journalists interview artists, showcase their work, and discuss it. Now let’s change the perspective! The reporters take center stage and switch roles from interviewers to interviewees.

We take a look back at the early days of jazz in the GDR. The relationship between artists at home and abroad, media outlets, and state institutions was a complicated one, marked over the decades by restrictions that varied in strictness and occasional periods of greater freedom. 

Through which channels did music from the “West” find its way into the GDR? What role did radio play when recorded music was in short supply? To what extent could reports be published about releases both at home and abroad? And what dynamics emerged with the fall of the Wall? 

A conversation among colleagues, with room for anecdotes and favorite pieces.