– The “Titanic” is about to end and people are joking about it
The magazine is an institution in the German media landscape. But probably not for long. The boss Julia Mateus tries to save what can still be saved.
Published today at 5:51 p.m
Long association with the satirical magazine “Titanic”: Julia Mateus.
Photo: Frederike Wetzels
The magazine has the sinking in its name, but now it could actually happen: The “Titanic” is heading full speed towards the iceberg. We’re talking about the German satirical magazine, which announced last week that it was “bankrupt like never before” and that readers should now urgently take out a subscription in order to avert ruin. The reason for the economic misery is inflation or, to put it ironically in a “Titanic”-like way, “falling subscription numbers, inflation, rising paper prices, rare earths for the ‘Titanic’ office plants, massage chairs for the editor-in-chief.”
Almost a year ago, a new boss took her place in the latter: Julia Mateus. In October 2022, the 39-year-old took over the “Titanic” editorial team in Frankfurt, to which the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” attributed “the playful atmosphere of a comic-collecting nerd shared apartment” in its inaugural portrait. Around 15 permanent editors and many freelancers work for the magazine; they recently had to wait for their wages.
“Zone Gaby” is also known to those who have never held a “Titanic” in their hands.
You can read on Mateus’ website that she created her first satirical magazine when she was eleven. She told the “Süddeutsche” that she began making profound jokes out of helplessness and depressive moods. She wrote her master’s thesis for her studies in sociology, psychology and communication science on satirical media criticism. The internship at “Titanic” was followed by freelance work and a permanent position in 2020. Two years later she became editor-in-chief, the first woman to do so.
Now Mateus is faced with the task of saving an institution in the German media landscape. Founded in 1979, the “Titanic” caused national controversy several times. Some of the covers have cult status in Germany. The “Zone Gaby” is also known to those who have never held a “Titanic” in their hands. The cover from November 1989, the month the Berlin Wall fell, shows a beaming young woman with a peeled cucumber in her hand. “My first banana” is the headline – an allusion to the fact that many East Germans had never eaten a banana and would be able to enjoy it for the first time by possibly traveling to the West.
A big hit 34 years ago: the “Titanic” cover photo from November 1989.
Photo: Kunstmann (Titanic)
But “Titanic” has been insolvent for two months, as the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” writes. The sold circulation of the magazine, which operates without a major publisher behind it, has fallen to 15,000 copies. According to their own information, the editorial team now urgently needs 5,000 new subscriptions in order to be able to continue producing. Prominent names such as Jan Böhmermann (who competes with “Titanic” with his late-night satire on German television) have been roped in for the “begging campaign” (Julia Mateus).
Competition on television
But even if the readership shows solidarity and saves the “Titanic” from disaster for the time being: the creators will have to ask themselves what a satirical magazine should look like today. If you want to make a bad joke, post a meme on social media; and the late night shows on television are the new supreme discipline of political satire. Who was waiting for a monthly printed satirical magazine? At the same time, sensitivities are growing – the outrage that satire always takes into account in its swipes can quickly get out of control these days and result in a shitstorm.
So the “Titanic” navigates rough seas. It remains to be seen whether Julia Mateus can save her or whether she will have to let her perish with dignity in the end. But what seems certain is that she won’t leave the sinking ship too quickly.
More about satireTina Huber has been writing for the Tamedia editorial team since 2014 and in the society department since 2017. She is a historian and has also completed translation studies. More info@tina__huber
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2023-09-12 15:52:36
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