Berlin

Having thoroughly studied the workings and infrastructure of English media, it was a genuine treat for us to witness a city with a rich, cultural media background and a history filled with drama, sadness and ultimately, joy and relief. We were in the German Capital- the booming city of Berlin.

Currently studying media at Eccles Sixth Form Centre, we all understood how huge and significant it is in our present lives with all of us using it on a daily basis, whether in the form of TV, radio, film or the internet. Thus, we all looked forward to experiencing another country’s media in our 5 day trip from the 28^th of April to the 2^nd May. The trip to Berlin consisted of first year and second year media students, accompanied by Media Tutors Damen Bramwell, Iain Goodyear and Study Support Assistant Jessica Elsey.

Amongst a packed itinerary were trips to the Babelsburg film park, the Berlin film museum and a tour of Axel-Springer, one of Europe’s largest publishing houses. While at the museum we learnt of German movie stars to rival those of Hollywood, witnessed some of the curiosities (such as the death mask of an actor) and read about the anti-Semitic propaganda films released during the Nazi party’s reign, due to the Third Reich’s grip on the media.

An open top bus tour allowed us to view the historic sights of Berlin, including the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin Wall, covered with amazing and thought-provoking graffiti remains as a poignant and thoughtful reminder of the Cold War and provided us with some interesting photographs.

A trip to the Berlin TV tower which stands at a staggering 328 metres (1,207 feet), provided an amazing viewing platform for our final day, with informative boards placed below the windows giving us a brief history and profile about the wide range of buildings that surrounded us for miles.

The trip provided us with a wide range of knowledge of how the media works in other countries and how their rules, history and culture differs to ours. A very successful trip overall- with plans for a possible trip to Budapest next year already on the radar.