The controversial awarding of the "Kompassnadel" community prize by the "Schwules Netzwerk NRW" (NRW Gay Network) to the news magazine SPIEGEL at the CSD in Cologne and the reactions.
The question hung unspoken over the heads of the 500 or so visitors to the CSD reception organised by "Aidshilfe NRW" and "Schwules Netzwerk NRW" last Saturday. How will the deputy editor of SPIEGEL, Markus Verbeet, react to the massive criticism that has been levelled at him on the occasion of the presentation of the community prize, the compass needle? The accusations that SPIEGEL got its hands dirty rather than covered itself in glory when it came to reporting on HIV and Aids in the 1980s and 1990s are indisputable Fact. Available to everyone at any time in the SPIEGEL online archive.
At the end of January this year, Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe already clearly distanced itself from the decision of Schwules Netzwerk NRW to award the compass pin to Der Spiegel and announced that it would not be taking part in the award ceremony.
The exciting question on the day of the award ceremony: Will Markus Verbeet apologise, make some kind of promise as a gesture of reconciliation?
"Not everything we wrote back then was good. There were transgressions. There were not only exaggerated depictions, but also hurtful words. We should have known some things better back then and I have an inkling of the hurt we caused. I regret that. I regret that very much!" says Verbeet.
But is that enough?
"Always this fucking sticky harmony sauce here in Cologne," grumbles a visitor from Berlin, who joins the smokers in front of the fine municipal venue, the Gürzenich. A discussion ensues as to whether the "regret" expressed by Verbeet can be interpreted as an apology or not. Aids activist Marcel Dams, who held the laudatory speech for the controversial prizewinner, had previously emphasised in his speech how important the leading medium had been for him during his coming out with its open-minded coverage of homosexual life.
But that was in the 2000s. He condemns the "gay epidemic" articles from the time of the Aids crisis and says: "I also think it's time for a long overdue apology. Not just here and now, but preferably at the place where it happened - in the paper."
Arne Kayser, state chairman of Aidshilfe NRW, and thus co-host of the event, tried in his speech to articulate the umbrella organisation's gnashing of teeth at the nomination: "We too are just as critical of the award ceremony and do not deny that in the past people have been permanently injured, many even traumatised, by SPIEGEL's polarising reporting". But he also admits with resignation that it is not possible to impose a few new contractual conditions on an award winner who has been invited: "The editors who were responsible for the articles in question at the time no longer work at SPIEGEL. They are not here and so we cannot hear any apologies today."
The prize was awarded for the 13th time, each time to a publicly effective person or organisation with charisma. The "Compass Pin" also goes to a person or organisation that works on a voluntary basis. It is particularly difficult to weigh up the VIPs, which is done at the end of each year. In addition, the selection must be well-founded, otherwise the stress begins. In 2011, with Hannelore, the stress was already great. Hannelore Kraft (SPD), Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, had only been in office for a few months when she was already announced as a Compass Needle candidate. This was done in anticipation of her realising her election promises of legal equality at state level. Critics did not like this advance praise for work that had not yet been done.
This year, the storm of indignation was greater than ever for good reason. Martin Dannecker, last year's winner, refused to take part in the ritual of handing over the heavy compass needle sculpture to the newcomer. He stayed at home. The state working group "Positiv Handeln", which operates under the umbrella of Aidshilfe NRW, decided against a boycott. Instead, it produced smart orange buttons with a black mourning ribbon, which were handed out to the guests as a silent sign of protest.
There is usually no problem with nominations from the community. Their practical voluntary work is indispensable. And all the symbolic support from people who are in the public eye would be useless if it weren't for the many committed people in the local gay groups. Everyone agrees on that. However, since celebrity glamour quickly threatens to overshadow the importance of the other part of this award, especially when it comes to a scandal, it should be said here: the "queerblick" project, which was launched in Dortmund in 2009 and has since invited gay and lesbian young people to explore their own lives in self-produced clips using the medium of video, is a more than deserving winner. Falk Steinborn, the initiator of "queerblick", accepted the award on behalf of his group.
"I deeply regret". Was that it? The fuming panellists in front of the Gürzenich fear so. Because the SPIEGEL boss relativised in places ("It wasn't all good"). Above all, however, he made no concrete promises. He could have done so. For example, a scientifically supervised reappraisal of the reporting at the time. Training for the editorial team with the active support of the Federal Association of Lesbian and Gay Journalists (BLSJ) to avoid the discriminatory formulations that still occur in publications today. Or a campaign supported by the publisher against the stigmatisation of people with HIV/AIDS.
The consensus in the small circle of smokers is that something must follow. Otherwise the gay network's intention of reconciliation would have come to nothing.
Addendum: On Monday afternoon (8 July), SPIEGEL Online makes no reference to the award ceremony that took place two days earlier. We will find out whether it will be mentioned in the next printed issue when it is published on 15 July...
(Christian Scheuß)
https://www.csd-empfang-nrw.de
