Günter Wallraff (born October 1, 1942 in Burscheid near Cologne) is a German writer and undercover journalist. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Burscheid is a city in the Rheinisch-Bergischer district in North_Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Map of Germany showing Cologne Cologne skyline at night. ... Undercover journalism is a form of journalism in which a reporter tries to infiltrate in a community by posing as somebody friendly to that community. ...

Wallraff came to prominence thanks to his striking research methods which have been given the name wallraffen in German, "to wallraff". This style of research is based on what the reporter experiences personally after inveigling himself into the heart of the subject under investigation. Wallraff would construct a fictional identity so that he was not recognisable as a journalist. In this way, he created books which denounce social injustices and which provide many people with new insights into the way in which society works. Research is an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviours, or theories, or to make practical applications with the help of such facts, laws or theories. ...

Wallraff first took up this kind of investigative journalism in 1969 when he published 13 unerwünschte Reportagen ("Wallraff, the undesirable journalist") in which he described what he experienced when acting the parts of an alcoholic, a tramp, and a worker in a chemicals factory. Investigative journalism is a branch of journalism that usually concentrates on a very specific topic, and typically requires a lot of work to yield results. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

In 1977 Wallraff worked for four months as an editor for the tabloid Bild-Zeitung newspaper in Hanover, calling himself "Hans Esser". In his books Der Aufmacher ("Lead Story") and Zeugen der Anklage ("Witnesses for the Prosecution") he portrays his experiences on the editorial staff of the paper and the journalism which he encountered there, which at times displayed contempt for humanity. In 1987 the journalist Hermann L. Gremliza claimed that he, rather than Wallraff, had written parts of Der Aufmacher. The book also formed the basis for the English-language film The Man Inside, starring Jürgen Prochnow as Wallraff. 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... Editor has four major senses: a person who obtains or improves material for a publication; a film editor, a person responsible for the flow of a motion picture or television program from scene to scene a sound editor, a person responsible for the flow and choice of music, voice, and... A tabloid is a newspaper — especially in the United Kingdom — that uses the tabloid format, which is roughly 23½ by 14¾ inches (597 by 375 mm) per spread. ... The Bild-Zeitung (lit. ... Alternate meanings: Hanover (district), Hanover (region), Hanover (state), other uses Map of Germany showing Hanover Hanover (in German: Hannover [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the Leine river, is the capital of the state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) in Germany. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jürgen Prochnow (June 10, 1941 in Berlin) is a German actor. ...

Ganz unten ("Lowest of the Low") (1985) documented Wallraff's posing as a Turkish guest worker, and the mistreatment he received in that role at the hands of employers, landlords and the German government.

Wallraff has been heavily criticised by those on the receiving end of his style of investigation, as they consider he breached constitutional rights to privacy or revealed trade secrets. Attempts were therefore made on a number of occasions to legally prevent Wallraff's investigative methods, but his actions were regularly ruled as constitutional by the courts. The courts opined that freedom of the press and public interest in areas concerned with the formation of public opinion favoured Wallraff's actions. In balancing public interest with the competing interests of those immediately affected by his actions it follows however that private conversations, for example, may not be published. For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... A trade secret is a confidential practice, method, process, design, or other information used by a company to compete with other businesses. ... Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public speech often through a state constitution for its citizens, and associations of individuals extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ...

Wallraff was one of the first people in Germany to invoke his constitutional right not to do armed military service. Despite this refusal, Wallraff was obliged to serve time in the Bundeswehr. Military service is service in the armed forces of a nation or the military arm of a political organization. ... Bundeswehr is the name of the armed forces of Germany. ...

In January 2003, Russia turned away Wallraff and two other Germans, the former labour minister for the CDU Norbert Blüm and Rupert Neudeck, head of the relief organisation Cap Anamur, as they tried to enter the country to work on a human rights article about Chechnya. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Norbert Blüm (born July 21, 1935) is a German federal legislator from North Rhine-Westphalia, Chairman of the CDU there, and former minister for labor and social affairs (for 16 years in the government of Helmut Kohl). ... Cap Anamur is an organisation which is helping refugees worldwide. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The Chechen Republic (Russian: Чеченская Республика; Chechen: Нохчийн Республика/Noxçiyn Respublika), also known as Chechnya (Russian: Чечня, Chechen: Нохчичьо/Noxçiyçö), Chechnia or Chechenia, is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. ...

In September 2003, investigations were made by the BStU (the federal commission set up to deal with the files of the Stasi) into the Rosenholz files on Stasi workers which somehow got into the hands of the CIA; as a result, it was claimed that Wallraff had had connections to the the Stasi in the 1960s. Wallraff disputes that he ever actively worked for them. On December 17, 2004, the Hamburg district court ruled on a suit brought by Wallraff that he must not be described as an Inoffizielle Mitarbeiter or Stasi collaborator (he was being called this above all in newspapers belonging to the Axel Springer Verlag - the publishers of Bild-Zeitung) as no proof of collaboration could be furnished in the documents which had been presented. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ... This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is one of the American foreign intelligence agencies, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Position of Hamburg in Germany Hamburgs central broadway Jungfernstieg at the Alster lake, between 1900 and 1914 This article is about the city in Germany. ... Axel Springer (d. ...

References

• Some of the material in this article is translated from the corresponding article from the German Wikipedia, retrieved April 10 2005.

April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ...

External links

• Official homepage (German) (http://www.guenter-wallraff.com)
• Interview with Günther Wallraff (German) (http://www.klinikum-lahr.de/maz/2001juni/wallraff.htm)
• The man inside at imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100102/)