Transatlantic Perspectives on Journalism

Th. November 13, 2025
Location: Thomas Mann House (1550 N San Remo Drive, CA 90272)

A Workshop with Susanne Beyer, Heinrich Wefing, Gustavo Arellano, Lorraine Ali, & Matt Pearce.

Language: English ・ By invitation only

Info

The Thomas Mann House hosts an in-depth discussion on the current state of journalism in the U.S. and Germany with a focus on transatlantic relations and challenges that journalists are currently facing on both sides of the Atlantic. The conversation will be convened by 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow Susanne Beyer (Der Spiegel) and journalist Heinrich Wefing (Die Zeit), who will explore how the current political situation in both countries have shaped media discourse, how their own professional roles have evolved, and what trends are currently transforming journalism.
 
How is journalism changing in an age of polarization, digital acceleration, and political upheaval? On November 13, the Thomas Mann House will host a workshop that brings together leading German and U.S. journalists to reflect on the current state and future of transatlantic journalism. The discussion will address questions such as: How are journalistic formats, tone, and style changing in response to shifting political realities? How do German and U.S. newsrooms frame each other’s culture and politics, and where do misunderstandings arise? Participants will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue about the future of journalism, new forms of reporting, and the question of whether journalism can help bring societies back together rather than driving them further apart. As Susanne Beyer is investigating during her fellowship at the Thomas Mann House, the workshop will be also guided by the question how we can we develop new journalistic formats that encourage a change of perspective and a balancing of different interests. The workshop will invite L.A.-based journalists to offer a transatlantic or California-focused view on the state of journalism, political reporting, and the responsibilities of the press in a polarized era. This event is part of the Thomas Mann House annual theme “Across Boundaries,” exploring new ways of bridging different opinions and viewpoints in times of fragmentation.

Participants

Susanne Beyer

Susanne Beyer studied German literature, history and journalism in Bamberg and Vienna. After her vocational training at Deutsche Journalistenschule (DJS), she initially worked as a culture editor at SPIEGEL, a German weekly news magazine and one of the largest such publications in Europe, where she was deputy head of department. She was deputy editor-in-chief of SPIEGEL for four years, then worked as a journalist in SPIEGEL's Berlin office and now writes for the editorial team. Alongside her job, Susanne Beyer is currently training to become a mediator. Beyer is a 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow.

Heinrich Wefing

Heinrich Wefing is a multi-award-winning journalist, architecture critic and book author. After many years at the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) as cultural correspondent in Berlin, and West Coast correspondent in San Francisco, he moved to DIE ZEIT in 2008, a major German national weekly newspaper. Since 2018, he has headed the politics department there. Wefing is one of the initiators of the Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights of the European Union, which was published at the end of November 2016.

Lorraine Ali

Lorraine Ali is television critic of the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she was a senior writer for the Calendar section where she covered culture at large, entertainment and American Muslim issues. Ali is an award-winning journalist and Los Angeles native who has written in publications ranging from the New York Times to Rolling Stone and GQ. She was formerly The Times’ music editor and before that, a senior writer and music critic with Newsweek magazine. Her writing awards include Best Online Feature from the New York Association of Black Journalists in 2007, an Excellence in Journalism Award in 2002 from the National Arab Journalists Association. In 1996, she won Best National Feature Story honors at the Music Journalism Awards.

Gustavo Arellano

Gustavo Arellano is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, covering Southern California everything and a bunch of the West and beyond. He was a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Commentary and the Mike Royko Award for Commentary and Column Writing and was part of the team that won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News for reporting on a leaked audio recording that upended Los Angeles politics. Arellano previously worked at OC Weekly, where he was an investigative reporter for 15 years and editor for six, wrote a column called ¡Ask a Mexican! and is the author of “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.” He’s the child of two Mexican immigrants, one of whom came to this country in the trunk of a Chevy.

Matt Pearce
Matt Pearce is a journalist in Los Angeles and the director of policy for Rebuild Local News, a national nonprofit coalition that supports public policies to support local journalism. He was previously staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and president of Media Guild of the West, a union that represents journalists and news workers across the southwest U.S.